READ MORE: Craig Piligian, ‘MCN’ 2016 Producer of the Year

Lionsgate stock was up nearly 12% ($2.32 per share) in early trading Thursday after reporting a better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results, fueled by a global deal for its original series Orange is the New Black and strong revenue from production house Pilgrim Studios.

Lionsgate stock rose as high as $22.08 per share (up $2.32 each) in early trading Thursday, and settled down to close at $21.26 each, up 7.6% per share. For the quarter, television revenue was up 15.6% to a record $669.9 million from $579.5 million, on the OINB deal and strong sales from Pilgrim, which produces such reality fare as Ghost Hunters and Fast and Loud. Lionsgate purchased a 50% interest in Pilgrim in November for an estimated $200 million.

"Our television business had a record year with all categories contributing great results, and we expect its strong growth to continue this year," said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer in a statement.  "Although last year's film slate didn't match the performance of previous years, this year's slate is bigger, more balanced and is expected to generate greater profitability.  We also expect to continue creating long-term value by deepening our portfolio of brands and franchises and solidifying our status as a preferred partner to owners of intellectual property, third-party distributors and digital platforms worldwide."

The TV results helped offset continued softness in its movie studio – the latest installment in the Divergent series, Allegiant and Gods of Egypt, which performed better overseas than in the U.S. On a conference call with analysts, Feltheimer said the company was excited about its 2017 movie slate, which includes a Power Rangers reboot and action sequel John Wick: Chapter Two.

But it was the TV business the held the day, which Feltheimer said now accounts for one-third of total revenue and is poised for further growth.

Feltheimer addressed possible M&A moves on the conference call, adding that Comcast’s recent deal to acquire DreamWorks Animation for about $3.8 billion and Chinese entertainment company Dalian Wanda’s $3.5 billion purchase of Legendary Entertainment point out that the true value in content studios isn’t necessary in revenue or profitability, but in developing franchises and strong brands.

“That’s what we’re working on,” Feltheimer said, adding that Lionsgate is focusing on “developing, acquiring and mining great content and great brands.”

Feltheimer added that Lionsgate and Pilgrim Studios CEO and founder Craig Piligian could team up on small tuck-in acquisitions to help bolster its content offerings.

Lionsgate didn’t mention its interest in premium channel Starz. In February, Lionsgate said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it was interested in starting talks with the channel about a possible combination.  

The merger talks reportedly stalled after Lionsgate’s shares plunged nin the wake of disappointing box office showings for the final installment in the Hunger Games franchise: Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. On the call, vice chairman Michael Burns said while the stock is still down from last year’s highs, that only limits their ability to do all-stock deals. Lionsgate still has a strong balance sheet, which would enable it to do deals that are a mixture of stock and cash.

“We have plenty of capacity to do a lot of deals,” Burns said.

Pilgrim Studios is one of today’s most prolific producers of scripted and non-fiction content, with such hit shows as Step It Up! (Lifetime); Fast N’ Loud (Discovery Channel); The Ultimate Fighter (FS1); and Ghost Hunters (Syfy).

Last month, Pilgrim ventured into the digital arena with the launch of 1620 Media, a new company that will produce short-form series and specials targeted to younger viewers. 1620 has already launched six short-form series featuring episodes ranging from 30 seconds to two minutes in length, and expects to distribute another seven shows before the end of November.

Pilgrim Studios CEO Craig Piligian recently spoke with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about 1620 Media and the strategy behind creating short-form digital programming alongside Pilgrim’s popular long-form linear series. An edited transcript follows.

Next TV:Given the success Pilgrim Studios has had in the long-form arena, why did you decide to delve into short-form programming with 1620 Media?

Craig Piligian: The purpose is threefold. You can’t deny that the digital marketplace is one that you have to be in, even if you can’t monetize it they way you do a traditional cable show. You have to be in the digital space to be noticed.

No. 2, we wanted to show people that we could produce original content in a different way — we’re not just a long-form cable-programming provider, but we can provide content in 15-second, 30-second [or] one-minute intervals and have a clear picture of what kind of content we want to provide.

That being said, it’s also an incubator: We want to look at these shows as potential long-form shows. We’re kind of throwing darts at a dartboard, so we’re launching with five series, and maybe one of those shows will become a long-form series. We are incubating ideas for long-form programming on our own platform.

NTV:Will you look to attract advertisers to the shows?

CP: Yes, we want to attract advertisers to our content, but we also want to have brands come in and look at what we can do in one or two minutes. We don’t just produce long-form programming — we can produce for Budweiser, we can produce for Lincoln cars or Chevy trucks or any one of those brands that are looking to have a production partner for short-form digital content. If brands start producing their own television shows, then we want to be the producers and to let them know that we are in the game.

NTV:Are millennials the target audience for 1620 Media’s short-form programs?

CP: The younger millennials are watching content on their iPads and iWatches and they’re watching it in 15-second to three-minute intervals. We want to try and capture lightning in a bottle. If we get one or two of these short-form videos to be successful and popular with young viewers, we could create our own YouTube stars. You can build these stars and then you can make a long-form series or movie featuring them — there are people out there who get 6 or 7 million hits and become big media stars. We just want to get into the game. Now it’s up to us to hit a home run.

NTV:Will you look to gain access for 1620 Media on other digital distribution platforms such as Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV?

CP: Absolutely. We just want to get noticed. We’re trying to do a variety of different types of content across a different type of platforms.

NTV:How many shows are you looking to ultimately offer on the site?

CP: The sky’s the limit … we want to do as many shows as we can and work with great talent. [Actor] Barry Bostwick is in one of our shows, which is crazy — he’s doing Inside the Extras Studio and he’s the host. We didn’t know that we would get that caliber of talent for our little 1620 Media launch.

NTV:How do you get the word out about 1620 Media and your shows?

CP: Social media is huge part of that, making sure you have a presence there to get people invested in your shows. It’s what we did when we started our own website. We have the biggest social media following for a small, unscripted production company. We organically grew it, and now we’re trying to draft off of our own social following to begin with and then expand from there.

NTV:Will Pilgrim Studios stay aggressive with its long-form projects now that it is creating short-form content through 1620 Media?

CP: Definitely. We have some great new projects across a number of platforms, including syndication and cable, that I can’t talk about yet but eventually we’ll announce.

ABC Family has greenlit a new drama series Recovery Road from Pilgrim Studios, said network officials.

The series is based on the popular young adult novel by Blake Nelson and focuses on a teenage girl dealing with addiction, said network officials. This announcement comes on the heels of the network's recently announced pick-up of the docu-series My Transparent Life.

The series is the first scripted series greenlit by ABC Family executive vice president of programming and development Karey Burke since she joined the company in October.

“ABC Family is best known for its ground-breaking original series and Recovery Road is right in our wheel-house,” Burke said in a statement. “This series will explore relevant social issues for our audience and shine a light on addiction. It’s a powerful addition to our line up and the strong, authentic characters are sure to resonate with our audience.”   

The pilot for Recovery Road was written by Bert V. Royal (Easy A) and Karen DiConcetto (Ruby & The Rockits), who will also serve as executive producers, alongside Craig Piligian (Abducted: The Carlina White Story) and Beth Miller (Revenge of the Bridesmaids) from Pilgrim Studios and Danielle VonZerneck (Left to Die).

Wedding and entertainment personality David Tutera has reached a development deal with Pilgrim Studios to develop lifestyle-based projects.

Tutera, who has appeared in several shows including WE TV’s My Fair Wedding and CELEBrations, will work with Pilgrim to develop a variety of unscripted and scripted projects in the lifestyle space and beyond, according to Craig Piligian, Pilgrim Studios’ CEO and president.

Pilgrim and Tutera have already teamed to produce the aforementioned WE TV series, as well as the network’s David Tutera: Unveiled.

 “Pilgrim has been in business with David Tutera for more than seven years, and our relationship has only strengthened with time,” said Piligian in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be working together to build new franchises across both scripted and unscripted genres.”

Added Tutera, “The best part of my job is working so closely with clients during the most important days of their lives, and sharing that experience via the shows we create. Being privy to such happiness, joy, nerves and tears is an honor. I’m excited to develop new realms of programming with Pilgrim that explore and celebrate moments that people remember forever.”