Lionsgate’s blockbuster YA movies land at TNT

Lionsgate in recent years has looked to surging library revenue to help drive its quarterly results.

That push gained traction Thursday as TNT grabbed the network TV rights to The Hunger Games and Divergent movie franchises.

The deal with Lionsgate will see the U.S. Turner-owned network  premiere the first two installments in the Hunger Games franchise, then The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, opening on release in November, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, set for theatrical release in November 2015.

The deal includes the network premiere for Divergent, which grossed over $150 million at the North American box office earlier this year, and Insurgent, to receive a theatrical release in March 2015.

The agreement also gives TNT the TV rights to all four Divergent films as it expands into the dystopian world of YA novel-to-movie adaptations.

The network TV deal with TNT is key to Lionsgate as it looks with recurring library revenue to maximize returns in a global entertainment business where broadcasters and cable and online SVOD players increasingly need content to drive down their channels and pipes.