• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 10, 2011

Lionsgate indicated Wednesday that a news report saying it would launch something akin to a network for mega-star Tyler Perry was on target. CEO Jon Feltheimer said the company would offer no official comment, but then moved into praise for Perry's talents and mentioned options Lionsgate might have.

"Suffice it to say that we strongly support extending Tyler's highly successful film, television and home entertainment brands into exciting new platforms," he said on a conference call.

Lionsgate could buy a small channel and flip it into a Perry vehicle. It could convert its money-losing TV Guide Network into a Perry place. On that tactic, Feltheimer noted: "Perhaps some kind of a nesting strategy or conversion with a channel that we might already have." He also said Perry has the appeal to "actually launch" a channel from scratch.

Converting TV Guide Network could involve difficult negotiations with distributors, where carriage agreements would presumably need to be altered. Perry has a series of hit films, two TBS TV series (352 episodes combined) and a third coming this fall.

Lionsgate's plans for a "Tyler TV" were first reported by The New York Times.

"I can certainly say that if you look at Tyler's success across virtually everything he's done, I don't believe I've ever worked with any talent with as loyal and deep an audience as Tyler has," Feltheimer said.

In the second quarter, TV Guide Network posted a loss of $8.2 million as ad revenues slumped. Lionsgate owns 51% of the network and TVGuide.com. Deadline.com has reported the company is looking to sell the Web site and possibly the channel.