While it's movies such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire that get investors interested in Lions Gate (LGF-A -0.09%) stock, the studio has quickly become a force in niche television.
Count Netflix (NFLX -3.92%) among the benefactors. Lions Gate co-produced the streaming sensation's latest original program, Orange Is the New Black, from writer Jenji Kohan, whose other credits include the Showtime hit Weeds.
Taylor Schilling stars in Orange Is the New Black. Source: Netflix.
Surprised? Don't be. Kohan also worked with Lions Gate on Weeds. The studio helped broker distribution rights to the show in dozens of territories around the world, she said in a 2007 interview with my Foolish colleague Rich Smith.
Not much has changed in the years since. Lions Gate co-produces Mad Men in concert with AMC Networks (AMCX -0.60%), Nashville in concert with Walt Disney and ABC, Anger Management with FX and 21st Century Fox, and Nurse Jackie in concert with Showtime.
The company is (pardon the pun) catching fire in TV production even as its film studio puts out blockbusters. No wonder Lions Gate stock is trading near a 52-week high. Can it go higher? I like its chances, especially with the changes taking place in the TV business.
Now it's your turn to weigh in. Are you watching Orange Is the New Black? Leave a comment to let us know what you think of the show, and whether you would buy, sell, or short Lions Gate stock at current prices.
While a likely blockbuster, Catching Fire isn't the only catalyst for Lions Gate stock. Sources: YouTube, Lions Gate Entertainment.
