ITV

Tag: FremantleMedia

  • FremantleMedia to make shows available for net download

    FremantleMedia to make shows available for net download

    MUMBAI: Format creator and distributor FremantleMedia and Arts Alliance Media have signed a deal for users to download episodes to their PCs and certain portable devices and view them either on a rental basis or keep them on their hard drives to watch whenever they want.

    Fremantlemedia has granted rights to Arts Alliance Media-which provides digital film distribution services in Europe – to make up to 200 hours of classic comedy available to UK broadband internet users. Programming will be sourced from the FremantleMedia and talkbackThames catalogues and will include hit programmes such as Men Behaving Badly, Goodnight Sweetheart and Tommy Cooper.

    The content will be available later this year via a dedicated website as well as via Arts Alliance Media’s download partners which currently includes download and DVD rental site, Lovefilm and AOL, which has over 2.2 million members in the UK, of which more than 1.3 million are broadband members. Additional partners for download distribution will be announced over the coming months.

    FremantleMedia Enterprises CEO David Ellender, says, “This deal represents a central part of our new media strategy which involves us engaging with the consumer across a number of new platforms that are being opened up at present. Arts Alliance Media is the leading download company for the studios and has a reputation and track record second to none in this field. We are very excited about establishing a relationship with them as they move into the TV sector.”

    Arts Alliance Media president Mark Livingstone, said, “We are pleased to be the first to partner with FremantleMedia in a deal which further establishes Arts Alliance Media’s reputation as the premier content provider for download services. FremantleMedia’s content of classic TV comedy adds to our extensive library of feature titles which we look forward to rolling out to our existing and future partners.”

  • FremantleMedia to launch ‘Prehistoric Park’ on DVD

    FremantleMedia to launch ‘Prehistoric Park’ on DVD

    MUMBAI: Fremantle Home Entertainment will be handling the worldwide DVD sales and distribution of the TV series, Prehistoric Park.

    Scheduled to be unleashed in UK from late summer, the DVD will contain 6 x 48 minute episodes and is fully enhanced with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound to give CD quality audio. The DVD is also packed with mammoth features including a ‘Making Of’ featurette, which has been produced specifically for this release.

    Additional interactive DVD content includes features such as ‘Husbandry’, which shows the procedures for looking after and caring for prehistoric animals, ‘Environments’, which details the conditions and surroundings in which the prehistoric animals live and ‘Animal Status’, which provides information on each of the animals featured in Prehistoric Park.

    FremantleMedia senior vice president, home entertainment and archive sales Pete Kalhan said, “By capitalising on what is sure to be an extremely successful broadcast on ITV1, the DVD of Prehistoric Park has very strong potential. The success of previous CGI productions such as Walking with Dinosaurs, which sold 180,000 units in its first four months, shows that consumers are fascinated by this prehistoric era and we are confident that Prehistoric Park will be an equally massive hit.”

    FHE, which is a part of FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), has also secured home entertainment sales and distribution deals in Australia with MRA Entertainment and Japan with SPO Inc.

    Last month, Fremantle International Distribution (FID), also a part of FME, announced a raft of sales with broadcasters from around the globe to license Prehistoric Park. Territories that have been quick to snap up Prehistoric Park are: Denmark (TV2), Finland (Channel 4), Holland (Ned Channel 3), Norway (TV Norge), Portugal (RTP), Spain (La Sexta), Sweden (TV4), Ukraine (STB), Australia (Nine), Malaysia (RTM), Belgium (VTM), Russia (TV Kultura), Indonesia (Trans TV) and New Zealand (TV3).

    FremantleMedia Enterprises CEO David Ellender said, “We are extremely pleased with the international sale of Prehistoric Park so far. To have become an internationally sought after property clearly shows Prehistoric Park has succeeded within its key demographic of family entertainment. The programme is set to be a great success for FremantleMedia and Impossible Pictures in the UK, and is sure to capture the imagination of its audiences around the globe.”

  • FremantleMedia strengthens biz with promotions

    FremantleMedia strengthens biz with promotions

    MUMBAI: Format creator and owner FremantleMedia has announced a series of promotions in the UK as part of the continuing evolution of its international business.

    Dan Allen has been promoted to Fremantlemedia Enterprises (FME) COO from his current role of Fremantle International Distribution (FID) COO. In this newly created role, Allen will be responsible for all operational departments including marketing, finance, legal, HR and material.

    He will be based in London and will report to FME CEO David Ellender.

    Bob McCourt, currently FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide (FLW) VP, finance joins FME as director of finance. In this capacity, McCourt will be responsible for the division’s finance function including management and financial reporting, commercial support, strategic development and management of the FME finance team. McCourt, who has been with the company for eight years, will be based in London and will report to Dan Allen.

    Lynne-Mei Lee has been appointed to FME head of publicity, from her current role as FremantleMedia PR manager. Lee, who will be based in London and will report to Ellender, will oversee publicity for the division worldwide, working closely with divisional and territory heads and with local and international press and marketing teams.

    Dawn McComish moves up to FME HR head from her role as HR Manager, FremantleMedia. In this new position, McComish will manage the division’s human resources function covering all FME’s global operations. She will be based in London and will report to Dan Allen. McComish joined FremantleMedia in 2005; prior to this, she was head of Human Resources at a private aviation company, Netjets Management and Human Resources manager at the British Chambers of Commerce.

    Ellender said, “This is an extremely exciting time for our international commercial team and these promotions are extremely well deserved. I am confident that, with the team’s great talent and wealth of experience, we will rapidly build upon FremantleMedia Enterprises’ existing reputation and strengthen our position even further as a leading player in the industry.”

  • BBC picks up teen drama from FremantleMedia

    BBC picks up teen drama from FremantleMedia

    MUMBAI: Fremantle International Distribution (FID), the distribution arm of global format creator and owner FremantleMedia ,has sold its new teen drama Falcon Beach to the BBC and many other additional international broadcasters. The drama is now set to be broadcast in 18 countries worldwide.

    BBC Daytime has secured the UK rights to the edgy new one-hour drama, which premiered on ABC Family in Australia on 5 June 2006. Further significant licensing agreements will see the programme launch on ABC, Australia; RTE, Eire; SBS (Flemish), Belgium; RTM, Malaysia; ANTV, Indonesia; ABC5, Philippines; ETV, Sri Lanka; UBC, Thailand; Show TV, Turkey and Hot, Israel.

    These broadcasters join a raft of deals for Falcon Beach already signed with M6, France; TV2, Denmark; TV4, Sweden; TV Norge (SBS Channel), Norway; Channel 4, Finland; Nederland 3, Netherlands and IBC Iceland’s Sirkus.

    Falcon Beach is positioned as sexy, edgy and full of energy. It is produced by Insight Productions and Original Pictures, in conjunction with Global Television and ABC Family USA and centres on the lives and loves of the town’s young men and women, as they find their way towards their futures.

    Falcon Beach is a quiet lakeside town where locals and summer visitors mingle and where seduction, sand and scandal are abundant. A coming-of-age drama following a group of twenty-somethings, Falcon Beach focusses on friends, families and enemies during a summer of romance and passion, soul-searching and conflicts.

    FremantleMedia CEO David Ellender said, “Falcon Beach has received a deservedly warm welcome from broadcasters the world over, and we are certain that all will be delighted with the results it will no doubt deliver. Dramas of this calibre are rare and the broadcasters that have seen the potential of Falcon Beach will soon be the envy of their rivals.”

  • Fluid Audio brings American Idol Underground to Fox’ Americanidol.com

    Fluid Audio brings American Idol Underground to Fox’ Americanidol.com

    MUMBAI: Fluid Audio Networks’ web site, American Idol Underground, will be used to create a “micro site” on Fox Interactive Media’s Americanidol.com. The new site provides visitors immediate access to American Idol Underground’s online branded music player, where they can listen to and judge the music of emerging artists and submit their own music for review.

    “The American Idol Underground micro site will expose American Idol fans to a whole new universe of undiscovered talent through access to American Idol Underground’s 50-plus online music players. Additionally, this is a great opportunity for American Idol Underground bands and solo acts to get in front of the nearly 10 million people who visit Americanidol.com each month,” said Fluid Audio Networks chief executive officer and founder Justin Beckett.

    “Americanidol.com is a community for ‘American Idol’ fans looking to enrich their experience through our interactive offerings. The addition of American Idol Underground adds to Americanidol.com another dynamic, interactive application for our fans to take part in,” said Fox Interactive Media vice president Jeff King.

    In addition to rating emerging artists and discovering new bands, the micro site, located at www.americanidol.com/underground, gives fans access to all of American Idol Underground’s best features and prizes, including:

    Listeners prizes for voting on favorite American Idol Underground artists

    Charts ranking artists and highlighting top-rated songs and artists

    Music uploads for artists which are guaranteed 200 spins on American Idol Underground’s online branded music player

    A chance to win cash, musical equipment and exposure for the top rated artists on American Idol Underground.
    The American Idol Underground Web site is powered by Fluid Audio’s proprietary self-publishing software and is licensed by FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas.

  • FremantleMedia dishes up dramas and factuals at DISCOP

    FremantleMedia dishes up dramas and factuals at DISCOP

    MUMBAI: Fremantle International Distribution (FID) will be bringing big budget drama and factual series, along with comedy and romance to DISCOP in Budapest this month.Headlining FID’s slate for DISCOP 2006 will be the new hit drama series Falcon Beach from Insight Productions and Original Pictures, in conjunction with Global Television and ABC Family USA. Described as “sexy, edgy and full of energy” by executive producer Kim Todd, Falcon Beach centres around the lives and loves of the town’s young men and women, as they decide the paths their futures will take.

    Falcon Beach, which premiered on ABC Family on 5 June, features a hot young cast full of beauty and brawn and compelling storylines.

    FID’s flagship factual series Prehistoric Park will also be available for buyers to view in Budapest. Created by Impossible Pictures, producers of the worldwide hit Walking With Dinosaurs, Prehistoric Park is fronted by natural history expert Nigel Marven and is co-produced by ITV (UK), Animal Planet (US), M6 (France) and ProSieben (Germany). As co-financiers, FID has acquired the international distribution rights (excluding France and Germany). FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide will handle the licensing rights to the series including merchandising and publishing rights and Fremantle Home Entertainment will handle DVD.

    Harnessing the latest in CGI technology, Prehistoric Park features stunning scenery from some of the most beautiful places on earth, from history and today. Marven steps back in time to try and save creatures like the mammoth, the sabre tooth cat and the dinosaurs – extinction doesn’t have to be forever. Each episode focuses on a different prehistoric theme.

    FID will also be unveiling the second series of Jimmy’s Farm at DISCOP. Having given up academia in favour of pig farming, Jimmy Doherty weathered the trials and triumphs over a year on his new farm. With a little business advice and financial help from his mate British chef Jamie Oliver, Jimmy sets out to renovate a crumbling farm and realises his dream of breeding rare pigs. This documentary series from BBC Television is full of laddish charm – in series two Jimmy’s hands are full with not only pigs, but bulls, chickens and bees to boot. The second series of Jimmy’s Farm was a ratings winner for BBC2, attracting an average audience of 3.3 million viewers, consistently performing above the channel’s primetime average in 2006.

    Ready to woo a whole new legion of fans is Martha. It’s Martha Stewart as we know and love her – and as we’ve never seen her before. The daily one-hour programme offers a new and different format and is a recipe for daytime success. Cooking, crafting and cavorting with celebrity friends in front of a live studio audience; with this new interactive approach to lifestyle programming, Martha is going to be more accessible than ever to her legions of loyal fans. The show presents inspiring ideas from cooking and entertaining, to decorating, and home renovating. Launched in September 2005 in the US on NBC, Martha is fast becoming the doyenne of daytime and is on the move internationally, with 10 countries worldwide having already added the informative and entertaining programme to their schedules.

    From Crackerjack comes Comedy Inc. – a mix of sharp, fast-paced humour and irreverence, featuring sketch, TV and movie parody, non-existent cable shows, ads for products that don’t exist and characters that will become fixtures of popular culture for years to come. Whether it’s Big Brother, The Sopranos, Lord of The Rings, Tom Cruise or Michael Jackson, nothing and no one is safe! The world seen through the eyes of the Comedy Inc. team is often just a step away from reality… viewed with an hilarious twist.

    Also on offer as either tape or format will be Bianca – Road to Happiness. This German telenovela from Grundy UFA in association with teamWorx is a modern fairytale about a woman beginning a new life after suffering for many years for a crime she did not commit. Bianca Berger now eagerly embraces each day as if it was her last and finds her place, her job, and the man of her dreams – but nothing is as simple as it seems. With regular audiences above the three million mark, Bianca – Road to Happiness was ZDF’s highest rated daytime series during 2005.

    FremantleMedia Enterprises CEO David Ellender said, “We have an exciting programming slate for buyers at DISCOP this year, with a range of programming options that will run the gamut of scheduling needs across Eastern Europe.”

  • FremantleMedia appoints Dominic Burns as VP licensing, UK

    FremantleMedia appoints Dominic Burns as VP licensing, UK

    MUMBAI: FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide (FLW) has appointed Dominic Burns as vice president of licensing for the UK market.

    Burns will be responsible for managing the brand licensing, sponsorship and interactive businesses in the UK. In addition to this, he will maximise the value of FremantleMedia’s portfolio of rights and sponsorship opportunities and the exploitation of new commercial opportunities.

    He will be based in London and will report to FLW senior vice president, licensing, UK and Germany Claire Tavernier. Burns replaces Dom Wheeler, who leaves FremantleMedia this month after six years with the company.

    Tavernier said, “Dominic has made a significant contribution to the growth of our sponsorship business in establishing global relationships with major advertisers such as Coca Cola, Nokia and Unilever. His leadership qualities, experience and relationships will be a great asset to our UK business.”

    Commenting on Wheeler’s departure Tavernier added, “Dom was one of the very first members of the FLW team and has contributed immensely to its success. We wish him every success for the future.”

    Burns joined FremantleMedia in 2003 as vice president, sponsorship and advertiser relationships, where he managed all worldwide agreements with advertisers and sponsors. Prior to this, he was head of commercial strategy for Eurosport TV where he was responsible for setting the commercial programming focus of the channel and providing support to the international sales team.

    Further to this appointment, Melissa Goodwin, currently vice president, licensing, EMEA, will be moving to the UK team as vice president, interactive and telephony, UK. In this position, Goodwin will assume day-to-day responsibility for the company’s interactive and telephony business, including voting on The X Factor, home viewer competitions across all of FremantleMedia’s entertainment formats, the commercialisation of the company’s websites and the development of mobile content and games around FremantleMedia and talkbackThames’ extensive TV properties in the UK.

    Also, Pindy O’Brien, currently head of brand licensing, UK, becomes head of brand licensing and retail, UK. The position will see O’Brien expand her role to take on the company’s relationships with the retail sector as well as continuing her work in the area of brand licenses around FremantleMedia and talkbackThames’ UK portfolio.

    Both Goodwin and O’Brien will be based in London and will report to Burns.

    Claire Baker, currently head of retail, UK, will take up Goodwin’s position as vice president, licensing, EMEA. In this capacity, Baker will be responsible for managing the brand licensing, sponsorship and interactive businesses in the Nordic countries, Southern Europe and the Middle East. She will be based in London and will report to FLW senior vice president licensing, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific Mark Newton.

  • Lifetime orders telenovella ‘Bianca’ from FremantleMedia

    Lifetime orders telenovella ‘Bianca’ from FremantleMedia

    MUMBAI: US women’s broadcaster Lifetime has ordered 20 episodes of Bianca. This is a weekly primetime novela based on the German television series of the same name. It was created and produced by FremantleMedia’s Grundy UFA

    The series will be produced on location in Australia and comes from FremantleMedia North America, the producers American Idol. Bianca explores forbidden love between a woman searching for a new life after being unfairly imprisoned and a wealthy man trapped into an impending loveless marriage.

    Lifetime Entertainment Services president, entertainment Susanne Daniels says, “Bianca is an exciting series for us — it’s a sexy, flirty, fun modern soap filled with deception, murder, secrets and betrayal — and is an ideal format for our audience” .

    FremantleMedia North America CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz said, “This is a ground-breaking deal for FremantleMedia North America as it will be the first time that we will be producing a scripted series in the US. Internationally, however, we have a long tradition of producing popular serial drama and have recently been very successful at introducing the telenovela concept to Europe. We look forward to working with Lifetime to bring the story of Bianca to US audiences this fall.”

  • ABC puts viewers through ‘The Con Test’

    ABC puts viewers through ‘The Con Test’

    MUMBAI: The UK game show The Con Test is coming to the US in a production deal between FremantleMedia North America and ABC.
    The Con Test is a game show where one person could walk away with over one million dollars without ever having to answer a single question right.

    The Con Test is a game for those who have the wit, nerves and guile to bluff their way to an exorbitant amount of cash. Dont understand the questions? Fake it. Dont know the answers? Lie. All that matters is that the opponent thinks you do.
    Each episode wil be in a question-and-answer format, with the contestants unaware of how they are faring against their opponents. This allows those who are trailing to advantageously bluff their way to victory.

    ABC says that the show is a unique and fresh game show concept and sees this series as a fun outlet for viewers who want to sit back, be entertained and scream at the TV set as if the contestants can hear them.

    FremantleMedia North America CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz says, “We’ve seen tremendous success with a variety of game shows that have come over from the UK to America. We believe that The Con Test has all the elements of a hit and are extremely enthusiastic about introducing it to the US audience.”

  • FremantleMedia reports big business for ‘Falcon Beach’

    FremantleMedia reports big business for ‘Falcon Beach’

    MUMBAI: Fremantle International Distribution (FID) announced a number of international sales for its latest drama offering Falcon Beach, at the LA Screenings.

    The bold, fresh one-hour drama has been acquired by M6, France and an announcement is imminent regarding a deal recently concluded with a terrestrial broadcaster in the UK. Broadcasters in Scandinavia are also excited by the prospect of the new programme, with TV2, Denmark; TV4, Sweden; TV Norge (SBS Channel), Norway; Channel 4, Finland; Nederland 3, Netherlands and IBC Iceland’s Sirkus all coming on board.

    Falcon Beach, which launched at the LA Screenings ahead of its debut on ABC Family on 5 June, is produced by Insight Productions and Original Pictures, in conjunction with Global Television and ABC Family USA. Described as sexy, edgy and full of energy, the stories of Falcon Beach centre around the lives and loves of the town’s young men and women, as they decide the paths their futures will take.

    A quiet lakeside town, Falcon Beach is where locals and summer visitors mingle and where seduction, sand and scandal are abundant. It is a coming-of-age drama which follows a group of 20-somethings, with their families, friends and enemies during a summer of romance, soul-searching and conflicts at Falcon Beach.

    Featuring a hot young cast of beauty and brawn, Falcon Beach stars Steve Byers as Jason Tanner, Jennifer Kydd as Paige Bradshaw, Devon Weigel as Tanya Shedden and Morgan Kelly as Lane Bradshaw.

    FremantleMedia Enterprises CEO David Ellender said, “We are thrilled to announce this first big raft of sales for the show, which is sure to be a huge hit when it launches very soon on ABC Family. Broadcasters are recognising the wide appeal of Falcon Beach and those who are getting in early will be rewarded with a stylish, dynamic and highly successful addition to their schedules.”