STV partnership deal to target US broadcasters

SCOTTISH broadcaster, STV, has joined forces with a US production company in an effort to sell formats developed and owned by the group to American audiences.

Announced today, the production arm of STV – STV Productions and Ginger Productions – is set to make all its programme formats, including the likes of Antiques Road Trip and Missing Mums, available to US-based indie, Kinetic Content.

STV, meanwhile, will hold exclusive UK rights to co-produce formats developed and owned by Kinetic, which launched earlier this year.

The two companies are also set to collaborate on potential brand-new formats to be pitched to broadcasters both in the UK and the US.

A spokesperson for STV told allmediascotland: “We’ve struck up a partnership with this company, which will open up the US market to STV and simultaneously open up the UK market to Kinetic so we can share format ideas and work together to develop more innovative content.

“If Kinetic decided, for example, that one of our formats would work very well for a certain broadcaster in the US then they would go along with ourselves to pitch it to that US broadcaster.”

Quoted in a STV statement is Chris Coelen, CEO of Kinetic Content, who says: “With a passionate team of creative talent and the resources of the most popular commercial broadcaster in Scotland, STV’s unique market position makes them a terrific partner with whom to launch worldwide entertainment properties.”