TV imperialism goes into reverse as British shows invade the US
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Your support makes all the difference.Granada Television is planning an invasion of American screens, with 15 of Britain's most popular shows offered for sale as formats to US television companies.
Granada Television is planning an invasion of American screens, with 15 of Britain's most popular shows offered for sale as formats to US television companies.
The award-winning The Royle Family, which Granada makes for the BBC, the new thirtysomething series Metropolis, and the long-running quiz show The Krypton Factor are among those ready for re-incarnation in Granada's biggest US-bound package since it set up a subsidiary office in Los Angeles three years ago. Joint drama projects come from Granada and the BBC under a joint venture.
Some series have been bought. The American version of The Royle Family is in development at CBS with Columbia TriStar Television producing. The British version, starring Caroline Aherne and Ricky Tomlinson, is a critical and commercial success.
The Krypton Factor - the Eighties quiz show that pitted contestants against a variety of scientific challenges, as well as a muddy assault course, has been sold to the Fox Broadcasting Company, although its version is likely to focus more on mental challenges.
Negotiations are also in place for a version of Find a Fortune, presented in Britain by Carol Vorderman, and Metropolis, among a raft of British series, which is based on the happenings in a group of young urban professionals, friends who meet six years after their time at college.
Granada has also sold the format for Boot Camp, a series in which 100 men and women compete in endurance tests under US military drill instructors for a cash prize. A spokesman for the group said the success of shows such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire has led to a surge in appetite for European formats.
"The sale of shows like The Krypton Factor and Boot Camp are direct results of the massive ratings success of the American show Survivor," the source said.
Nadine Nohr, managing director of Granada Media International, said: "Granada comes with a proven track record and a truly transatlantic sensibility, as the performance of some of these shows has demonstrated."
Figures from the British Television Distributors' Association, whose members sell UK-made television shows abroad, show sales reached £335m in 1998. That figure includes British shows translated into foreign languages, co-productions and deals in which a programme format is sold abroad.
TV companies make big money when they hit upon a winning idea and sell it abroad. The format of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire has been sold to 35 countries, including India and Venezuela, making a good few millions more for the production company Celador.
America is the biggest buyer of British programming, accounting for £95m of the £335m total. The association figures show that sales of finished programmes accounted for £252m of that.
Co-productions were worth £29m, licensing revenues were valued at £31m, format/local productions brought in £6.6m and videos £17.2m.
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