ITV Studios Takes Stake in U.K. Indie

LONDON, January 6: ITV’s production division has picked up a 25-percent stake in the British independent factual outfit Carbon Media for £1.1 million.

In addition to the payment for an equity stake, ITV Studios will make £150,000 in developments funds available to Carbon for a five-year period. The move is part of the British media group’s efforts to boost its content-creation abilities, and follows the acquisition of a 51.2-percent interest in Berlin-based Imago TV Film-und Fernsehproduktion in September.

Carbon, founded in 2004 by Mike Christie and Mike Smith, focuses on specialist factual television. Recent productions include Decoding the Nativity and the upcoming Big Art, both for Channel 4.

—By Mansha Daswani