ITV Global Clinches Japanese, Spanish Deals

LONDON: ITV Global Entertainment has sold 400 hours of drama programming into Japan, and has secured a renewal of the Spanish edition of the culinary format Come Dine with Me.

In Japan, the J:COM-owned cable and satellite outlet Channel Gina has taken more than 400 hours of ITV Studios and independently produced prime-time drama for rollout beginning this spring. The package includes Cracker, A Touch of Frost, Prime Suspect, Hornblower and Agatha Christie’s Poirot.

On the formats front, meanwhile, Antena 3 has opted for a fourth season of Come Dine with Me. The local version is produced by Zeppelin TV as Ven a Cenar Conmigo. “This fourth series commission in Spain is yet another huge achievement for an exceptional TV franchise, and is testament to the originality and quality of the show," said Tobi de Graaff, the director of global TV distribution at ITV Global Entertainment.

Remy Blumenfeld, the director of formats at ITV Global Content, added: “Come Dine with Me has established itself as one of Spanish television’s best performing formats. We are delighted to be announcing this fourth series, which follows on from the recent news that the format has achieved its thirteenth international format commission.”

Come Dine with Me has been commissioned in 13 countries, including the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K. and most recently Belgium, with more than 2,800 episodes produced across 11 languages.