Endemol Expands Third-Party Slate

HILVERSUM: For the first time, Endemol has acquired the rights to an entire third-party program slate, taking on a host of factual entertaiment, documentaries and entertainment series from British producer Spun Gold.

Of this slate, two titles will be available internationally for the first time at MIPTV. They are Claire Sweeney’s: My Big Fat Diet, an hour-long special that sees the former soap star embarking on an intense nutritional experiment in which she analyzes the physical and mental effects of gaining excessive weight. The show has already fared well for ITV1 in the U.K. A second one-hour special, Claire Richards: My Big Fat Wedding, has the former pop star attempting to drop from a size 20 back to a size 8. It is due to air on BBC Three later this year. Other shows will be made available over the coming months.

"The expansion and diversification of our distribution activities is a key part of Endemol’s growth strategy and we expect this to be the first of many similar global third party deals," said Tom Toumazis, Endemol’s chief commercial officer. "We’re delighted to be taking on Spun Gold’s portfolio. They have an exciting and wide ranging slate of factual entertainment series, intelligent, popular documentaries and entertainment shows, all of which have great international potential.”

Nick Bullen, the managing director of Spun Gold, added: "I’m extremely excited to be working with a company with as much international muscle as Endemol. There is no doubt they are an organization who can open doors throughout the world and I look forward to our relationship helping both parties to grow. To be chosen as the first production company to have its entire slate represented by Endemol is a credit to all the great programme makers we have worked with over the 5 years we have been in production.”