FME Seals Large Raft of Asian Deals

LONDON: FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has secured sales across Asia on nearly 2,000 hours of programming covering FremantleMedia productions and third-party titles.

More than 500 hours of programming was sold across the Philippines. Solar Entertainment Group took on 100 hours of the hit game show The Price is Right and Creative Programs opted for 140 hours of the lifestyle series The Martha Stewart Show. Further sales included the new U.S. reality show Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, along with Kell on Earth, Is She Really Going Out with Him? and 40 hours of American Idol.

In Singapore, FME signed a deal with MediaCorp for almost 400 hours of programming for its family of channels. Titles included The Martha Stewart Show, The Price is Right, March of the Dinosaurs, American Idol, Work of Art and China’s Got Talent.

Indonesian broadcasters went for more than 200 hours from FME’s catalogue, including March of the Dinosaurs, American Idol and Merlin.

The Martha Stewart Show notched up an additional sale to Brunei’s RTB for 90 hours. Malaysia’s Media Prima took a package that included 44 hours of America’s Got Talent, 40 hours of American Idol and seven hours of She’s Got the Look. Media Prima also opted for the kids’ title My Babysitter is a Vampire, including the TV movie of the same name. The Australian food titles Four Ingredients and Billy’s Holiday are headed to Media Prima as well.

Thai broadcaster Cineplex picked up 284 hours from FME. The deal included the Oliver Stone doc The Untold History of the United States, March of the Dinosaurs, Deadliest Warrior and DEA and entertainment fare such as America’s Got Talent, She’s Got the Look and The Apprentice. Smart Channel of Taiwan bagged more than 50 hours, including 1,000 Ways to Die, Pitchmen: From Gadgets to Glory and Cut In Half. PTS bought Merlin and the Nigel Marven titles Panda Adventure with Nigel Marven and Penguin Adventure with Nigel Marven.

Project Runway is headed to Vietnam in a deal with HTV, which snapped up 28 hours of the hit competition series.

Haryaty Rahman, FME’s director of sales for Asia, commented, “The FME catalogue has such a broad range of programmes from all over the world across factual, entertainment, comedy and drama, and there is truly something there for everyone. We have a lot of hours of returning series and franchises, which broadcasters like, as well as internationally known personalities and brands. The quality of our shows means that broadcasters can be confident in audience numbers.”

Ganesh Rajaram, the senior VP of distribution and home entertainment for Asia, added, “There is a lot of opportunity in the Asian market and earlier this year we restructured our sales division to better take advantage of those opportunities. It’s been a very fruitful change for us and we’re looking forward to continuing and growing our relationship with Asian broadcasters.”