MarVista & ActiveTV Strike First Format Deal

LOS ANGELES/PORT MELBOURNE: MarVista Entertainment’s reality format Prank Patrol has been acquired from ActiveTV by ABC 3 in Australia, marking the first deal to come from the companies recently announced alliance.

At MIPCOM, MarVista and ActiveTV announced a deal by which MarVista secures the exclusive distribution rights to the Australian indie’s family entertainment properties outside of Australia and New Zealand, while ActiveTV acquires option rights for Australia and New Zealand for MarVista’s formats.

ABC 3 will launch its version of Prank Patrol on December 4. The show provides kids instructions on how to create, build and execute the prank of a lifetime. Brisbane’s Scott Tweedie, who will be assisted by the prank-loving ninjas and a team of experts. Created by Canada’s Apartment 11 Productions, the original Prank Patrol series has been a long-running hit on YTV in Canada, with a U.K. format also airing on CBBC.

“The sale of Prank Patrol to ABC 3 is extremely gratifying and is a wonderful way to begin our alliance with ActiveTV,” said Fernando Szew, the CEO of MarVista Entertainment. “We’re delighted that ABC 3 has chosen this program as a charter franchise for their new network.”

He added: “The Australian version of Prank Patrol has particularly high production values and a strong Aussie flavor which we think will be attractive to international markets.”