Optomen Sells Bill’s Tasty Weekends, Scores VOD Deal

LONDON: Optomen International has secured its first deals on Billy’s Tasty Weekends, featuring Australian chef Bill Granger on a food tour in the U.K., while also firming up a VOD agreement for a raft of Gordon Ramsay programming.

The 10×1-hour Billy’s Tasty Weekends is headed to XYZnetworks and ABC Australia. The series, which aired on the U.K.’s Good Food, will premiere on XYZnetworks, which owns and operates 11 pay-TV channels across Australia, before launching on pubcaster ABC. Bill’s Tasty Weekends is also headed to the Living Channel in New Zealand, Canal+ in Poland and VTM in Belgium.

In a separate deal, Optomen scored a VOD agreement with New Video, which delivers feature films, TV shows and web originals through digital download, streaming media and VOD. The deal covers 100 hours of Gordon Ramsay programming, including Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, The F Word, Ramsay’s Best Restaurant and Gordon’s Great Escape. The programs will be available on VOD from Netflix and Amazon, among others.

Sarah Diggins, the acting head of sales for Optomen International, said: "VOD is set to change the way we consume television, with on demand viewing growing rapidly, particularly among younger viewers. This deal puts Optomen—and the ever-popular Gordon Ramsay—on the frontline of changing viewer choice."