Come Dine with Me & Crime Dramas Deliver for ITVS GE

LONDON: ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) has wrapped up a slew of agreements for the hit format Come Dine with Me, along with signing two major package deals for its crime drama franchises.

Prima in the Czech Republic commissioned Real TV to produce a 90-episode eighth season of Come Dine with Me for it to air this fall. TVN in Poland ordered a 15-episode fifth season of the show to air in September. Slovakia’s Markiza did a deal for Pro Media to produce a fifth season, which kicks off this month.

ITVS GE also signed agreements in Russia and Lithuania, totaling 164 hours, for its crime dramas. TV Centre in Russia picked up 48 hours that included the 13th and final season of Agatha Christie’s Poirot as well as the sixth season of Agatha Christie’s Marple. TV Centre also went for three seasons of Lewis along with Endeavour. In Lithuania, LRT purchased 116 hours, including season 13 of Poirot, season six of Marple and seasons one through seven of Lewis.

Jennifer Ebell, the VP of sales for Southeast EMEA at ITV Studios Global Entertainment, said: “Come Dine with Me is a hit with audiences around the globe, and these deals demonstrate that the format is also enjoying continued popularity with viewers across Central and Eastern Europe.”

Ebell added: “ITVS GE is the home of respected and long-running crime franchises. These sales packages are testament to the continued popularity of these titles in CEE, where they have become a staple of broadcasters’ schedules.”