\n\tPREMIUM: Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV Studios, talks to TV Europe about ITV Studios’ growth in the U.S. and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\n\tTV EUROPE: <\/strong>ITV Studios has been an integral part of ITV’s Transformation Plan to develop more revenue streams. What factors have been driving ITV Studios’ strong performance? \n\tWe have also welcomed Tim Haines, co-creator of Primeval<\/em>, to ITV Studios to set up a new drama division to sit alongside our existing drama teams. He has just been commissioned to produce Beowulf<\/em>, a 13-part epic. This drama has strong international potential; we’re looking at the possibilities for co-production at the moment and will be talking to potential partners at MIPTV.<\/p>\n \n\tWe’re flexible in our approach to working with talent. Over the next year hopefully you’ll see more impressive production names coming to work with ITV Studios.<\/p>\n \n\tThe organic growth, which has come from investing in talent and development, has contributed significantly to our growth. And, as you know, we have also been busy buying. We acquired Thinkfactory Media in June 2013 and we are now delighted to be introducing buyers to Leslie Greif’s Texas Rising<\/em> at MIPTV. This is another drama in our portfolio with enormous international potential. Expect to hear lots about this at MIPTV; we’re bringing some fantastic talent and will be hosting the world premiere of the first episode in the Palais.<\/p>\n \n\tTV EUROPE: <\/strong>The U.S. has been an important market. What has been the strategy for growing ITV’s presence there? \n\tOur size and breadth in the U.S. is offering opportunities beyond American shores and contributing to our success as a truly international content business. I’ve mentioned that Texas Rising<\/em> is a big priority for MIPTV; we also launched Aquarius<\/em> to the international market at MIPCOM. This fantastic drama was born out of ITV Studios America’s relationship with Marty Adelstein’s Tomorrow Studios.<\/p>\n \n\tOur original formats also continue to travel well. ITV Studios America has recently been commissioned by NBC to produce Saturday Night Takeaway<\/em> (SNT<\/em>), hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. SNT<\/em> is a huge hit in the U.K.; it’s hosted by two of our most loved TV presenters and is regularly one of the highest-rating shows when it’s on air.<\/p>\n \n\tTV EUROPE: <\/strong>Producing drama is risky, how have your teams chosen which projects to pursue? The U.S. market typically deficit finances its drama. How has ITV Studios financed its scripted shows? \n\tAn organization of our scale obviously has the resources to invest in the right projects. And through our international distribution arm and international production offices we have the relationships and expertise to establish fruitful co-production arrangements.<\/p>\n \n\tTV EUROPE: <\/strong>Has there been any exchange of know-how—for example regarding writers’ rooms or producing longer or shorter series orders—between your operations in the U.K. and in the U.S.? Any lessons learned on one side of the Atlantic that have been passed on to the other? \n\tTV EUROPE: <\/strong>What investments has ITV Studios made in other countries? \n\tAs you know, we also have production bases in Australia, France and Germany. We’re delighted that I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!<\/em> is being made for Ten in Australia. The ITV Studios Australia team has done a sterling job. The show premiered on Sunday, February 2, and is Ten’s biggest launch of a new reality series since 2009.<\/p>\n \n\tTV EUROPE: <\/strong>Do you foresee making more acquisitions? What type of company would fit the ITV Studios portfolio? \n\tTV EUROPE:<\/strong> What shows has ITV Studios been producing in the U.K.? Are you continuing to produce for other channels beyond ITV? \n\tWe are very proud of Thunderbirds Are Go<\/em>, our reimagining of the original series, which will launch in the U.K. in the first half of this year.<\/p>\n \n\tThese are all ITV shows, but we have been producing for external networks for a very long time. It’s part of our heritage. For example, University Challenge<\/em>, which we produce for the BBC, is 50 years old. And Countdown<\/em> for Channel 4, which we make, was actually the first program to air on the channel and is still a key part of its daytime schedule.<\/p>\n \n\tNewer shows include the drama Shetland<\/em> for the BBC and quiz shows such as Eggheads<\/em>, Perfection <\/em>and Pressure Pad<\/em> for the BBC. Come Dine with Me<\/em>, which we make for Channel 4, has been a phenomenal success both [in the U.K.] and around the world. It’s now produced in 36 countries worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PREMIUM: Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV Studios, talks to TV Europe about ITV Studios’ growth in the U.S. and elsewhere. TV EUROPE: ITV Studios has been an integral part of ITV’s Transformation Plan to develop more revenue streams. What factors have been driving ITV Studios’ strong performance? LYGO: We’ve been very vocal about …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-top-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\tLYGO: <\/strong>We’ve been very vocal about our focus on creative renewal and an important part of that has been attracting the very best talent to ITV Studios. For example, at the end of last year we announced that we were partnering with Glenn Hugill to set up a brand-new label, Possessed TV.<\/p>\n
\n\tLYGO: <\/strong>We have made a number of acquisitions, the most recent of which was Leftfield Entertainment Group. That acquisition made us the largest non-scripted indie in the U.S. Across the ITV Studios U.S. Group we are now working with more than 40 networks and produce around 120 shows. Our U.S. business is now about four times bigger than it was at the start of our Transformation Plan in 2010. Along with Leftfield we also acquired DiGa Vision in the last year and made investments in the digital content businesses Zealot, Indigenous Media and Believe Entertainment. And, of course, they join Gurney, Thinkfactory and High Noon.<\/p>\n
\n\tLYGO: <\/strong>Texas Rising<\/em> is a fantastic example of everything that we look for in a drama: it’s a big, returnable series with a very strong, internationally recognizable cast led by Bill Paxton, Ray Liotta, Olivier Martinez and Brendan Fraser. The backdrop is a historical event that audiences around the world will have some familiarity with, and the period is brought to life with a fantastic script. I think the word “epic” can be overused, but it definitely applies in this case.<\/p>\n
\n\tLYGO: <\/strong>Speaking generally, we are keen to share knowledge across our production businesses. And we try to facilitate this where we can. We hold a regular “creative exchange,” where all our international production teams are represented. The teams share program ideas both new and established. Fairly recently High Noon produced a new format called The Line<\/em> for GSN. The idea was conceived by our ITV Studios Nordic team and was commissioned in the U.S. before it was in its own territory.<\/p>\n
\n\tLYGO: <\/strong>Over the last few years we have acquired several businesses to expand our presence in the Nordics beyond ITV Studios Sweden, and we now have production businesses in Norway, Finland and Denmark all operating under the ITV Studios Nordic banner. <\/p>\n
\n\tLYGO:<\/strong> Our strategy is to grow our international content business and we will continue to look at acquisitions that fit within our strategic and financial criteria. Our objective is businesses that are the right fit, rather than a target size. Our criteria is organizations with a strong creative track record, who own their IP and, as I said earlier, creative talent.<\/p>\n
\n\tLYGO: <\/strong>The depth and breath of our production in the U.K. continues to grow. Our international hit drama Mr Selfridge<\/em> is now on its third series here. We are in production with a brand-new drama, Jekyll & Hyde<\/em>, for ITV. The team has just returned from filming on location in Sri Lanka. And, of course, I mentioned Beowulf<\/em>, which is another significant scripted commission.<\/p>\n