MGM, Brits bond
Lion licenses pix to ITV, C4 in $40 mil deal
Under the arrangement, MGM has licensed distinct programming packages to each network, with both sharing the broadcast rights to a separate selection of firstrun features and classic library titles -- airing them in exclusive windows.
Also as part of the deal, ITV has bought out the pay TV window to "Tomorrow Never Dies," enabling the network to telecast the film's premiere in the terri-tory, bypassing traditional pay TV windows.
ITV additionally will have access to the entire James Bond library, including the latest Bond film, "The World Is Not Enough," planned for theatrical release in November.
Shared titles
Shared titles under the ITV/Channel Four deal include "The Birdcage," "Get Shorty," "Thelma and Louise," "Moonstruck," "West Side Story," "Raging Bull," "Midnight Cowboy," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "The Pink Panther," among others.
"This creative collaboration with ITV and C4 clearly solidifies MGM's presence in the U.K.'s free TV arena," James Griffiths, president of international TV distribution and MGM Networks, said. "The dynamic U.K. market demands that we continue to aggressively pursue innovative strategies with regard to licensing pacts going forward."
Griffiths said licensing in mature markets like the U.K. is becoming increasingly complex and demands increasingly creative approaches as windows prolifer-ate and new players come onstream.
"And," he added, "the new platforms that are being developed almost inevitably have to come to us as a main supplier because of our library."
Jeremy Boulton, controller of network acquisitions for ITV, and June Dromgoole, head of purchased programs for Channel Four, negotiated the deal on behalf of their respective networks.
Bond's home
"ITV is the British television home of James Bond," Boulton said. "This innovative deal guarantees our audience true television premieres of its best-loved film franchise."
For the upcoming "The World is Not Enough," however, MGM has retained the right to take back the pay TV rights from ITV and sell them to Britain's BSkyB if the satcaster steps up to the plate.
Dromgoole said the deal provides "a distinctive arrangement which will benefit viewers, broadening the arena in which films will be screened."
Channel Four has also picked up digital rights to the titles that it has licensed exclusively.
