Sony Pictures Television Intl. has snapped up 50% of Colombian indie production company Teleset.
Acquisition dovetails with SPTI's expansion strategy for its production group and Teleset's international ambitions.
Teleset produced gameshows "Power of 10" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" for SPTI in Colombia.
It's also an exclusive provider of telenovelas and reality shows to Colombian broadcaster RCN.
"We have some new shows in the pipeline but are not ready to announce them yet," said SPTI Latin America EVP and managing director, T.C. Schultz.
"Teleset will continue to fulfill its obligations with RCN and working with other independent producers in Colombia," said Brendan Fitzgerald, SPTI senior VP of international production.
Founded in 1995, Teleset has developed and produced more than 2,000 hours of scripted and nonscripted programming. These include top-rated telenovelas "La Baby Sister," "El Inutil" (Useless), "El Autentico Rodrigo Leal" (The Real Rodrigo Leal) and "Juegos Prohibidos" (Forbidden Games), which have sold in more than 30 countries.
It also locally produced formats for broadcasters in Colombia, including "Survivor," "Pop Stars," "X Factor," "Poker Face" and "Dancing With the Stars."
SPTI has ramped up its original production of scripted programming in the region with telenovelas including "Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa" (Zorro, the Sword and the Rose) and "Dona Barbara" for Telemundo and "Si me miran tus ojos" (If You Look Into My Eyes) for Venevision in Venezuela.
"The current globalization of the industry and future of television requires that companies like Teleset have access to new markets, focusing on production and content development needs," said Teleset CEO Jose Antonio de Brigard.
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