22 May 2014 07:00
DCD Media Plc
("DCD Media" or the "Group")
New Contracts
DCD Media wins primetime ITV commission
Independent TV producer DCD Media is pleased to announce it has won a commission for a new primetime series of the comedy game show Celebrity Squares for ITV and that it has won a tender to represent the prestigious Open University programming catalogue internationally.
Celebrity Squares
September Films Ltd, a DCD Media group company, has won a commission to co-produce with GroupM Entertainment a new primetime version of the comedy game show Celebrity Squares for ITV. The series will generate revenue of £2.2 million for DCD Media and will be aired later in the summer.
Hosted by Warwick Davis, the classic entertainment show features A-list celebrity stars as panellists in the initial run of seven shows which will be produced at ITV studios by DCD Media's Executive Producer Bob Massie and GroupM Entertainment's Abigail Adams.
Celebrity Squares is a format of the legendary comedy game show Hollywood Squares from CBS Studios International and is based on the classic noughts and crosses theme laced with quick wit and repartee. A celebrity guest inhabits each square and contestants are asked to guess whether the celebrity will be able to answer a question put to them by the host.
David Craven, CEO of DCD Media today commented, "The show's concept is an iconic favourite and viewers are responding well to exciting and innovative ways of producing primetime game show classics. Warwick Davis is an excellent choice of host who will create a highly entertaining dynamic with the panellists."
Celebrity Squares, originally hosted by Bob Monkhouse in the 1970s and revived again in the 1990s, has traditionally enjoyed long runs with a popular list of celebrity panellists.
Bob Massie commented, "September Films has a track record of creating engaging content and this series will be a welcome addition to our screens."
Timeweave Limited, one of DCD Media's largest shareholders, is providing September Films with a short term £2.4m unsecured loan to fund the production and recoverable VAT, to be repaid by 11 August 2014. Under the terms of the loan, DCD expects to pay Timeweave a total of £70,000 for interest, arrangement fee and costs. The Independent Director, David Green, considers, having consulted finnCap as nominated adviser to the Company, that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as its shareholders are concerned.
Open University
DCD Media has won a tender to represent the highly reputable Open University programming catalogue in global markets through its Rights management arm, DCD Rights. The significant deal will boost DCD Rights' portfolio with more than 188 hours of BBC-produced, high calibre and entertaining factual content as well as a further 40 hours of new programming over a two year period.
Many Open University programmes are primetime ratings winners, including two series of Coast, the award-winning BBC Two series which celebrates Britain's dramatic coastline and Bang Goes the Theory, a magazine-style series which makes sense of the science behind headline discoveries, currently successfully airing on BBC One.
David Craven added: "While it is encouraging that we are winning new commissions and continue to grow the rights arm of DCD Media; we still anticipate a few hurdles before we transition to a robust business."
For further information please contact:
DCD Media plc
Lily Sida-Murray
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8563 9393
Lily.Sida-Murray@dcdmedia.co.uk
finnCap
Stuart Andrews or Charlotte Stranner
Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 0500
DCD Media plc is a large UK and US based independent television production and distribution group. The Group comprises 6 production companies working across all non-fiction genres on both sides of the Atlantic, from primetime documentary, factual, factual entertainment and reality to drama documentary.
September Films is a producer of factual entertainment, reality, formats and documentaries with offices in London and Los Angeles. Founded in 1992 the company has since produced over 2,000 hours of primetime television on both sides of the Atlantic. September Films' most recent programming notably includes 6 seasons of A&E's hit non-fiction series, 'Billy The Exterminator', now a household name in America, hit reality wedding series 'Bridezillas', WEtv's flagship show which totals 10 Seasons and 198 hours; the ITV1 Saturday night series 'Penn & Teller: Fool Us', presented by Jonathan Ross; and 'Richard Hammond's Blast Lab', the BAFTA-winning children's' game show for CBBC, BBC One and BBC Two.