MUMBAI: Wayne Garvie has joined Sony Pictures Television as chief creative officer for international production.

He will be responsible for driving creative activity at the company‘s production studio outside of Los Angeles and global network of production companies and joint ventures.

SPT?s international production business covers Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the US.

It runs wholly-owned SPT production companies in Russia, Germany, France, Lebanon, Egypt, Dubai and Miami.

The business also operates joint-venture production companies in the UK (Gogglebox Entertainment, Victory Television and Silver River), France (Starling), Netherlands (Tuvalu Media), Russia (Lean-M), Italy (Toro), China (Huaso), Brazil (Floresta), Colombia (Teleset) and the US (Embassy Row).

Garvie will be responsible for identifying potential hits at SPT‘s companies outside its Los Angeles studios.

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television has inked three new distribution deals in the Middle East region with local broadcasters in Egypt, Qatar and Dubai.

The multi-year deals, brokered by SPT?s recently opened distribution office in Dubai, license broadcast rights to feature films from the Sony Pictures library across a wide variety of genres and decades.

For the first time, SPT has made content distribution deals with Al Rayyan in Qatar and the Egyptian-based television network, Rotana, which will broadcast the features on its multi channel platform.

Meanwhile in Dubai, SPT has confirmed a new distribution deal with national broadcaster Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), who will air their selection on Dubai One.

Announcing the agreements, SPT executive director, distribution, for the Middle East Ziad Yaghi said, "As a committed participant on a pan-regional level, SPT is now also establishing new relationships at a national level as the sector expands. With many thousands of feature films and television series, the SPT library is well placed to meet growing Middle East demand."

Headed by Yaghi and based in Dubai, SPT?s distribution office opened in October 2011 and reports into SPT?s regional EMEA headquarters in London.

Its remit is to expand SPT?s distribution business in the region, particularly with the rapidly expanding number of local and regional broadcasters in each territory, and to harness new business in the fast growing digital sector.

SPT?s Dubai distribution office also works with SPT?s London office to manage the studio?s pan regional output deals with OSN and MBC.

MUMBAI: MBC Group has signed a contract with Talpa and Sony Pictures Television ("SPT") Arabia which gives it the exclusive rights to broadcast the international TV format ?The Voice? on multi-platforms, across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

SPT Arabia, the producer who represents Talpa formats in
the region, will co-produce the show in its local adaptation.

MBC Group Group TV Director Ali Jaber said: "We are pleased to announce this multi-year agreement today, in our capacity as the exclusive broadcaster of this international format that has gained much popularity and viewership across the world."

MBC, thus, offers three strong talent show formats in the region across multi-platforms.

"Talent shows have positively affected the TV viewing habits, patterns and trends in the region, while further enhancing the family viewing experience and raising the levels of engagement with TV content, through social media
and other platforms," said Jaber.

The Voice is a blockbuster. Said SPT Arabia president Ziad Kebbi, "We?re very excited to co-produce "The Voice". In particular, social media and digital extension will play a major role in our production activity; both key elements in uniting the audience across various territories."

Auditions for "The Voice" are being organised in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kuwait, Tunisia, Lebanon and Morocco, and others. The show will broadcast from MBC?s studios in Beirut- Lebanon soon.

?The Voice? consists of three phases: a Blind Audition, a Battle Phase, and Live performance shows. Four coaches, all famous musicians, will choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process.

Each coach has the length of the auditionee?s performance to decide if he or she wants that singer on his or her team; if two or more judges want the same singer then the singer gets to choose which coach they want to work with.

Each team of singers will be mentored and developed by their coach. In the second stage, coaches will have two of their team members? battle against each other by singing the same song, with the coach choosing which team member will advance to the next stage.

In the final phase, the remaining contestants will compete against each other in live broadcasts. The television audience will help to decide who moves on. When one team member remains for each coach, the contestants will compete against each other in the finale.

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has sold the format for its magazine talk show, ?The Dr. Oz Show? to Colors.

This marks the first time a US talk show format will be produced in India and the first formatted medical show to air in the region. Details of the Indian broadcast are yet to be announced.

Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, "Acquiring the format for ?The Dr. Oz Show? is our attempt to bring to the Indian audiences a successful and useful show that creates awareness on health and wellness - something that has not been on air in India. The show will be called "All Is Well" and will connect with our audiences by showcasing the physical and emotional impact of illnesses on not only their own lives but also the lives of their family and friends."

Apart from Colors for the Indian market, SPT has also sold the rights of the show to TV Romania (TVR) for the Romanian market.

With the development, the show format reaches 10 territories around the world. Other territories to develop a series based on the talk show format include Brazil (TV Record), Colombia (RCN), Chile (Mega TV), China (Zhejiang TV), Russia (Rossiya), Armenia (Shant TV), France (TF1) and the Middle East (MBC1). Meanwhile, the print version of The Dr. Oz Show can be seen across five continents and has been sold in 112 countries.

In Romania, TV Romania (TVR) has ordered 100 episodes of the show, marking the first time the format will be produced in the territory. The announcement was made by SPT president, international distribution Keith Le Goy.

In Romania, the local version of ?The Dr. Oz Show? will begin airing next year.

?The Dr. Oz Show? is a magazine talk show full of audience participation and viewer interaction, with its highly qualified medical host and team of specialist advisers serving up daily plans and challenges for ordinary people.

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has announced the opening of a local sales office in the Middle East. This new office will be responsible for licensing films and television series from Sony Pictures? distribution catalogue as well as finished, local content produced by SPT?s production company in the region, SPT Arabia.

Based in Dubai, the distribution office will report directly into SPT?s regional Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters in London. Heading up this new office will be Ziad Yaghi, who is appointed executive director, sales, for the Middle East.

SPT?s other local distribution offices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa region include London, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Madrid and Munich.

Yaghi will be responsible for SPT?s distribution activity across the Middle East, in particular expanding business with local broadcasters in each territory as well as managing existing output deals with regional broadcasters. He will report to SPT senior VP, sales, Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus Damian Newton.

SPT senior EVP EMEA distribution Stuart Baxter said, "Recent years have seen a boom in new TV channel launches across the Middle East, offering a real growth market that SPT?s distribution business can thrive in. This new office is part of our ongoing commitment to get closer to our clients and gain a greater understanding of their needs. Yaghi brings impressive Middle East experience and, under his leadership, I?m certain this new base is set to become an important asset to our business."

Prior to joining SPT, Yaghi was Dubai Entertainment and Media Organisation director legal. He has also served as Dubai Film Market director and founder, Tecom Authority director media regulatory affairs and Orbit legal counsel and director of acquisitions VOD.

MUMBAI: UTV Action, the dubbed Hollywood action movie channel from the UTV Group, has entered into a multi-year movie syndication deal with Warner Brothers International Television Distribution that adds a significant number of movie premieres to both UTV Action and UTV Action Telugu?s library.

The two-year deal involves a minimum of 60 movies for UTV Action and 50 titles for UTV Action Telugu.

"We have signed a long term deal with WB, which has a minimum commitment of 60 movies for UTV Action and 50 movies for UTV Action Telugu. It is a two-year deal with option of renewal. It gives us exclusive Hindi and Telugu language rights of the movies of WB," UTV Action and UTV Action Telugu programming head Manasi Sapre told Indiantelevision.com.

Sapre added that the deal with WB is very important and significant for the channel as WB is known for some of the best action movies.

The list of movies include The Lord of the Rings (triology), The Dark Knight, Shoot Them Up, Most Wanted, Cradle to The Grave, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Blue Sea, Golden Compass, Get Smart Jason X among others.

Sapre claims that the channel is making sizeable investments for the movie acquisitions while keeping in mind the RoI (return on investments). "We have our inventory fully sold. The RoI is very good; that?s why many Hollywood studios are looking at India as a lucrative market for dubbed movies," Sapre said.

The deal includes first airing after being shown on HBO and WB. "UTV Action has broad based the market and we reach out to a wider set of audience. The channel?s active movie library has around 350 titles for airing per year, while total titles are 450-500," Sapre said.

UTV Action was launched in January 2010. Last year, the channel had entered into a three-year movie deal with Sony Pictures Television (SPT) for the exclusive Hindi language telecast rights of 70 action films of SPT.

UTV Action Telugu, which was launched in June 2011, has a library of around 250 titles.