Warner Bros. Signs Partnership Agreement With MIPFormats 2012

CANNES, France, Oct. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Warner Bros. International Television Distribution has concluded an agreement with Reed MIDEM for the US major to be the exclusive sponsor of the MIPFormats 2012 Fresh Talent Pitch, it was announced today by Andrew Zein, Senior Vice President, Creative Format Development and Sales, Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) and Laurine Garaude, Director of Reed MIDEM's Television Division.

Under the terms of the partnership, for the winner of the MIPFormats 2012 Fresh Talent Pitch, WBITVP will commit to spending up to euro 25,000 to develop the project via one of its stable of production companies, with an eye toward developing the winning entry as a television project.

The Fresh Talent Pitch is a competition for companies with innovative concepts for new, non-scripted entertainment formats. The 3rd annual MIPFormats will run in Cannes on 30-31 March 2012, ahead of MIPTV (1-4 April 2012).

"We've been working with the best in the format business for many years and recognise that every great show starts with an idea. We are committed to seeking to look for, and work with, the widest and strongest range of creative talent and projects we can," said Warner's Andrew Zein. "The Fresh Talent Pitch is an extraordinary opportunity for established and new producers to pitch original new format ideas in front of an exceptional international gathering of format producers. We are delighted to join forces with MIPFormats to support the pitch competition, discover the next new formats and invest financially in the winning project."

"Warner Bros. support for the 2012 Fresh Talent Pitch takes the up-coming 3rd edition of MIPFormats to a whole new level," underlined Reed MIDEM's Laurine Garaude. "The reputation and outreach of a Hollywood major will encourage creative newcomers from the next generation of media producers around the world to connect with the industry and enter the big league in format production. We're truly excited at having this opportunity to work with Warner on this project."

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ABOUT WARNER BROS. INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION

In 2009, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution announced the formation of Warner Bros. International Television Production. In 2010, WBITVP acquired a majority stake in Shed Media, one of the UK's largest and most successful independent production companies, with operations in both the UK and the US, and in September 2011, WBITVP acquired a majority stake in BlazHoffski Holding B.V., a leading independent television producer The Netherlands and Belgium. These acquisitions marked significant steps in the Company's goal to become a leading player in the production of local programming in major territories around the world through the establishment and acquisition of production companies. The companies' mandates are to develop original local programming on a market by market basis and create locally produced versions of formats and IP owned by the group, such as "The Bachelor", "Super Nanny", "Who Do You Think You Are" and "H8R."

ABOUT REED MIDEM

Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors.

Reed Exhibitions is the world's leading events organiser, with over 460 events in 36 countries covering 44 industry sectors. In 2010 Reed brought together over seven million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 34 fully staffed offices.

SOURCE Reed MIDEM