MUMBAI: The Ronnie Screwvala-promoted production house UTV Asia hopes to sell and syndicate its two international co-productions Infinite Darcy and Bollywood Road at this year's Mipcom - the world's top film and programme market for television.
A company release informs that the pilots of the two shows are ready and previewing at Mipcom. UTV and their co-production partners say they have received good initial responses to the shows.
UTV also plans to forge co-productions in non-fiction programming with some UK and European producers and broadcasters, the release stated. In the past, UTV has produced non-fiction for CNN, BBC, Star, as well as some Canadian productions.
UTV's major agenda at Cannes also includes finding partners for what it says is its upcoming Kids Channel in South Asia and acquiring programming formats for the channel. Interestingly, Screwvala in an interview to indiantelevision.com in mid-July, had said that he was still a year away from seriously looking at a kids channel. "Diwali 2004 is when we want to start kindling it. Once we really have our plans in place it won't take more than three to six months after that to kickstart the channel, Screwvala had said at the time.
According to the release, UTV is also in negotiations for fiction, drama and studio-based formats with some broadcasters in Italy, Spain and South America.
Screwvala was quoted in the release as saying, "We are in active discussions with many in these spaces, and its good to meet all of them at one venue. We hope to get a step near finalizing many of what we are looking for, and even close a few of these discussions."
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