Media Scribbler

Not sure on the number in the headline, but I know it’s pretty high up, when you think of the Brit Mod invasion, and the Brit reality-show craze where the face of network TV changed drastically, or even just the fact that my dear mama on her rural Deep-South farm not only knows who Amy Winehouse is, but she worries about her. As much as Americans love to say we’re the best at everything, we do seem to appropriate a lot from the country that some of our ancestors fought to be free from.

It’s very interesting to see from Variety that two of British TV’s big powerhouses, television network ITV and reality powerhouse Granada America (actually a division of ITV), have bought big stakes in American production companies (20th Century Fox TV and Electric Farm Entertainment, respectively.)

Electric Farm is a relative new kid on the block; a partnership with longtime Hollywood exec Jeff Sagansky, producer Stan Rogow (“Lizzie McGuire”) and “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” writers Brent Friedman. The company came from a tradition of working on lower-budget projects with a built-in audience that will seek them out and end up with a profitable product. Which is probably why their Jon Heder webvid “Woke Up Dead” was a pretty great fit for the Internet, the home of ubergeeks who have gotten over Web ads.

Which begs the question — could ITV and Granada America, who have made most of their US bucks remaking their British reality faves “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Celebrity Fit Club” into all-American hits, be looking to find ways to give new life to original ITV hits like “I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” (anyone actually remember watching the failed American version) or “Jeremy Kyle” or “Saturday Night Takeaway” online?

After all, the Discovery Network has done well with BBC America’s reairings of BBC hits like “The Office” (UK version), “Jekyll” and the sister shows “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood“. And since the prospects of another prolonged Hollywood strike are looming a little less, the big networks are probably a bit leery after losses like E!’s reairing of the original Katie and Peter show and the sadly mispromoted and mis-scheduled “Wanna Bet?”

Since there are plenty of Americans who loudly proclaim their loves of older (well, relatively) shows like “Coupling” and “Father Ted” (not actually a BBC show, but BBCA bought the rights and used to do reruns) and fanatically follow “Doctor Who”, why not give them some options online for both new and older stuff “(like “Dame Edna”)? And produce new programs that would be available online on both continents, using IPs to determine which advertising to run with each user?

Pure speculation, really. But as a truly worldwide web of file sharing becomes harder to control, does it make more sense to protect the rights for possible resell or DVD profits, or to embrace new media as a way to really open a global marketplace?

(Photos: Amazon)

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