How the US is changing the shape of British TV – key deals

Last night Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham blasted the US for buying up British TV companies while arrogantly lecturing them on what they should be doing.

 

“In recent years we’ve seen a parade of Americans standing up here at the MacTaggart telling us how things ought to be done. But, how do you explain the number of US entities queuing up to buy our producers and now, our broadcasters?,” he said during the keynote MacTaggart speech at the annual Edinburgh TV Festival. 

 

“Doesn’t this suggest that, maybe, as with our gun laws and health system, it’s us who are showing them how it ought to be done? 

 

 

“In just a few months we have seen a spate of deals that will reshape our industry and alter where decisions get made and by whom,” he added. 

 

This year has certainly seen a flurry of mega-acquisitions. 

 

Most recently US cable company Liberty Group has bought a 6.4 per cent stake in ITV, in a deal worth £481m. 

 

Liberty Group has been one of the more acquisitive US companies, and has hoovered up a number of other businesses. 

 

Back in May, along with Discovery Communications it bought All3Media for £550m, in a 50-50 joint venture.  Last year the corporation struck a $16bn (£10.2bn) deal to buy UK cable and broadband business Virgin Media.  

 

But Liberty is not the only American buying its way into British broadcasting. 

 

Viacom, owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, confirmed a £450m deal for Channel 5 in May, making it a major player in the UK's free-to-air TV market. 

 

That same month Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox entered an agreement with the private equity owner of Endemol (which has brought us Big Brother, Deal or No Deal and Pointless, among countless others) to merge the production company with his own Shine Group, maker of Masterchef. Estimates say the joint venture would be vast. 

 

Endemol’s global turnover was £1bn last year, while Shine’s revenue was £510m in 2013. Core Media is privately owned and its finances are less publically available, but it was purchased by Apollo in 2011 for £303m ($509m).  

 

Of course this is not a new phenomenon – this summer saw the rebranding of Shed Media to Warner Bros TV Productions UK, four years after the US giant acquired 55.75 per cent of the Waterloo Road indie for around £100m. 

 

And it looks set to continue. Trade publication Broadcast reports Discovery will continue its aggressive acquisition strategy and "is weighing up further European deals with a particular focus on content". Watch this space.