19 September 2005 :: London-based Fireworks Entertainment is back on the hunt for new programming following its acquisition by the UK’s Content Film this July, and has kicked off the process by picking up the Australian kids drama series Streetsmartz. “A combination of having remained as traders, kept the sales team together and kept the sales flowing, allowed us to pick up Streetsmartz,” said Greg Phillips, president of Fireworks International. Produced by Paul Barron of Great Western Entertainment for Nine Network Australia, Streetsmartz is set against real street life and combines scripted drama with documentary and reality TV techniques. Fireworks will launch the new series at Mipcom, where a key priority for the company will be securing new product and Phillips is paying particular attention to the UK market. “We’re a British company,” he said. “I want very much to source some UK programming. We have to build the place up.” Currently around 90% of the distributor’s 2,000 hours of programming is from North America and includes drama series, kids live-action, miniseries and TV movies, as well as some 70 theatrical movies from Content Film. The company also continues to handle international sales for the Primetime Emmy Awards, and has recently struck a number of additional deals for this year’s show, which will be broadcast live from LA on 18 September. New broadcasters include Germany’s ProSieben, ART TV in Sri Lanka, Sigma Radio TV in Cyprus, Alpha Satellite Television Greece and pay-TV channel Catch On in South Korea. “It gets us a lot of exposure and it really is a big show,” said Phillips. Last year’s shows was a lot more geared towards the foreign market. Its appeal overseas is coming back now.”
Elsewhere, Fireworks has secured multiple deals for the Awards with Living TV in the UK and Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI), which has acquired the show for AXN Japan, Spain and Portugal and also SET Latin America.
