ITV buys Finnish indie

Terrestrial broadcaster ITV has continued its policy of reducing its dependency on its home market with the acquisition of Finnish producer Tarinatalo.

Together with the recently acquired Norwegian independent producer Mediacircus, the acquisition provides ITV Studios, which already has a base in Sweden, with a production footprint in three of the Nordic countries.

Tarinatalo was founded in 1997 and specialises in factual entertainment, reality and lifestyle programming. The company is set to produce 50 hours of programming this year across 11 shows ranging from pilot game show "What Was That?" and long-running ratings hit "Antiques, Antiques" on YLE TV1, through to the brand new series of "Dragon's Den" on Nelonen.

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Paul Buccieri, Managing Director of ITV Studios International and President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ITV Studios America, described Tarinatalo as "a terrific fit" and enthused about the "fantastic relationships" the firm has built with Finnish broadcasters.

"It not only has a wonderful portfolio of hit shows but also has a huge number of great ideas in development as well," Buccieri claimed.

The Tarinatalo team will become part of ITV Studios Nordic, and will bring with it experience in creating and selling formats for the international market.

ITV shares down by just under s penny late in the morning trading session at 91.65p

JH