Ten Alps buys Graef's indie
- Published: 01 August 2008 10:43
- Author: Robin Parker
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- Last Updated: 01 August 2008 10:51
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Ten Alps is back on the TV acquisition trail after buying Roger Graef's factual indie Films of Record for an undisclosed sum.
The deal is Ten Alps' first purchase of an TV production company in more than four years and will see Films of Record's senior team, including Jane Bevan and Nick Poyntz, join Ten Alps' two existing TV brands, Brook Lapping and Blakeway, in their Kentish Town production offices.
"We stayed out of the TV acquisitions market whilst it was inflated from 2004 to 2007, and now we are in again," said Ten Alps chief executive Alex Connock.
"We aim to grow TV alongside print and online - since in the age of the iPlayer and proven mass demand for online TV, customers want their projects multi-platform."
Connock said Films of Record's appeal lied in its observational documentary heritage, which recently extended onto the web with the ITV.com series Web Lives.
"They have a skill for accessing ground-breaking stories, and considerable online TV acumen," said Connock.
Films of Record was founded by Graef in 1979 and has produced documentaries ranging from Graef's Dispatches film Searching for Madeleine to BBC2/BBC4/PSB co-production Malaria.
Its current production slate includes After The Break, a BBC documentaries series that will follow cases going through the Family Courts, ITV documentary Planning Wars and a Cutting Edge for Channel 4 called The 9-11 Faker.
"We have been expanding over the years bringing our experience of discreet access filming to areas such as current affairs, science, business, the arts and recent history," said Graef.
"Joining Ten Alps will give us the breadth of support to sustain and build on our online TV expansion. I am also confident that my new colleagues share the same values that Films of Record has stood for over the last thirty years. That was a crucial part of our decision to join them."
