Hong Kong – Hunan Television, the TV and satellite broadcaster in China, and ITV STUDIOS announced a ground-breaking deal to develop and license a series of entertainment and other unscripted formats for original broadcast on Hunan Satellite Television from 2010, reaching more than 58 million viewers domestically. The announcement was made by Ouyang Changlin, president of Hunan Television and Lee Bartlett, MD of ITV STUDIOS. In this landmark television agreement, Hunan TV will license multiple formats over three years. ITV STUDIOS and Hunan TV will also co-develop, create and own these new unscripted formats together. The new programming will be broadcast in primetime from 2010 and will be produced locally by Hunan TV. ITV STUDIOS will represent the worldwide rights outside China for the finished and format versions. ITV and Hunan have successfully collaborated for almost 3 years on the likes of Hunan TV’s version of ITV format Saturday Night Takeaway. ITV STUDIOS’ James Ross says they are looking at producing a minimum of 3 shows per year for 3 years. Ross says this deal is the first that can really be described as a partnership between a Western and a Chinese broadcaster. Ouyang Changlin, president of Hunan Television said, “We are very pleased with this agreement which bring together two major broadcasters. I believe that the collaboration will bring Hunan TV’s entry into the international market one step closer. We look forward to the delivery of the new shows to our audience cross China.”