Cannes, MIPTV – Metan Development Group (Metan) has inked a deal with Tianjin TV in China to produce and distribute its new series Icons nationally in China, the announcement was made by Larry Namer, president & CEO of Metan. The deal marks Metan’s first co-production with a satellite TV partner. Icons will debut in July 2010 to Chinese audiences. Scheduled to air Fridays at 11 PM on Tianjin Satellite TV and Sundays at 6:30 PM on Tianjin’s Binhai Channel. Tianjin Satellite TV has a national reach of over 600 million people across China with strong emphasis in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, while Binhai Channel has a local reach of 20 million viewers across Tianjin. Metan also holds broadcast rights outside of China for Mandarin-language TV stations, and plans to air the series in the US and other TV markets outside China. Metan is currently in talks with several top Western brands regarding sponsorship opportunities for the series. Icons will also be available on multiple platforms to the 390 million Chinese internet users. The company has plans to partner with several of the country’s top online video platforms, online portals, and social-networking sites to both create new avenues for viewers to watch the series, as well as to provide more depth and interactivity between the audience and the series. Icons will be produced in China at Tianjin’s new state of the art digital studios. Metan’s co-founders Larry Namer and Jean Zhang are executive producers for the series.