Warner Horizon Television And Talpa Media Team Up For Format Adaptation In The U.S.

(February 18, 2010 – Burbank, CA and Laren, the Netherlands) – Talpa Media, the Dutch holding company owned by media entrepreneur John de Mol, and Warner Horizon Television (WHTV), the U.S.-based alternative and cable series production unit of the Warner Bros. Television Group, are teaming up to develop new television series for the U.S. television marketplace, based upon successful formats created and owned by Talpa. The joint announcement was made today by Talpa’s John de Mol and Peter Roth, President, Warner Bros. Television, who also oversees Warner Horizon Television for the Studio. Under terms of the agreement, WHTV will have the exclusive right to develop and produce new programming, jointly with Talpa, for cable and broadcast networks in the United States, based upon reality and game show formats created by Talpa which have already been telecast in the Netherlands and other countries. This initiative will capitalize upon the strengths of both companies, giving Talpa an entrée into a new marketplace for its expansive slate of programming in combination with WHTV’s established development and production expertise in the U.S. WHTV is one of the leading producers of alternative programming for network and cable, as well as scripted series for cable, in the U.S., with such long-running hits as “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” franchises. It has produced series for all four major U.S. broadcasters, as well as The CW and cable networks such as TNT, MTV, TV Land, E! Entertainment Television and more. Current formats available in Talpa’s collection as of first quarter 2010 include “Dating in the Dark” (recently renewed for a second season in the U.S. on the ABC Television Network), “The Golden Cage,” “Viper’s Nest,” “Pretty Smart,” “Guesstimation,” “I Love My Country,” “Divided” and “Know Your Nation.” For more information on Talpa’s formats, please log on to http://www.talpa.tv/formats/all. For Talpa Media, the pact with WHTV continues the company’s strategy to establish relationships with renowned production companies in interesting television markets around the globe, aimed at exploiting its formats and finished product. In December 2009, Talpa announced a deal with Shine France for the French market. About Talpa Media Group Talpa Media, based in Laren, the Netherlands, is the holding firm that comprises John de Mol’s media activities. The company has its focus on several parts of the international media industry. With Talpa Content the group operates its own creative development unit aimed at formats for television and multimedia concepts. Talpa Productions is the group’s own TV production company. Talpa Content creates, develops and distributes TV programming formats and multimedia concepts. The primary focus is on developing content for the TV stations of RTL Nederland. Talpa Distribution is dedicated to the worldwide licensing of Talpa Content's formats and finished series. When it comes to the free to air platforms radio and TV, Talpa Media Group is a shareholder in RTL Nederland (www.rtl.nl). Besides this, Talpa Media operates its own radio branch and the music division Talpa Music (www.talpamusic.com). In Autumn 2007 Talpa took a substantial stake in the French company Brainbox, which creates formats for television and other platforms (www.brainboxtv.net). In the United States Talpa Media operates a hundred percent American creative department called Talpa Content USA (www.talpausa.com). About Warner Horizon Television Warner Horizon Television (WHTV) is one of the entertainment industry’s fastest-growing television companies, specializing in the creation of scripted series for the cable marketplace, and primetime reality shows for both network and cable. Founded in 2006, this second production entity allows the Warner Bros. Television Group to expand its programming offerings and explore creative options made possible under a new business model. Current series produced by WHTV include unscripted programs such as “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew,” “High School Reunion,” “True Beauty” and more, as well as scripted shows such as “Dark Blue” and the forthcoming “Rubicon,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “Delta Blues” [working title] and “Rizzoli & Isles” [working title], among others. # # #