For Broadcast April 02, 2008

Sony Pictures Television International has been on a buying spree recently and it's set to continue.

Last week it put up a small amount of seed capital in an entertainment format-producing indie set up by two ex-Lion TV execs. At the other end of the spectrum, Sony acquired Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?-owner 2WayTraffic for up to £137.5m earlier in the month.

The studio has been a global distributor of TV programmes for years (check out its booth at MipTV next week- it's big). And since 2004, Sony has made investments in European production companies, including a stake in Lis Mudoch's Shine Entertainment in 2005.

But in the last 18 months, Sony has caught the unscripted bug in a big way. Unscripted programming can be much, much bigger than scripted, because it travels better- think Pop Idol. The 2WayTraffic purchase was all about expanding the Sony toolkit: 2Way is an interactive, cross-platform exploitation machine -not an expertise that Sony had inhouse.

Of course, Sony is not alone is recognising the trends, so it's running into other buying monsters from the biggest indies: Endemol, All3Media and Fremantle; to studio rival Universal; and even ITV as Dawn Airey works to build up ITV's globally-exploitable programming assets. Just this week, the former boss of EMI's recorded music division Alain Levy and the former Endemol France boss Stephane Courbit were reported to be looking to buy up producers across Europe.

Sony's size can be a problem (perhaps why it couldn't move quickly enough to buy Who Wants to be a Millionaire? from Celador before 2Way Traffic did?) but size can also be an asset, especially as digital exploitation becomes a key part of the business. Sony is also Playstation and Sony Ericsson mobile phones.

And for producers itching to get out on their own or indies looking for some cash for development? With all these buyers hungry for IP assets, prices are likely going to rise. Some advice? If Sony rings, take the call.