ITV calls off Weinstein deal

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has reportedly pulled out of a deal to buy The Weinstein Company (TWC)’s TV division.

Harvey Weinstein

The broadcaster, which has been acquiring production firms on both sides of the Atlantic recently, had been looking at buying TWC’s TV unit for up to US$950m.

With his company known for Oscar-winning films such as this year’s Imitation Game, Harvey Weinstein has prioritised TV in recent years with shows including Project Runway on Lifetime and Mob Wives on VH1.

On the scripted side, the US-based firm has been commissioned to make a second season of epic adventure series Marco Polo for Netflix in the US and is developing a War & Peace miniseries for the BBC with Simon Vaughan’s Lookout Point and BBC Worldwide.

It is understood ITV pulled out of negotiations after feeling that TWC’s TV unit was too intertwined with its film business.

ITV and TWC both declined to comment.

The purchase would have been the latest in a string of US acquisitions by ITV. Recent high-value purchases include John de Mol’s Talpa Media, Pawn Stars outfit Leftfield Pictures and Teen Wolf producer DiGa Vision.