T Group teams with Znak&Jones

T Group Productions, the US company behind Storage Hunters, has crossed the Atlantic to enter a coproduction partnership with fledgling indie Znak&Jones.

Under the deal, T Group will join forces with the London office of Znak&Jones on both original and US formats to pitch directly to UK broadcasters, as part of its strategy to prioritise international production.

Znak&Jones, run by former Zodiak USA CEO Natalka Znak and ex-Talpa Media USA boss Simon Jones, has offices in LA, London and Atlanta.

The new venture has already secured a pilot deal with UK commercial broadcaster ITV for gameshow format Name That Tune and has projects in development with US cablenets AMC, CMT and Xbox.

The firm also has a distribution partnership with Sky Vision, the international distribution arm of satcaster Sky, which has made an investment in the company.

Znak previously created and produced UK hits including I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, Hell’s Kitchen, and Love Island, and Jones was responsible for setting up American Idol, establishing the format’s worldwide brand and serving as exec producer on the series.

T Group has had success in the UK with finished format sales such as Storage Hunters, which airs on UKTV-owned Dave. The firm’s Mystery Diners format also shows on Food Network UK, having been recently renewed for a fifth season.