Zinc Media announces £5.1m of new TV commissions

Television and multimedia content producer Zinc Media Group announced a number of new commissions totalling £5.1m on Wednesday, including two returning series and a new repeatable series.

The AIM-traded firm said its Manchester-based Blakeway North unit had won two new series for Channel 5, and a new BBC commission, worth £1.4m in total.

It said the new programmes included the repeating series 'Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun' for Channel 5, which was returning for its fifth series.

Bargain Loving Brits, which the company described as a ratings hit, followed the lives of Britons who had left the UK for a new cut-price life on the Costa Del Sol.

The group's other commission for Channel 5, which was a new series, had the potential to develop into a long returning strand once the first series aired.

Its Tern TV unit, meanwhile, had won commissions for BBC1, Channel 4, Channel 5, More 4 and BBC Scotland totalling £1.5m, including the second series of Great British Car Journeys for More 4.

Zinc Media's London-based documentary and current affairs label Brook Lapping also announced £2.2m of commissions for clients including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, a feature documentary for the Smithsonian channel's Black History Month, and two documentaries for the BBC which had attracted international investment from America and Europe.

“This slate of new programme commissions across the Zinc group provides a solid start to the 2020 financial year and are particularly positive for our client count, as we are working with all the main UK broadcasters,” said Zinc Media chief executive officer Mark Browning.

“I am encouraged by the three new series, particularly that two are returning, as these provide the backbone for potential future growth.”