Veteran TV executive, Syd Vinnedge (whose resume includes, among other things, stints as executive producer of "The Price Is Right" for FremantleMedia and as president of All-American Television, the company behind such shows as "Baywatch" and "Family Feud"), and Chuck Thomas and Simone Thorogood, the former international heads of participation TV at FremantleMedia UK (in which role, they created the interactive TV format, "Quizmania"), have launched a new participation/interactive TV company called Pop Monkey Productions. According to the founders, the new company, which is based in Los Angeles, has just secured a development deal with Los Angeles-based ITV Studios, under which the latter has optioned the rights to interactive participation TV formats for key US buyers.
Pop Monkey plans to specialize in interactive TV, branded entertainment and game show formats "focusing on innovative projects that generate additional revenue streams for broadcasters." The company says that it recently sold its first interactive TV format to VH1, describing it as a late-night game show pilot starring Carrie Keagan and Mo Mandel. "We're thrilled and excited to be in business with Syd," Thomas said in a prepared statement. "As the TV business continues to get more competitive and broadcasters look for new revenue streams, we believe our dynamic brand of interactive TV formats where audiences can engage with shows via the Web and their phones are finally about to come of age in the US, just as they have around the rest of the world." Added Vinnedge: "Chuck and Simone are the pioneers of participation TV and it's great to be developing shows with them that embrace the convergence of digital media and traditional TV." In addition to Vinnedge, Thomas and Thorogood, the new company's executive team includes Hugh Wright, former director of development at FremantleMedia and Brighter Pictures.
