US format veteran Phil Gurin, president and CEO of The Gurin Company, has launched a LA-based global distribution company to represent premium formats from some of the world’s leading producers.
The company is TGC Global Entertainment (TGC GE) and its launch slate consists of entertainment, factual and documentary formats, series and specials.
TGC GE will provide direct access and format representation to major US and European broadcast and cable networks with which the Gurin Company founder has forged close relationships over his career.
In addition, Gurin will leverage his relationships with key English- and Spanish-speaking territories, Europe, MENA and Asia, to create opportunities for third-party independent producers looking to find a global audience for their IP.
TGC GE’s launch slate features primarily third-party formats, documentaries and non-scripted series from both US and international producers, along with original content from his prodco The Gurin Company.
Highlights include Canada’s Ultimate Challenge, a primetime competition event series set to launch on CBC next month, and entertainment formats Fridge Wars and The Singing Bee, both of which have been sold into multiple territories.
Other successful titles include Parking Lot Payday, an original gameshow from HDNet in the US; The History of Criminalistics, a Ukrainian show that explores the science of forensic medicine; and international cooking documentary series Yes Chef.
The slate also includes RTS-nominated Holocaust: The Revenge Plot, produced by Caravan Media/Global Road Entertainment for Channel 4, plus two social-experiment projects — People Vs Puppets, piloted by ABC in the US, and Strangers on a Train, piloted by ITV in the UK.
TGC GE is also shopping the kids’ series Clipheads, which aired on CBBC in the UK, and will work in partnership with Warner Bros International to re-launch the Rose d’Or winning physical gameshow Oh Sit!
The company is currently establishing a global network of specialist sales agents, with particular focus on Europe, Asia, Eastern Europe/CIS, Latin America and North America.
Gurin said today that TGC GE has been created to bridge the widening gap in the US format market between the global entertainment giants and the independent production community, which is finding it increasingly hard to compete with the power and dominance of those giants.
“There’s no independent US-based format distribution company with decades of creative production track record at its heart – TGC GE will address that problem,” he said.
“We want all creators, producers, packaging agents and platforms to know there is a new game in town. With our deep understanding of formats, along with carefully curated factual and premium documentary content, TGC GE can draw on decades of goodwill, not to mention years of commercial and creative experience, to put its independent producer clients and partners first.”
