Michael Davies is selling his Embassy Row television and digital production company to Sony Pictures Television (SPT), which will further expand Sony’s production and distribution of non-fiction programming. Financial terms were not revealed.
Founder Davies is best known as the guy who brought “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” to the US at ABC, although that is not part of this deal. Davies left Disney/ABC in 1999 to become an independent producer. He created Embassy Row to bring international shows to the US and adapt them for American audiences, along with creating program formats to distribute globally.
SPT expects to basically expand on that concept. “Embassy Row will bring formats to the United States, create new formats to distribute globally and take advantage of the vast resources in the Sony Pictures library,” the deal announcement stated.
"Michael is an incredibly savvy producer who was an architect of the alternative series business. He has a unique understanding of formats and how to make these shows work in network, cable and syndication." said SPT President Steve Mosko.
Embassy Row is currently in production on two television series with SPT – "The Newlywed Game" for GSN and "Make My Day," a hidden-camera comedy format from Monkey in the UK, for TV Land. In addition, they are producing six pilots/specials for various broadcast and cable networks including "Fashionality," a pop culture and fashion panel show for Bravo, and "Hogs and Heifers," a docu-series for Oxygen.
