ITV rides 
out to take on High 
Noon for 
£16.7m

High Noon makes programmes such as Cake Boss – a behind-the-scenes look at a New Jersey bakery – and Tough Love, a dating “bootcamp” show.

The company, founded in 1997 by TV executive Jim Berger, now supplies 18 US cable networks.

ITV is buying a 60 per cent stake for its initial $25.65m outlay, with a top-up payment due in 2015 based on the performance of the company, and an option to buy the remainder of the business later.

High Noon made a profit of $5.7m (£3.7m) in 2012.

ITV’s acquisition follows its £18m deal last month to buy London-based producer The Garden, maker of fly-on-the-wall documentaries such as 24 Hours In A&E and Inside Claridge’s.

In December it bought a controlling stake in Los Angeles-based reality TV firm Gurney Productions for $40m (£24.7m).

ITV chief executive Adam Crozier said: “A key part of our transformation plan is to create a strong international content business and this is a further significant step forward in achieving that goal.

“High Noon Entertainment’s range of programmes, from character-based reality shows to game shows and action series, are a great fit for our existing successful US business, ITV Studios America.”

A spokesman said programmes produced by High Noon would not necessarily be shown on the ITV network and the purpose of the acquisition was “bolstering our own production business”.

ITV has been boosting its studio arm with original content it can sell around the globe.

The division grew revenues by £100m to £712m last year following the success of programmes such as Titanic and Vera for ITV and Shetland for the BBC.

Mr Crozier has made overseas growth a key part of his revival plan for the group since joining as chief executive in 2010, with its production arm in particular seen as central to its recovery and reduced reliance on volatile advertising markets.

ITV shares have surged over the past year on early signs of success, with its last trading update revealing that ITV Studios should make profits of more than £100m this year thanks to ratings winners such as I’m a Celebrity.

Mr Crozier has been pushing the production business hard as a weak UK economy dampens demand for TV advertising.

“The great thing about having such strong organic growth is we don’t feel that we have to chase revenues, ” he said at a media conference in Spain at the end of last year.