Sony Pictures Television nabs Silver River

LONDON -- Sony Pictures Television has taken a majority stake in Blighty's Silver River Prods., and is set to make further acquisitions in the territory."The U.K. is a critical market and SPT needs to be stronger here," said SPT president of international production Andrea Wong."The earlier round of consolidation means a lot of the key players have already been acquired, and finding the right companies is a challenge -- but you'll see us be aggressive."SPT already owns two U.K. production shingles, Gogglebox and Victory Television. Silver River, which is led by Daisy Goodwin, produces a wide range of primetime shows for British broadcasters, mainly reality and docu skeins. Recent productions include "The Town That Never Retired," "Antiques Uncovered" and "Off By Heart Shakespeare" for the BBC; "Sergeant on Spike" for ITV; and "Hidden Talent" and "Elizabeth Taylor -- The Queen of Diamonds" for Channel 4. SPT's distribution arm will now represent Silver River programs and formats internationally. Goodwin, who was formerly chief exec, now becomes prexy of Silver River, and remains a minority shareholder.The value of the deal was undisclosed. Contact Leo Barraclough at leo.barraclough@variety.com