CSL
10-19-2006, 01:00 PM
Lost - Sky snaps up US drama series
The UK rights to the US drama Lost, which launched the careers of Evangeline Lilly and Matthew Fox, have been snapped up by Sky for an estimated £600,000 to £800,000 an episode.
Channel 4 premiered the show last year after buying up the exclusive rights to the first two series.
But ratings have dipped from 4.1 million in the first series to 2.8 million in the second, with some episodes attracting only 1.9 million viewers.
It is thought that Channel 4 was not prepared to match Sky's offer for series three and four of the show, which has been a global hit.
Channel 4 are thought to have paid around £200,000 an episode when they first brought Lost to the UK.
Sky One's director of programming Richard Woolfe said: "We're absolutely thrilled to bring Lost to Sky One.
"The series has defined TV drama over the last two years and has been the envy of every network.
"Today's audiences demand more quality and flexibility than ever before, so we are intending to use various digital media platforms to make Lost available to our customers when they want and how they want, ensuring that they never miss the mysterious goings on of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.
"This outstanding series will bring even more entertainment to Sky customers and demonstrate our strengths in multi-platform content and innovation.
Channel 4 is replacing Lost with Ugly Betty, another US hit, this autumn.
:roll:
The UK rights to the US drama Lost, which launched the careers of Evangeline Lilly and Matthew Fox, have been snapped up by Sky for an estimated £600,000 to £800,000 an episode.
Channel 4 premiered the show last year after buying up the exclusive rights to the first two series.
But ratings have dipped from 4.1 million in the first series to 2.8 million in the second, with some episodes attracting only 1.9 million viewers.
It is thought that Channel 4 was not prepared to match Sky's offer for series three and four of the show, which has been a global hit.
Channel 4 are thought to have paid around £200,000 an episode when they first brought Lost to the UK.
Sky One's director of programming Richard Woolfe said: "We're absolutely thrilled to bring Lost to Sky One.
"The series has defined TV drama over the last two years and has been the envy of every network.
"Today's audiences demand more quality and flexibility than ever before, so we are intending to use various digital media platforms to make Lost available to our customers when they want and how they want, ensuring that they never miss the mysterious goings on of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.
"This outstanding series will bring even more entertainment to Sky customers and demonstrate our strengths in multi-platform content and innovation.
Channel 4 is replacing Lost with Ugly Betty, another US hit, this autumn.
:roll: