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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production Mass media |
| Founded | 1988; 36 years ago (1988) |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom New York City, United States |
| Key people | Tina Flintoff and Nick Hornby (joint CEOs) |
| Parent | All3Media (2010–present) |
| Divisions | Optomen Entertainment |
| Website | www |
Optomen is an independent television production company part of All3Media, with Optomen Television Ltd. for the United Kingdom and Optomen Productions Inc. (launched in 2002) for the United States. It specializes in unscripted programming.
Broadcasting
United Kingdom and the United States
Optomen produces a variety of television shows for United Kingdom broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky1, Good Food and Discovery. In the United States, Optomen has produced directly for, or co-produced with, Fox, HBO, A&E, Discovery, TLC, PBS, and Food Network.
International
Optomen International is its distribution arm which sells its completed programmes worldwide, the most popular being The F Word, Kitchen Nightmares, Great British Menu, and Police Camera Action!.
List of programmes
| Title | Broadcaster | Transmission date | Episodes | Running time per episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anatomy of Desire | Channel 4 | 1998 | 4 | 49 minutes |
| Anatomy of Disgust | Channel 4 | 2000 | 3 | 49 minutes |
| Boy Meets Girl | Channel 4 | 2001 | 3 | 49 minutes |
| Can Animals Predict Disaster? | PBS Nature | 1 | 60 minutes | |
| Crazy Drivers | Bravo | 2003 | 13 | 25 minutes |
| D-Day Despatches | ITV | June 2004 | 5 | 15 minutes |
| Eating With... | BBC Two | 8 | 30 minutes | |
| First Catch Your Hare: Hannah Glasse | BBC Four | 1 | 30 minutes | |
| Food Glorious Food | ITV | 2013 | 9 | 60 minutes |
| French Leave | Channel 4 | September 2003 | 10 | 30 minutes |
| Gangland Graveyard | PBS/Channel 4 | 1 | 60 minutes | |
| Giada in Paradise | Television Food Network | 2 | 60 minutes | |
| Gordon Ramsay's F Word | Channel 4 | 2005 | 9 | 60 minutes |
| Great British Weddings | Sky One | 3 | 60 minutes | |
| Green: The New Red, White & Blue | Discovery Channel | 1 | 90 minutes | |
| Hell's Kitchen | Fox | 2005 | 60 minutes | |
| If You Can't Stand The Heat | Channel 4 | 1999 | ||
| It's A Girl Thing | Channel 4 | November 2001 | 6 | 24 minutes |
| Japanese Schoolgirls | Discovery Science | 2 | 30 minutes | |
| Jump London | Channel 4 | |||
| Kitchen Criminals | BBC Two | 20 | 30 minutes | |
| Making Slough Happy | BBC Two | November 2005 | 4 | 60 minutes |
| Market Kitchen | Good Food | 2007 | ||
| Mary Queen of Shops | BBC Two | 4 | 60 minutes | |
| MasterChef | FOX | 2010 | 60 minutes | |
| Mind of a Millionaire | BBC Two | October 2003 | 4 | 60 minutes |
| Most Evil | Discovery Channel | |||
| Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch | CBBC | 2015–Present | 30 (1 upcoming series) | 15 minutes |
| Old Bear Stories | Carlton Television | 1993-1997 | 3 | 10 mins |
| One Fat Lady, One Large Life | BBC Two | 1999 | ||
| Police Camera Action! | ITV | 1994 | 30 minutes | |
| Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares | Channel 4/Fox | 2003 | 60 minutes | |
| Red Gold | WNET/Thirteen/Channel 4 | 3 | 49 minutes | |
| Return of the Chef | Channel 4 | January 2005 | 8 | 30 minutes |
| Role Reversal | Arts & Entertainment Network | March 2003 | 1 | 120 minutes |
| Saturday Cookbook | ITV Breakfast | 2012 | 21 | 44 minutes |
| Sex BC | Channel 4 | July 2002 | 2 | 49 minutes |
| Spirituality Shopper | Channel 4 | June 2005 | ||
| The Great British Menu | BBC Two | 80 | 30 minutes | |
| The Naked Chef | BBC Two | 1999 | ||
| Two Fat Ladies | BBC Two | 1996–1999 | 24 | 30 minutes |
| Two Men in a Trench - Series 1 | BBC Two | September 2002 | 6 | 50 minutes |
| Two Men in a Trench - Series 2 | BBC Two | February 2004 | 6 | 60 minutes |
| Tyler's Ultimate | Food Network | 2003 | 26 | 22 minutes |
| Worst Cooks in America | Food Network | 2010 | 22 | 60 minutes |
| You’re Not the Man I Married | Lifetime | 13 | 30 minutes |
Publications
Optomen has also published books to accompany the following programmes: The F Word, Great British Menu, Kitchen Nightmares, Two Fat Ladies, and The Naked Chef.
Awards
The company has won many awards over the years, including an International Emmy, three BAFTAs, three Royal Television Society awards, three Indie awards, and two Glenfiddich awards.
Sale to All3Media
On 13 August 2010, it was announced that Optomen had been acquired by All3Media in a £40 million takeover. The agreement saw All3Media take control of Optomen along with its New York-based subsidiary Optomen Productions Inc and One Potato Two Potato, which was established as a joint venture with Gordon Ramsay.
References
- "About Optomen an international television production company". Archived from the original on 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- "Awards Optomen has been nominated for or won". Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (2010-08-13). "All3Media finalises £40m acquisition of production company Optomen". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-18.