Veteran US TV executive Syd Vinnedge has joined with British TV execs Chuck Thomas and Simone Thorogood, former international heads of Participation TV at FremantleMedia UK and creators of interactive TV format Quizmania to create Pop Monkey Productions.

The company will specialize in interactive TV, branded entertainment and game show formats focusing on innovative projects that generate additional revenue streams for broadcasters.

It has secured a development deal with Los Angeles-based ITV Studios, which has seen ITV option the rights to interactive Participation TV formats for key US buyers. Pop Monkey also recently sold its first interactive TV format to VH1, a late night game show pilot starring Carrie Keagan and Mo Mandel.

“We’re thrilled and excited to be in business with Syd,” says Thomas. “As the TV business continues to get more competitive and broadcasters look for new revenue streams, we believe our dynamic brand of interactive TV formats where audiences can engage with shows via the web and their phones are finally about to come of age in the US, just as they have around the rest of the world”.