VH1's Mob Wives Sale "In Progress"
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| VH!'s reality show is in the block |
Mob Wives will have a new owner -- and it's ITV, the same broadcaster that aired the recent Mafia with Trevor McDonald two-part series, one of the most watched non-scripted shows in Britain. It featured John Alite, the topic of George Anastasia's Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia, among other former mobsters.
What a sale means for Mob Wives and its viewers is open to debate, as The Weinstein Company will continue to manage its television division though it is "in the process of selling [it] to ITV, the British broadcaster that has been on a buying spree of late," as The Hollywood Reporter revealed today.
The deal's value could be worth $950 million. It involves an up-front payment of around $400 million with "an escalating package of compensation and bonuses that would nearly triple the initial purchase price," sources told THR.
The Weinstein Company hired several TV executives to grow the operation and will continue to manage its television group.
ITV's recent Mafia with Trevor McDonald was a roaring success in the UK, with some 4.5 million viewers, according to data provided to Cosa Nostra News.
It was, in fact, "the most watched show on British TV," garnering "tremendous positive reaction... ITV normally expects around 2.5 million in that slot for a non scripted show."
The source added: "Everyone is talking about it... It actually made the third most-talked about subject now on Twitter in the world."
John Alite, in fact, has a huge following in the UK -- we've seen tons of the fan letters he gets from Brits -- and across Europe, especially in Albania, where Alite spent time as a fugitive from U.S. law. Alite spent time there while a fugitive, meeting with Albanian crime bosses, as well as family members.
Sir Trevor McDonald's two-part series The Mafia With Trevor McDonald, shined a "light into this brutal, unforgiving hierarchy" known as the American Mafia, writes the Daily Mail.
The program debuted March 23 in the UK and was available online in the U.S. (The episodes we linked to have been removed.)
The show began with Trevor journeying to Queens, New York, where he met John Alite, who grew up in the neighborhood.
With 4.5 million viewers, Mafia with Trevor McDonald was "the most watched show on British TV."
ITV normally expects 2.5 million in that slot for a non scripted show."
“There were constant murders here, constant rivalries between different guys in the streets, different mob families," Alite said. "So we would kill almost at will, as someone given a beating.”
Also on the show, in his first appearance since entering witness protection was Michael DiLeonardo, also known as Mikey Scars, a former high-ranking member of the Gambino crime family. His evidence consigned 80 members and associates of the Mafia to prison.
He said of his fears: “Death for myself, but death for my family, that would be paramount. I have a son and a wife here now and some of these people, they may not take in to consideration who is sitting in the car with me, or who is walking in the street, or in my house, if they kick my door in and kill everyone in the house. That’s my biggest fear. My biggest concern and what keeps me up at night.”
Trevor also meets Michael Franzese, a Bonnano-tied enforcer whose identity was concealed.