John de Mol


ITV completes Talpa takeover

ITV has completed its takeover of The Voice producer Talpa Media, a stock market announcement reveals. John de Mol’s Netherlands-based company is now part of the UK broadcaster, a move that strengthens the latter’s position in the European production market. ITV has paid an initial £355 million (US$538.4 million) for Talpa, though this could rise […]

ITV confirms Talpa takeover talks

UK broadcaster ITV has confirmed a British report that it is advanced stage talks to acquire John de Mol’s production group, Talpa Media. Talpa has entertaining bids for some time, with various sources linking Chinese companies with a deal as recently as last week. However, stock market-listed ITV confirmed on Friday a report in UK […]

Chinese video platform takes Voice Kids rights

Chinese online video platform Youku Tudou has acquired rights to remake John de Mol’s format The Voice Kids. This is the second major international format de Mol created that Youku Tudou is remaking, after it took rights to make a Chinese version of Endemol’s flagship show Big Brother. Youku Tudou has taken the exclusive remake […]

Talpa and Tencent strike Chinese deal

John de Mol’s Talpa and Chinese online video site Tencent are working together on a new reality show for the Chinese market. Details of the show itself, including its title, have not been released. Talpa said that the show will be developed and produced jointly by it and Tencent and will debut in 2015 on […]

Discovery weighs SBS Netherlands move

Discovery is understood to be considering a move for the SBS free-to-air broadcast business in the Netherlands. Reports surfaced in the Netherlands last week, suggesting that US-listed Discovery has contacted the SBS shareholders Sanoma and Talpa about a possible deal. Talpa founder John de Mol told De Telegraaf that Discovery is interested in a deal. […]

Talpa poaches FremantleMedia exec in int’l restructure

John de Mol’s Talpa Media has re-hired FremantleMedia’s Diana Buddingh for a newly-restructured international division, and poached the managing director of A. Smith & Co. to head its US division. Buddingh will be director of global productions at Talpa Global, which is born out the merger of the programming unit Talpa Content and global licensing […]

What next in the Netherlands?

From Big Brother to The Voice via Deal or No Deal and Splash! Dutch producers have proved time and again that they know how to construct an international television hit. But do deep budget cuts at the public broadcast group and the increasing influence of international content threaten the Netherlands’ status as a creative powerhouse? […]

Canadian channel seeks format Utopia

Canada has become the sixth territory to get a local version of Talpa Media’s buzzy social experiment format Utopia. Rogers Broadcasting-owned City TV scored the deal with distributor Talpa International, and is planning to launch its English-language show this autumn as part of its fall/winter schedule. Utopia launched in the Netherlands on SBS6, which is […]

Talpa organises US formats pitching competition

The US division Talpa is soliciting format ideas for Talpa Pitchfest, a pitching competition that will be held in LA. Formats producer and distributor Talpa organised the first Pitchfest last year and the second edition will run from September 22-26. It is open to new and existing production companies and individuals with new ideas for […]

Prima buys into Talpa’s Utopia

Romanian free-to-air broadcaster Prima TV has ordered a local version of Utopia, the reality format from John de Mol’s Talpa. The show started out in the Netherlands on SBS6 as a year-long series. It follows 15 participants as they attempt to create a perfect society from scratch. Viewers can watch on broadcast TV as well […]