Factual


Passion to shop Stone Age fact-ent series and format

UK-based Passion Distribution has acquired the format and series rights to factual entertainment show Surviving The Stone Age: Adventure To The Wild. The 3 x 60-minute series, which is produced by Renegade Pictures and Motion Content Group for UK broadcaster Channel 4, is set to premiere on 7 November. It follows a group of leading […]

Mediawan completes $112m acquisition of France’s Lagardere Studios

French group Mediawan has continued its rapid expansion by completing a deal to buy Lagardere Studios, whose producers are behind shows including Netflix’s The Eddy. Mediawan, which appointed Endemol Shine France’s former chief operating officer Delphine Cazaux as COO in January, unveiled the plan to buy Lagardere for €100m ($100m) earlier this year as part of plans to […]

Warner Bros. UK & Ireland chief Josh Berger exits, Polly Cochrane promoted

Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain president & MD Josh Berger is stepping down after more than 30 years at the company, with Polly Cochrane promoted to take up part of his remit. Berger, who is also president of Harry Potter Global Franchise Development, will leave in December, with Cochrane – who was most recently EVP […]

Exclusive: Ex-Endemol Shine Turkey chief Hakan Eren reveals ONN Productions

Former Endemol Shine Turkey (EST) commercial chief Hakan Eren has unveiled his new production company, which already has a raft of projects in the works. ONN Productions Turkey was launched earlier this year and is producing films and series across both scripted and unscripted genres. Five scripted series are currently on the slate, including Felicity, Flawless, […]

Netflix reveals new-look US & international teams under Bela Bajaria

Netflix has unveiled a new-look to its senior commissioning ranks under the recently installed VP of original TV Bela Bajaria. Bajaria took up her new role in September with a remit across both English and non English-language series, prompting a series of departures including Cindy Holland and Channing Dungey, with the latter recently becoming chairman of Warner Bros […]

Zinc Media raises a further $5m as ‘bulwark’ to Covid & to fuel growth

UK-based factual production outfit Zinc Media Group has raised £4m ($5.2m) via a new share issue, with the investment used to explore growth opportunities and act as a “bulwark” to the impact of the pandemic. The company – which houses UK prodcos Blakeway, Blakeway North, Brook Lapping, Films of Record, Reef, and Tern Television – had […]

CNN Films boards SpringHill’s ‘Dreamland’ doc about Tulsa race riots

US-based CNN Films has come aboard Dreamland: The Rise And Fall Of Black Wall Street, the documentary about the 1921 Tulsa race riot, produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company. The project, which was announced earlier this year, is now in production and will explore the events of late May and June […]

Discovery, Hulu snag format & tape rights to Keshet’s convent reality show

Disney’s US streamer Hulu has picked up exclusive rights to docureality show Bad Habits, Holy Orders, while Discovery is to produce a local version of the format for its Italian streaming platform. The 4 x 45-minute original was produced by Crackit Productions for ViacomCBS-owned Channel 5 in the UK and sees a Catholic convent take in five […]

Discovery brings ‘Top Gear’ catalogue to Japan in BBC Studios deal

The UK’s BBC Studios has signed a deal with Discovery to bring 27 seasons of motoring show Top Gear to Japanese audiences via the Dplay streaming service. Japanese automotive fans will be able to enjoy classic editions of the long-running show, as well as new instalments as seasons 2-28 are included in the deal. The […]