US-based private equity house KKR has had a busy year in Germany. The New York outfit started 2019 without a foothold in the country but, barely 11 months later, has just tied up a deal for two of Germany’s best known producers. But far from being a one-off piece of M&A activity, the acquisition reflects […]
Three years after Love Productions marched Bake Off from BBC One to Channel 4, history is repeating itself with Avalon’s Taskmaster, which is unlikely to return to UKTV’s Dave and will likely land on Channel 4 or the BBC, all of which begs the question: is this the new normal for prize formats? Manori Ravindran […]
It’s been a busy few months for M&A execs around the world. From Banijay’s acquisition of Endemol Shine Group to Hasbro buying Entertainment One and the numerous deals in between, one thing is clear: the market for production companies is hot. And while those billion dollar deals might seem some way from the day-to-day regime […]
As far as ‘will they won’t they’ takeover stories go, Banijay Group’s courtship of Endemol Shine Group has been a classic. The Vivendi-backed French firm, already fattened up by its acquisition of Zodiak Media in 2016, emerged as a frontrunner for ESG last year but it took 12 months of pushing and pulling before it […]
Footfall was high but spirits were low at a busy MIPCOM that came at an uncertain juncture for some businesses and where talk turned largely to April’s reimagined MIPTV. Renovation work along the beach and a boarded-up Croisette robbed most delegates of any seaside respite, with the market feeling somewhat claustrophobic despite robust activity – […]
Creative talent might be in demand but recognition and recompense remains an issue for writers from LA to Berlin. Richard Middleton catches up with developments at the Oslo Showrunners Summit in Norway. Talented writers are in demand around the world but you might not have guessed it from the way they have been treated in […]
The long-heralded age of audio is finally coming of age, and if you’re a savvy TV producer, you’d be remiss to underestimate the field, now rife with opportunities for cost-effective storytelling – not all of which needs to be spun off for TV. The last fortnight alone has seen the launch of two international […]
Considering Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was only on stage for 30 minutes at the Royal Television Society Convention in Cambridge on Friday, he covered a fair bit of ground. From his views on acquiring production companies (not likely), to spending more cash in the UK (upwards of $500m next year) and embracing ratings agency Barb, […]
A flurry of deals yesterday highlighted the surging appetite for acquisitions and with companies including Red Arrow Studios on the block, the M&A frenzy has some way to run yet. Chances are, if you’re a production company in Europe or North America that has a smattering of successful shows on the slate – or even […]
As international revenues for the UK’s TV production sector reach unprecedented levels, there is a battle brewing closer to home ahead of BritBox’s launch later this year, with trade body Pact claiming that producers have a “gun to their heads” over rights. Major changes to BBC VOD platform iPlayer that see the 30-day catch-up window […]
