Lilla Hurst


Why this year’s MIPCOM could be an industry game-changer (Column)

Drive co-MD Lilla Hurst breaks down the top trends du jour – from the end of binge-watching, to SVOD and AVOD proliferation, and genre channel launches – as the industry prepares to descend on Cannes for this year’s MIPCOM market.  Is it me or does it feel as though this MIPCOM could be a game […]

Drive gets down with ‘Downton Abbey’ special

Ben Barrett and Lilla Hurst’s Drive has picked up a Downton Abbey special for international distribution. The Peninsula Television-produced special, Return To Downton Abbey (1 x 60 minutes), goes behind the scenes on the forthcoming film as well as the series, which ran from 2010 to 2015. The Drive-distributed special is the international version of […]

Wild Money: The new rules of play in distribution

Distributors are under greater pressure than ever, needing to be nimble, innovative and cash-rich – all at the same time. TBI gathered distributors of shows such as Bodyguard and Leaving Neverland to discuss all things content: what’s cutting through, what they’re walking away from and why they’re stepping in where commissioners are falling short How […]

Drive forges Back2Back sales in Europe, Asia

Indie distributor Drive has sold a slate of Back2Back titles, including The World’s Deadliest Weather, into Europe and Asia.  The production-funding and distribution agency has sold the third series of the programme – a co-production brokered and distributed internationally by Drive – into BBC Earth and Discovery Italy. The 13 x 60-minute series was picked up […]

Viewpoint: Thriving in uncertain times

Lilla Hurst, joint-MD of Drive, discusses the growth of UK Screenings, and makes a case for the continued success of British content despite turbulent political times.  It appears that the UK has something to offer the world in the dreary month of February after all. For many years, the BBC has been hosting its Liverpool […]

SBS & Viasat World speed to factual deals with Drive

Drive, the production-funding and distribution agency led by Lilla Hurst (pictured), has gained a range of worldwide sales for its factual slate including SBS TV and Viasat World. A host of major channels have shopped 8 Days that Made Rome. Smithsonian Channel has acquired the series for North America, SBS for Australia and Viasat World […]

Television’s love affair with the People’s Princess

Yearlong activities have taken place to mark the twentieth anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, and the television industry has followed suit with a raft of documentaries and series to signify the landmark event. Kaltrina Bylykbashi reports on the ongoing influence of the late British royal, as her son, Prince Harry, continues to make headlines thanks […]

Drive picks up ITV & HBO’s Diana doc

As the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death approaches, a new HBO and ITV doc about her life as secured distribution. UK-based Drive has acquired rights to the untitled doc, which is a 1x90mins effort from British producer Oxford Film and Television. US cable channel HBO and UK commercial broadcaster ITV came on board the […]

A first-timer’s (re)view of MIPCOM

So Drive made its virgin trip to MIPCOM as a distributor this week; full disclosure, we have been travelling to Cannes as a presales and co-pro agent since 2013, however this market we launched our finished programme catalogue and joined the company of several new distributors in this newly evolved world of rights exploitation. In one sense […]

Drive moves into distribution, strikes Netflix deal

TV funding specialist Drive has moved into distribution, launching a new division and striking a deal with Netflix. Former Zodiak exec Laura Masson will head up international sales. The sales arm of the company will be called Drive Media Rights. Its first sale is Ronachan Films’ doc First Contact: Lost Tribe of the Amazon, which […]