ACQUISITIONS
Banijay U.K. have acquired “Becoming Elizabeth” producer The Forge. The terms of the agreement include a first look deal for Banijay Rights.
The Forge was founded by managing director George Faber and the senior creative team is comprised of Faber, EP and head of business affair Mark Pybus, EP Beth Willis and EP George Ormond. Upcoming series from the production company are “The Buccaneers” for Apple TV+ and Peter Kominsky’s drama about the Grenfell fire for BBC One.
The studio is the eleventh scripted label to be acquired by Banjay U.K., joining companies including Tiger Aspect and Kudos.
“I have been a massive admirer of The Forge since its inception,” said Patrick Holland, CEO of Banijay U.K. “George Faber, Mark Pybus, Beth Willis and George Ormond have together grown one of the most ambitious and exciting drama slates in the U.K. We are so delighted that they have chosen Banijay UK as their partners for their next chapter of growth and I can’t wait for them to join the other brilliant companies in the group.”
APPOINTMENTS
Former TikTok India country manager Raj Mishra has been appointed group CEO of QYOU Media’s India operations overseeing all business units, with immediate effect. Mishra will focus on increasing operational and financial synergies and strengths among the three primary business units – including QYOU Media India, which operates broadcast and connected TV channels, influencer marketing business Chtrbox Technologies and gamingbusiness Maxamtech Digital Ventures – as the company further pivots in India into digital distribution and direct to consumer initiatives.
FELLOWSHIPS
The U.K.’s Royal Television Society (RTS), has revealed eight fellowships for 2023 and a several appointments of chairs for its board, committees and national and regional centers. The fellowships recognize industry luminaries who have made an outstanding, sustained and exceptional contribution to the U.K. television industry. For 2023, fellowships have been awarded to Jesse Armstrong, writer and producer of “Succession”; Ben Frow, director of programming, Channel 5; Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”), writer, producer and director; Anne Mensah, VP content, Netflix; Abi Morgan (“The Split”), Little Chick Productions; Rosemary Newell, director of content, ITV Media & Entertainment, ITV; John Ryley, producer and former editor-in-chief of Sky News and Jack Thorne (“Help”), writer and producer.
Director of unscripted at the BBC, Kate Phillips, joins the RTS’ board of trustees, with Clare Laycock, senior VP head of content – networks and streaming, Warner Bros. Discovery U.K. and Ireland, appointed as the new chair of the National Events Committee, replacing A+E Networks’ Heather Jones. For the regional centres, Sarah McCaffrey, founder of Solas Mind, has joined as chair of the Northern Ireland Centre, and Stuart Ray, head of skills and development at IABM, has come onboard as chair of the Southern Centre.
PARTNERSHIPS
EVT and Imax Corporation have expanded their partnership with five new Imax locations with Laser systems in Australia and Germany. The screens will be installed at an Event Cinemas in Sydney and four CineStar theaters in Germany.
This marks the biggest deal for Imax screens in Germany, and comes on the heels of Imax Sydney’s successful launch, already becoming the highest-grossing Imax location in the world outside of the U.S. and U.K.
“Expanding our collaboration with Imax aligns to our strategy of providing customers with choice on how they want to watch a movie,” said Jane Hastings, CEO of EVT. “The right combination of our proprietary cinema experiences such as Gold Class, Boutique and V-Max alongside Global Premium Formats like Imax is proving to be successful. Imax performs exceptionally well at our current locations in Sydney, New Zealand and Germany and we are thrilled to bring state-of-the-art Imax with Laser systems to more locations in Australia and Germany in the near future.”
Rich Gelfond, Imax CEO, added: “On the heels of the wildly successful debut of Imax Sydney, we are excited to expand our collaboration with EVT, a partner that transcends exhibition in creating premium experiences that span cinema, hospitality, leisure and more. Australia and Germany are two markets where consumer demand for Imax vastly outstrips our footprint, and this deal is great for our fans in both countries and our continued network growth worldwide.”
