GRB Studios & Media Ranch in Distribution JV

GRB Studios and Media Ranch are aligning for a distribution joint venture that will house more than 5,000 hours of factual, unscripted and scripted programming, as well as a slate of formats in all genres.

Both companies will retain their separate production and creative businesses. Creative and original production for GRB Studios will remain solely with GRB, under the management of Gary R. Benz. Media Ranch’s original IP and format development, including current paper formats, and incubator Horsepower will remain solely with Media Ranch, under the management of Sophie Ferron.

The catalog of the combined company, GRB Media Ranch, includes GRB’s Untold Stories of the E.R., the Icons Unearthed series, On the Case and Intervention. Media Ranch distributes over 150 formats, including Round Table from Wonwoo Park (creator of The Masked Singer), Watch, Surprise sur prise, Comedy on the Edge and Street Jungle.

From GRB, Liz Levenson will cover Africa, the Middle East, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, while Torquil Macneal will cover AsiaPac and Janel Downing will cover Latin America. From Media Ranch, Tanja van der Goes will cover Europe for formats, while Alexa Jorizzo will cover Europe and Canada for finished programs. Philip Kalin-Hajdun serves as head of development and storytelling at Media Ranch.

Benz said: “Sophie and I have known each other for over ten years, partnering on various inspiring projects. Our companies and visions complement each other well, and we bring our creativity to dealmaking into the evolving business of the content industry. Our joint venture is a natural and logical next step in our relationship to build a super independent distribution organization. Together, we will expand our global reach even further.”

Ferron added: “Gary and I have two strong teams that will become a unified and stellar sales force. We are eager to contribute our skills to the new entity and reach even greater heights. The goal is to become an international distribution powerhouse offering a comprehensive marketing approach from formats to finished programs in all genres.”