FremantleMedia Launches 40-Million Euro Talent Fund

LONDON, November 1: FremantleMedia has launched a
40-million-euros fund geared towards investments in talent partnerships, which
will range from label deals to the formation of jointly owned production
companies.

The new FremantleMedia Talent Fund will kick off with a
talkbackTHAMES deal with comedy writer Graham Linehan (IT Crowd), who will set up his own label under the
talkbackTHAMES umbrella, which is part of the FremantleMedia group. Based at
talkbackTHAMES’ offices from early next year, Linehan will develop projects and
will collaborate with other writers on future comedies. Other new deals include
a talkbackTHAMES partnership with actor Trevor Eve (Waking the Dead), which sees the production company taking a stake
in Trevor Eve’s drama company Projector Productions and working with him to
develop a range of dramas. talkbackTHAMES has also taken a stake in Hillbilly
Television, the independent drama production company led by directors Polly
Leys and Kate Norrish. Leys and Norrish will develop a range of drama projects
that talkbackTHAMES will co-produce. Sara Geater, the COO of talkbackTHAMES,
will sit on the board and Hillbilly Television will be based at talkbackTHAMES
headquarters, effective immediately.

The fund will initially focus on the U.K. and the U.S., but
will eventually target opportunities across FremantleMedia’s global production
network. The launch of the new initiative is part of a major investment-led
growth strategy that FremantleMedia is undertaking, which will also see the
company pursue acquisitions in continental Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. in the
next few years.

Christian Schneider-Sickert, FremantleMedia’s director of
operations and strategy, said: “The Talent Fund will allow FremantleMedia to
build on one of our most important assets, our strong relationships with
talent. We have a great track record in partnering with some of the industry’s
best creative and on-screen talent, turning ideas into global entertainment and
drama brands, while exploiting the intellectual property throughout the world
and across all platforms. We are now looking to substantially increase our
investment in such relationships across our key markets.”

—By Irene Lew