Ex-Disney and Warner International Production Execs Launch Venture

LONDON, March 1: Howard Myers and Steve Wynne, who
previously handled international production efforts at Buena Vista
International Television and Warner Brothers International Television,
respectively, have joined forces to launch the new British independent Rival
Media.

Myers was previously the creative director for the Portfolio
Development Group at BVITV, and Wynne served as the director of production at
WBITV. Combined, they have more than 20 years of TV production experience in
entertainment, music and kids’ content. They have worked on local versions of
several titles, including The Amazing Race,
Extreme Makeover, The Muppets, Golden Girls, The Bachelor, Perfect
Strangers, Suddenly Susan and Full
House.

Rival Media will initially focus on entertainment content.
It has already received a financial injection, of an undisclosed sum, from a
U.S. venture capital firm. The company has also secured its first commission to
produce an international music concert and event for Walt Disney Television,
and is in negotiations to align itself with a major U.S. producer.

“We are looking forward to working with some great creative
and commercial partners,” says Myers. “We have a huge vision for where we will
be positioned over the next five years and fortunately, we have the security of
significant financial backing to support this. Our experience in international
formats from the U.K. and the U.S. is invaluable as we look to create and
exploit content for the global market across all platforms”.

Wynne added: “Our in-house team has already developed a
portfolio of great innovative new shows and we are also working with
third-party producers on some ground-breaking international formats—we
can’t wait to put them into production.”