Sipur Renews Production & Distribution Deal with MGM

The newly rebranded Israeli company Sipur (formerly Tadmor Entertainment) has renewed its multiyear first-look production and distribution deal with MGM.

Together with MGM and other partners, Sipur is developing and producing a wide range of premium projects, including the documentary film and series The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes, co-produced with MGM.

With the first-look deal having expedited approval window on projects, Sipur has the ability to take projects to other key players, most recently partnering with Los Angeles-based Stampede Ventures to launch Hungry for Love on Israel’s Hot entertainment channel. In another partnership, with Germany’s Telepool and Israeli broadcaster Channel 8, Sipur is producing Munich ’72, a docuseries exploring the story of the 1972 Olympic terror attack.

With the renewal of the MGM pact, major institutional investors, including Israel’s largest bank, HaPoalim; leading insurer/pension fund Clal Insurance; major investment firm IBI; and Stella Handler, former CEO of Israel’s largest telecommunications provider, Bezeq, and previously chairwoman of Israel’s leading cable platform, Hot, among others, are backing Sipur’s growth with substantial financing commitments.

Sipur (originally named Tadmor Entertainment after Israeli businessman Gideon Tadmor) has vastly expanded its premium development and production slate of scripted, non-scripted, documentary and feature projects over the past several years, since CEO Emilio Schenker joined the company in 2019.

To bolster its ties to Hollywood, Sipur has added Jay Cohen, Gersh Agency partner and global packaging agent, and Nancy Tellem, former president of CBS Network Television Entertainment Group, to its advisory board.

“Sipur has been a great collaborator with MGM, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of what’s still to come and create with Gideon, Emilio and their impressive team,” said Mark Burnett, chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group. “Today marks an exciting next phase for their company and our partnership, and together, we look forward to sharing many more compelling stories for audiences around the world.”

Schenker commented, “We are excited to build on our very productive creative partnership with Mark and his incredible team at MGM as we enter the next chapter of our evolution. They have been invaluable partners over the past two years, working hand-in-hand with us to build an impressive slate of projects, and we look forward to what comes next.”

Tadmor added, “With the support of prominent Israeli investors, Sipur is well on the way to competing effectively on the world stage with premium IP from an outstanding array of creative talent and providing Israel-sourced content.”

“Sipur is an exciting company that is tackling the challenges of producing high-quality content at a low cost,” Tellem said. “Their access to extraordinary talent and IP is something that all content providers, both in the U.S. and globally, want and is what is desperately needed as the demand for content continues to increase.”