Compact Media Unveils Production Financing Fund

LONDON: Rights-management and collections specialist Compact Media has set up a £750,000 fund ($1.1 million) to invest in content, with Pilot Productions the first to receive financing from the company.

Compact Media says it will initially focus on up to 20 production investments in original content over the next year. The goal is to expand this number over the next two to three years. Compact will invest in shows in return for a share of revenues from future exploitation. The funds granted to Pilot will finance the first four episodes of a spin-off of Planet Food.

“It’s fitting that as we approach our 20th year at Compact, we have struck our first original-content investment deal with a company that was with us from the beginning," said David Johnson, the CEO of Compact Media. "Pilot Productions represent the same values and high standards that we hold. As proud as we have been to call Pilot a client, it’s even better to be able to call them ‘a partner.’ With over 1,400 companies trusting us across our services we look forward to reaching out and seeing how we might help them further with our newly created ability to invest. We hope to be able to do between up to 20 deals in our first year and anticipate further growth in this area in years two and three.”

Ian Cross, the managing director of Pilot Productions, noted: “Being such a long-term supporter of the work of Compact Media, I'm thrilled that we have managed to strike a deal whereby my team and I are able to complete the productions to the standard we want, knowing that we have a fantastic royalty collections team as a partner. This deal gives us flexibility, peace of mind and a proactive partnership all in one. Funding television is becoming increasingly complex and Compact's initiative is to be applauded at a time when it is increasingly difficult in a more vertically integrated global media business environment for independent producers to create content and control rights at the same time.”