Kudos Takes Stake in Podcast Company

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Banijay UK’s Kudos has expanded into the podcast business with an equity stake in the Leeds-based company What’s the Story?

This deal follows a first-look deal with What’s the Story? that was signed a year ago and has led to a raft of new scripted ideas for TV and audio going into development. Per the new agreement, Kudos will take a 25 percent stake in the company. It will see What’s the Story? produce box-set series and returnable formats across a range of genres, as well as producing companion series for upcoming Kudos and Banijay shows.

Led by ex-TV producers Darrell Brown and Sophie Ellis, What’s the Story? has been behind such podcast series as Body of Proof, The Missing and the Spotify original podcast Emily Atack: Lie Detector.

Martin Haines, co-managing director of Kudos, said: “The relationship which Karen [Wilson] and I have built with What’s the Story? over the past 12 months has shown us that there is a hugely fruitful synergy between the two types of content. Working together, there is a real opportunity to discover new stories and new ways to tell them for both television and for the audio space, and we look forward to working more closely both creatively and commercially.”

Brown and Ellis added: “We have a great relationship with Kudos and are thrilled that they are investing in the company. We have ambitious plans to become the home for true crime and incredible human stories you won’t find anywhere else. With Kudos’s input and expertise, and the support and access to the wider Banijay group, we feel confident that we can realize this.”