DRG in First-Look Deal with Factual Specialist Brown Bob

DRG has inked an exclusive two-year, first-look deal with Brown Bob Productions, which specializes in factual and factual entertainment.

The first-look deal sees DRG picking up distribution rights for all future Brown Bob productions. Founded by Jacqueline Hewer and Nicki Gottlieb, Brown Bob is behind such series as Paul Merton’s Secret Stations for Channel 4 and Inside the Ambulance for W (UKTV).

Katy Cundall, the senior VP of acquisitions at DRG, commented: “Brown Bob is a really interesting company and has been on my wishlist for a partnership for some time—so we are very excited at having Nicki, Jacqueline and the team join the wider DRG family. Brown Bob brilliantly combines passion and experience to produce top-quality factual and factual-entertainment programming, and is particularly adept at creating volume series that engage prime-time audiences. Such volume is very attractive to broadcasters—and us as a distributor—and it demonstrates Brown Bob’s ability to fully explore and extend ideas, telling rich, multi-layered stories.”

“Brown Bob was first introduced to DRG as a suggested distributor and we are excited that this has developed into a successful and broad-based partnership,” said Nicki Gottlieb, Brown Bob Productions’ managing director. “Katy and the team fully understand our business and are totally supportive of our ambitions and strategy. DRG’s size was also part of the appeal: it is small enough to care and the team is always accessible, but it is also big enough to make a meaningful investment in us and our content. We are now confidant that with DRG’s financial and creative backing, as well as its extensive knowledge of the international TV market, Brown Bob will quickly go from strength to strength, delivering broad-based factual content and formats that will succeed in the U.K., as well as with broadcasters overseas.”