New joint venture bringing together Endemol, Shine and CORE Media launches following completion of regulatory approval. The new business will initially operate under the name ‘Endemol Shine Group’
Details were today announced regarding the new joint venture of 21st Century Fox and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC bringing together Endemol, Shine and CORE Media, to create a global entertainment group with a portfolio of international hits including Masterchef, American Idol, Big Brother, Broadchurch, The Money Drop, Peaky Blinders, Grantchester, Deal or No Deal, Wipeout, The Biggest Loser, Black Mirror, Mr. Bean, So You Think You Can Dance, One Born Every Minute, The Fall, Man vs. Food and many more.
The joint venture, which has been formally completed following regulatory approval, will initially operate under the name Endemol Shine Group.
Having previously confirmed former BSkyB Managing Director of Content, Sophie Turner Laing as CEO and Endemol’s Tim Hincks as President, the new group is launching with a further round of announcements.
These include confirmation of senior team appointments at group level, charged with supporting Endemol Shine Group’s operations around the world.
Endemol’s Chief Financial Officer, Edwin van Es, will take up the same role within the new group. Shine’s Finance Director Tom Fussell will work with Van Es on transitioning Endemol’s and Shine’s finance functions before stepping down during the course of 2015.
Taking the role of Endemol Shine Group’s Group Commercial Officer is Boudewijn Beusmans, formerly Chief Legal and Business Affairs Officer at Endemol. Areas of the business that Beusmans will be responsible for overseeing include distribution and legal affairs.
Serving as the new joint venture’s Co-CEOs of International Operations are Shine’s Chairman, Northern Europe and Shine 360, Gary Carter and Endemol’s Chief Operating Officer Martha Brass. Carter will oversee operations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Nordics, the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, the MENA region, Turkey and South Africa; whilst Brass’s remit will cover France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia, India, China, South-East Asia, Latin America and Israel.
Shine’s Director of Communications Patrick Keegan and Endemol’s Global Head of Public Relations Charlie Gardner have been appointed as Endemol Shine Group’s Co-Directors of Marketing and Communications, overseeing both areas for the new joint venture. Keegan will be based in London and Gardner will be relocating to Los Angeles in early 2015.
Endemol Shine Group also today confirmed its international sales and distribution structure with Shine International and Endemol Worldwide Distribution joining forces as one business. Cathy Payne, who is currently CEO of Endemol Worldwide Distribution, will serve as CEO of the newly integrated sales and distribution operation. Shine International CEO Nadine Nohr will work together with Payne on bringing the two distribution businesses together before stepping down.
“Shine International and Endemol Worldwide Distribution are both world-class operations and by uniting them we bring together two outstanding teams, an exceptional and diverse catalogue of programming across multiple genres, and a broader network of sales professionals embedded in markets around the world,” said Turner Laing.
The new group is in the process of determining the best way to bring together the operations of Endemol and Shine in markets where both currently operate and this will continue in the forthcoming months. The first markets to have completed this process are France and Germany.
In Germany, Endemol Germany Managing Director Marcus Wolter will lead the combined businesses of Endemol and Shine, as CEO of Endemol Shine Germany. Joining Wolter in the senior management team will be Shine Germany Deputy CEO Holger Rettler, who will become Director of ‘Show’, a new label within Endemol Shine Germany that will produce some of the new company’s biggest entertainment series. Axel Kuehn, CEO of Shine Germany, will leave the business after a period of transition in early 2015.
In France, Endemol’s and Shine’s operations will remain independently operated and run as separate entities, led by Endemol’s Nicolas Coppermann and Shine’s Thierry Lachkar, who will each continue in their role as CEO of their respective businesses.
These latest local market appointments follow the previous announcement that Endemol’s Charlie Corwin and Cris Abrego will serve as Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of the new joint venture’s North American operations. As previously announced, Peter Hurwitz will serve as President of CORE Media and Scott Frosch will serve as Chief Financial Officer of CORE Media. CORE Media’s TV development team continues to be led by Jen O’Connell.
“We are proud to be launching Endemol Shine Group with an exceptional line up of talent in place from the outset,” said Sophie Turner Laing. “We can’t wait to hit the ground running in 2015 with a new group that will be home to some of the very best people and hit programming in the business; and which will deliver world class content to platforms across the globe.”
“By bringing together these businesses and launching Endemol Shine Group we’re assembling a bigger, broader pool of creative minds from all corners of the world,” said Tim Hincks. “We have a phenomenal roster of shows to build on and to have brilliant people in so many markets developing a new generation of hits is incredibly exciting. “
The new joint venture will begin formally operating as Endemol Shine Group on 1st January 2015 and will continue the process of integrating its operations around the world throughout the first half of 2015 when further announcements will follow.
Over the course of this period, Endemol’s and Shine’s London-based sales, distribution and group teams will be brought together into one location upon further space becoming available in the Shepherds Building where Endemol are currently based. Endemol Shine Group will be headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
“For the group and distribution teams of Endemol and Shine to be united they need to be able to work under the same roof as one, which we hope to be by the Spring of 2015.” said Turner Laing. “The rationale for the name is equally simple. By combining Endemol and Shine in alphabetical order we’re launching with a strong identity that says who we are and which will be recognised across the industry. We will review this as we work together and the group evolves over the first year.”
21st Century Fox and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC will jointly manage Endemol Shine Group, with each owning 50 per cent. CORE Media will continue to retain its own capital structure within the new joint venture. Endemol Shine Group’s businesses will have creative operations in over 30 markets, with a diverse portfolio of over 600 revenue generating formats across scripted and non-scripted genres; coupled with digital, gaming, and distribution operations.