Distributor DRG has taken an equity stake in production company Double Yellow Television as part of a a new strategy that sees it “actively looking for talented, good-fit start-ups in which to invest.”
DRG, part of the Modern Times Group (MTG)’s Nice Entertainment Group, is also launching a new “creative space” for producers, opening up its new office space at number 8 Bloomsbury Street to other producers, offering a central London ‘drop-in’ location for creatives “with no strings attached.”
The facilities will include edit suites and production space, as well as desks and meeting rooms, and “access to DRG’s international sales and content teams.”
CEO of DRG Richard Halliwell said: “We are lucky to be moving to very spacious, central premises and we will be encouraging both our current producer partners, as well as other indie content businesses, to ‘drop in’, use the space and take advantage of the support we can give to creatives. We recognise that starting-up can be daunting, lonely and expensive. Our plan is to finance and offer everything from coffee and a desk to broad-based business support. We hope that producers will also meet each other here and share experiences.”
Indie Double Yellow specialises in factual, factual entertainment and entertainment programming and was established by creative directors Mark Wells and Glen Middleham.
Wells and Middleham previously ran Rain Media Entertainment and prior to that were both at ITV Studios where Wells was controller of entertainment and Middleham was executive producer for entertainment.
Between them they have produced shows including Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, The Royal Variety Performance, Parkinson and The BAFTA Awards. They also executive produced NBC’s Hit Me Baby One More Time.
The company has just delivered its first commission, a soon to be announced two-hour documentary for ITV.
DRG also has a first look deal for Double Yellow projects in development and will provide “financial and business support as well as its extensive expertise of the international market.”
As part of the new deal, Double Yellow will also be moving into DRG’s new offices/creative space in London’s West End later this month so the start-up can make use of existing back office support.
Richard Halliwell said: “Mark and Glen are an incredibly talented duo and in Double Yellow they have created just the sort of content business that DRG believes in and is keen to support with investment: small, nimble, well-connected, very creative and with an inherent feel for what works and what doesn’t across a range of genres. The fact that we can grow our relationship in a new creative space is also very exciting; being able to talk face-to-face on a daily basis will be a huge advantage in getting the best shows commissioned and financed, as well as placed with the right broadcasters and platforms internationally. As we evolve into a more rounded content business we are keen to invest in more producers like Double Yellow Television and are now actively looking for new partners.”
Mark Wells at Double Yellow Television, comments: “DRG is an exciting company to partner with: entrepreneurial, forward-facing and fully understanding of the needs of a new production business. The team has been extremely supportive during our development period, and we’re looking forward to collaborating in the next phase of our partnership.”
Jon Creamer
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