Sony Pictures Television buys Bad Wolf

Sony Pictures Television has officially announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Bad Wolf.

Bad Wolf’s credits include His Dark Materials (HBO/BBC), A Discovery Of Witches (Sky), Industry (HBO/BBC), The Night Of (HBO) and I Hate Suzie (Sky).

The deal also includes the Wolf Studios Wales sound stage facility in Cardiff and Bad Wolf’s 30% stake in Bad Wolf America LLC.

The majority stake investment in Bad Wolf is in keeping with SPT’s strategy of expanding its production portfolio and increasing its volume of high-quality IP in recent years. This has included entering children’s programming by acquiring Silvergate Media in December 2019, broadening the company’s capability in sports and live entertainment production with the investment in Whisper Films in February 2020, and moving further into premium scripted with the acquisition of Sex Education producer, Eleven, in June 2020.

Ravi Ahuja, Chairman, Global Television Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment Corporate Development, said, “We are thrilled to add Bad Wolf to our already incredibly strong portfolio of drama producers in the UK. The business is evolving as audiences everywhere become more attuned to content produced outside of their own cultures. This deal not only speaks to the high quality of talent we are proud to work with but also to our aim to create and deliver the most outstanding UK drama programs to the world.”

Wayne Garvie, President, International Production, Sony Pictures Television, said, “In the blink of an eye, Bad Wolf has established itself as one of the world’s most admired drama producers. The quality of work, breadth of imagination and boundless ambition make it one of the great emerging production houses of our time. Jane and her team have built a tremendous business and established Wales as the home of some of the most fantastic tales of the age and now we aim to help them build still further. We are honoured that they have chosen us as their partner for the next stage of their exhilarating adventure.

Jane Tranter, Founder, Bad Wolf, says “The last five years since launching Bad Wolf have been a hugely rewarding experience as, with the support of Access Entertainment, Sky, and HBO, we built a production infrastructure and a creative community based out of Wolf Studios Wales that could compete with any TV production in the world. Sony Pictures Television share our vision for the company going forward, and their immediate understanding and belief in the ethos of Bad Wolf make them the perfect partners for our future. With a forward-looking, global corporation like Sony investing in the future of Bad Wolf and Wales it gives us the ability to reach even greater heights in the years to come.”

Bad Wolf was founded in 2015 by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner. In just over five years, the company has produced more than 50 hours of high-quality drama for broadcasters and networks including HBO, BBC, AMC Networks and Sky. Ten seasons of returning programming have achieved global recognition with over 100 nominations and 34 awards won at BAFTA, BAFTA Cymru, RTS, Emmy, Edinburgh TV Festival and the Golden Globe Awards.

Bad Wolf America (BWA) was formally set up as a separate US based sister-company in 2019 and Bad Wolf has a 30% stake in BWA. It is based in Los Angeles and run by Julie Gardner.

Bad Wolf also founded Wolf Studios Wales.