Eureka Productions bosses Chris Culvenor and Paul Franklin have created a brand new manufacturing firm that’s acquired a deal in place with Fremantle, the manufacturing large that owns their earlier biz, Eureka Productions.
Fremantle, which has a majority stake in The Mole maker Eureka Productions, has struck a three-year cope with Culvenor and Franklin’s new enterprise, Eureka Studios. Although each firms will use the Eureka model, solely Eureka Productions sits contained in the Fremantle fold as Eureka Studios just isn’t owned by the RTL-backed producer and distributor.
Rikkie Proost is being promoted from Chief Artistic Officer to CEO of Eureka Productions following the transfer. Nonetheless, Culvenor and Franklin will “stay actively concerned in present productions and intently related to the Eureka Productions slate”.
Eureka Studios launches with a three-year cope with Fremantle. The corporate will devise and develop new content material that Fremantle and its subsidiary producers, together with Eureka Productions, will produce and promote. Focus will likely be on unscripted codecs, creating unique concepts in gaming, sports-adjacent content material and scripted exhibits, all of which Fremantle will distribute internationally.
In 2021, Fremantle acquired Eureka Productions, which makes exhibits within the U.S. and Australia, the place it now oversees all Fremantle unscripted. With headquarters in LA and Sydney, the corporate has produced exhibits equivalent to ABC’s Holey Moley, Netflix’ Courting Round and The Mole, Max’s Full Bloom and Fox’s The Flooring and The Quiz With Balls amongst others. Over in Australia, it makes Farmer Needs a Spouse and Australian Idol for Seven.
“Founding and rising Eureka Productions has been an unimaginable journey,” mentioned Culvenor and Franklin. “Along with Fremantle and our exceptionally gifted groups and companions, we have constructed a number one pressure in unscripted leisure. As we increase our focus to this thrilling new initiative, we stay totally related to our manufacturing enterprise, which is able to thrive beneath Rikkie’s sensible management. The launch of Eureka Studios marks a significant new artistic enterprise on the coronary heart of Fremantle’s world enterprise, and we look ahead to constructing a pipeline of daring unique codecs for the worldwide market.”
Fremantle CEO Jennifer Mullin mentioned the “three-year partnership will allow us to develop thrilling content material for our audiences worldwide”.
“Chris and Paul are true visionaries and since our collaboration started in 2016, have introduced a number of the most artistic productions to our pipeline. I’m equally delighted that Rikkie has taken the function of CEO, Eureka Productions and look ahead to working collectively extra intently as he continues the success of the label with exhibits equivalent to, Farmer Needs a Spouse, The Flooring and Australian Idol,” she added.
Proost, Eureka Productions’ new CEO, added: “It’s been an unimaginable trip working with Paul and Chris over the previous six years and I’m thrilled we get to evolve collectively on this new dynamic period of leisure. At Eureka Productions we are going to proceed to do what we do greatest; ship world-class content material, created by world-class folks, to our valued companions and world audiences.”
