Blue Ant Media and marblemedia have announced the merger of their respective production and distribution operations into one unified studio and rights business.
The deal sees Blue Ant acquire marblemedia and its international sales operation Distribution360. Former marblemedia co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg will helm the combined business, based in Toronto, serving as co-Presidents and reporting to Michael MacMillan, CEO and co-founder, Blue Ant Media.
The combined business, which encompasses the marblemedia, Blue Ant Studios, Saloon Media and Look Mom! Productions prodcos, in addition to distributors Distribution360 and Blue Ant International, will form what’s being billed as a “super-charged” studio, spanning scripted comedy and drama, unscripted, formats, factual and premium docs, live action kids/family and animation.
“marblemedia has long been regarded as one of the most respected production and distribution companies in the unscripted and scripted space, having created huge hits for the biggest streamers and broadcasters in the industry,” said MacMillan, in a company announcement. “With Mark and Matt leading our combined studios and rights business, Blue Ant Media is well positioned in its growth as an international media company with production, rights and an established global channels division all operating at scale.”
“Building this new merged production and distribution studio will bring together our talented teams who have a shared vision and belief that original content and rich IP are the greatest differentiator,” added Bishop and Hornburg. “The appetite for premium content remains strong in the global market, and we can better serve this demand with high-quality content and by working with best-in-class collaborators.”
marblemedia-produced premium original unscripted and scripted series include Netflix series Blown Away and Drink Masters; Race Against the Tide for CBC; and upcoming Hulu and Prime Video teen comedy Davey and Jonesie’s Locker, while recent Blue Ant Media offerings include Canada’s Drag Race (produced with World of Wonder for Bell Media/Crave), Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks (Prime Video), and Gary and His Demons (Prime Video, Amazon FreeVee). More than 5,000 hours of Blue Ant International content will be combined with Distribution360’s 2,000-hour sales library.
Sam Sniderman, who formerly held the title of Co-President, Content Production at Blue Ant Media, will serve as Chief Commercial Officer, working closely with Michael MacMillan and CFO, Robb Chase on business development, partnerships and M&A. Laura Michalchyshyn, who shared the Co-President, Content role with Sniderman, will continue as Chief Creative Officer, nurturing and attracting talent for the company’s overall business. Beach House Pictures, Blue Ant’s Asian-based prodco, will continue to operate independently out of Singapore.
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