Non-scripted giant All3Media, producer of such global reality hits as Emmy-winning phenomenon The Traitors and Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge, is looking to add more drama to its portfolio.
In a keynote on Monday at the international television market MIPCOM, All3Media CEO Jane Turton said the group, which was recently acquired in a $1.45 billion sale to Jeff Zucker and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird IMI, is eying scripted production companies as it moves to expand.
“We’ve found that there are places where we want to get stronger, gaps in our portfolio,” said Turton. “We’ve added in scripted considerably and we’re continuing to do that. Actually, the announcements we’ll be making over the next few months/years, may well include quite a few scripted, units and labels.”
All3Media is not a complete stranger to scripted, with production credits, through its subsidiaries, which include Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fleabag and long-running Brit series Call the Midwife. The group also has a stake in Media Res, the studio behind the Apple TV+ shows The Morning Show and Pachinko.
It is a tough time for scripted TV, with broadcasters and streamers worldwide cutting their budgets and taking fewer big swings in drama and comedy. But Turton said All3Media’s size and production capacity — the group operates across six countries — gives it economies of scale that ameliorate the inherent risk.
“I think scripted remains competitive, it’s a very sophisticated and complex space these days,” she said. “But what you try to do is constantly try to improve your chances of success [with the support of] your existing base, [including] a very good distribution business.”
