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Television content and production subsidiary
This article is about the British TV production company. For other corporate entities, see Fremantle (disambiguation).
Fremantle Limited (/ˈfriːmæntəl/), formerly FremantleMedia, is a British multinationaltelevisionproduction and distribution company based in London. The company was founded as Pearson Television in 1993 when publishing and education company Pearson acquired the former British ITV franchisee Thames Television. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, which was acquired by predecessor company All American Television in 1994. Pearson Television CLT-UFA from Bertelsmann merged in 2000 to form the RTL Group, with Pearson Television itself renamed that following year as FremantleMedia on 20 August.
Fremantle owns non-scripted formats, including the British talent shows Idols, Got Talent and The X Factor; all of which have been sold globally. Since 1994, Fremantle has distributed American game shows locally in the US and globally.
On 23 April 1993, Pearson plc bought Thames Television, which had been one of the "Big Five" franchisees in the ITV network from 1968 to 1992, and, as an independent production company, was continuing to produce many shows for ITV and other broadcasters. Thames became the first division of Pearson Television, and Pearson gained the rights to Thames programmes like The Benny Hill Show and The Bill.
Then in 1995 it acquired Australian production company Grundy Television. Allied Communications Inc. (ACI), a U.S.-based distributor of made-for-television films, was purchased later that year for $40 million.
In 1996, Pearson Television bought the British production company SelecTV plc, and merged into it.
Pearson Television announced on 1 October 1997 that it would launch a $373 million cash tender offer for publicly traded U.S. television company All American Communications Inc. On 5 November, Pearson completed its tender offer, and All American was merged into Pearson Television the following year. This acquisition gave Pearson worldwide rights to various game show formats as well as drama series in the U.S. such as Baywatch, while All American Music Group was sold to Zomba Records subsidiary Volcano Entertainment.
Pearson Television acquired Italian drama production company Mastrofilm on 3 November 1998, and European animation financer and distributor EVA Entertainment on 2 February 1999. In April 2000, Pearson TV decided to take over Smith & Jones' UK production company Talkback Productions.
In 1976, Australian executive Richard Becker, of Becker Entertainment was made head of the Australian operation of Fremantle International Productions, and a year later integrated its operations with R.A. Becker's production arm (later Becker Entertainment) to license out its title library.
By the 1980s, Fremantle had become the largest producer of game shows in Europe. In 1989, The Interpublic Group of Companies bought a 49% minority interest in Fremantle International. On 20 May 1991, Interpublic Group increased its ownership stake in Fremantle International to 80%, with Paul Talbot retaining a 20% holding in the company.
Interpublic Group agreed to sell assets of Fremantle International to All American Communications Inc. for $63 million in cash and stock on 7 July 1994. All American acquired Fremantle International in August. Paul Talbot continued to own The Fremantle Corporation, the international distributor of All American's Baywatch and other programs until his death in 2005, and the company's assets were later acquired by Canadian-based Kaleidoscope Entertainment in June 2006. All American Fremantle International managed and distributed Mark Goodson Productions' game show formats worldwide. In 1998, All American Television and All American Fremantle International were renamed Pearson Television North America and Pearson Television Licensing, and operated under those names until being renamed in 2001.
FremantleMedia (2001–2018)
In 2000, German conglomerate Bertelsmann announced that it would form a joint venture between its CLT-UFA group (itself a merger of Luxembourg's CLT and German studio UFA GmbH) with Pearson Television (whose library included former British ITV franchise Thames Television, All American Television—who owned the libraries of U.S. syndicators Lexington Broadcast Services and Blair Entertainment and game show producers Mark Goodson Productions and Fremantle International, and Australia's Reg Grundy Organisation) to create a multinational media group and content business—eventually known as RTL Group—to consolidate their broadcasting and production activities, and provide a European competitor to American-owned media conglomerates.
The content business would be renamed FremantleMedia in 2001, while Bertelsmann would later increase its stake in RTL Group to achieve majority ownership.
In the mid-2010s, FremantleMedia began to increase its investments into "high-end" scripted dramas to diversify its output. The strategy proved successful for the company, with international dramas having increasingly accounted for more of its overall revenue.
In January 2018, FremantleMedia sold its Kids & Family Entertainment division to Boat Rocker Media.
In July 2018, FremantleMedia North America CEO Jennifer Mullin was named the new CEO of the worldwide company, replacing the outgoing Cecile Frot-Coutaz.
Fremantle (2018–present)
On 10 September 2018, the company changed its public-facing brand to "Fremantle", introducing a new handwritten logo (Fremantle Media remains the company's legal name). Mullin described the logo as a "creative signature" that " our own unique mark on everything that we do."
On 13 July 2020, Fremantle spun off Storyglass into an independent company within Bertelsmann. On 9 September, Fremantle merged Boundless and Naked Entertainment to form Naked Television.
Fremantle has production units across its global offices and network of companies.
In the United States, Fremantle's largest production and distribution division, Fremantle North America is based in Burbank, California, and includes a portfolio of companies. Fremantle North America produces and distributes scripted and alternative programs for broadcast and cable networks, syndication and streaming platforms.
In addition, Fremantle North America owns several other smaller production companies; among these are Thom Beers' Original Productions (responsible for creation and production of numerous reality shows such as Deadliest Catch, Ax Men, and Ice Road Truckers) and Amygdala Music, Leslie Beers' production and composition firm that writes themes, incidental, and featured music for Original Productions shows.
Production and/or distribution labels from Fremantle include:
Region/Country
Unit(s)
United Kingdom
72 Films
Arrow Media
Dancing Ledge
Dr Pluto Films (25%; joint venture with James Abadi and Sam Pollard)
^Guider, Elizabeth (6 June 2006). "Canucks nab Fremantle". Variety. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
^Andreas Uhlig (8 April 2000). "Gründung eines europäischen Fernsehgiganten Kooperation von Bertelsmann und Pearson". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). p. 25.
^ abjoint venture with Amperwelle Studio München Programmanbietergesellschaft, Axel Springer AG, Burda, Studio Gong, m.b.t. Mediengesellschaft der bayerischen Tageszeitungen für Kabelkommunikation, Medienpool and Radio Bavaria Rundfunkprogrammgesellschaft.
^joint venture with Axel Springer, Heinrich Bauer Verlag, Lühmanndruck Harburger Zeitungsgesellschaft and Morgenpost Verlag.