S4C plants Wildseed cash

The commercial arm of Welsh public broadcaster S4C has invested in Wildseed Studios, the UK-based IP incubator launched by former Aardman Animations exec Miles Bullough and BBC alumnus Jesse Cleverly.

The investment, financial details of which were not revealed, gives S4C “a significant stake” in the company, as well as a seat on the board, Wildseed said.

The fledgling company, which had £500,000 (US$782,000) to invest in entertainment formats when it launched in June, revealed its first batch of pilots last month.

These include a comedy featuring Green Wing star Michelle Gomez, new animation from Tom Gran and Martin Woolley (aka The Spin Kick Bros) and animation from director Matthew Walker.

David Bryant, S4C’s head of commercial development, said: “The investment creates another way for talent in Wales to access finance and strategic and creative support for projects that they want to develop.”

The deal also gives S4C the opportunity to coproduce with Wildseed on selected projects and the rights to dub content into the Welsh language for broadcast on the channel.

“The investment gives us a great platform from which to launch our content proposition in the new year on YouTube and elsewhere and to continue to work with the most exciting new and established talent both inside and outside of Wales,” said Bullough, Wildseed’s MD.

The company will hold a ‘Meet Wildseed Studios’ event in Cardiff in January to network with the country’s creative community.

It continues to look for ideas for sci-fi/horror/fantasy fiction, animated sitcoms, character comedy and comedy for kids aged 6-11, both live-action and animated.