BBCS to exit All3 JV, set up German arm

BBC Studios (BBCS) will leave its Tower Productions joint venture with All3Media at the end of the year and set up its own German production arm.

Philipp Schmid

BBCS Germany MD Philipp Schmid will lead the new stand-alone production business in Cologne while All3Media will assume 100% ownership of Tower Productions from January 1.

The UK pubcaster said this morning the decision to drop the JV after 10 years is a result of BBCS’s new strategic positioning in the market and internationally, driven by the merger of its production and distribution businesses in the UK.

Markus Templin will serve as head of entertainment at the new company, BBCS Germany Productions. He most recently worked in the same role for ZDF Digital but also has a well-established BBCS connection via a previous stint as head of show at Tower Productions.

Templin will be joined by head of production Carsten Coenen, who joins from Warner Brothers International Television Production, Germany, and BBCS’s Karolin Engl-Lubba, who takes on a newly enhanced role as head of business and legal affairs and commercial director.

Markus Schäfer

These moves follow the appointment of scripted producer Lea Gamula in January, who assumed responsibility to develop and run BBCS’s slate of scripted formats adaptations. Gamula joined BBCS Germany after six years at award-winning production company Bildundtonfabrik.

Tower Productions and BBCS Germany will now act as separate players in the German production market, with BBCS taking full control of its own formats catalogue.

However, the two companies have agreed a multi-year coproduction arrangement for Das Große Backen (The Great Bake Off), which airs on German network Sat.1. Tower Productions will continue to act as the producer for the format, as well as for spin-off versions Das große Promibacken (Celebrity Bake Off) and Das große Backen – Die Profis (Bake Off – The Professionals).

The RTL version of Strictly Come Dancing (Let’s Dance) will continue to be a coproduction between BBCS Germany and Seapoint Productions.

Markus Schäfer, CEO of All3Media Germany, said: “Our partnership with BBC Studios over the past 10 years has been incredibly successful. Both companies worked together to turn various formats into long-running ratings hits and significantly expanded them. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for this. I am sure All3Media and BBC Studios will work together on exciting projects again in the future.”

Jacob DeBoer, senior VP of international production and formats at BBCS, added: “All3Media was a very strong partner for us in Germany and we are proud to have grown our international profile with this highly successful joint venture over the past decade. I’m hugely excited about the next stage of BBC Studios’ evolution in Germany as we look to build on our success in this key market.”