ITV acquires French prodco

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has acquired French drama producer Tetra Media Studio, further expanding its portfolio of European and US production companies.

Jean-François Boyer

Tetra Media Studios is the French firm behind dramas including crime series Profilage, which is now in its seventh season on commercial broadcaster TF1, and political thriller Les Hommes de l’Ombre.

The indie is overseen by CEO Jean-François Boyer and encompasses seven production labels including Tetra Media Fiction, Beaubourg Audiovisuel, Macondo and Gedesel.

Boyer acquired Tetra, then a single scripted production label, in 2004. He has since built the business by attracting leading creatives to launch their own shingles under the Tetra Media Studio umbrella.

In addition to the scripted business, Tetra also comprises Tangaro (led by Sabrina Azoulay) which produces daily talkshow Entrée Libre for France 5, and Monello (Giorgio Welter) which is an animation prodco working on its first series, Max & Maestro.

ITV Studios’ sales arm ITV Studios Global Entertainment will now take distribution rights to the majority of Tetra’s series.

Tetra will continue to operate as an independent producer, overseen by a board including president of ITV Studios International Maria Kyriacou, Boyer and ITV Studios France president Franck Firmin-Guion.

Maria Kyriacou

ITV Studios France sits independently of Tetra and will continue to focus on the development and production of ITV Studios and Talpa formats locally.

Kyriacou said: “Jean-François has established Tetra Media Studio as one of the most in-demand producers of drama in France. Thanks to the top creative talent he attracts, Tetra has an impressive track record of producing returning series and has a strong development pipeline.

“The group’s strength is in producing world-class television which is absolutely grounded in French culture but has an appeal well beyond its geographical borders. Combining that success with ITV’s international infrastructure will make the most of the commercial value of Tetra’s IP, whilst continuing to support the development and production of great content for the French market.”

Boyer added: “We share with ITV the same artistic ambitions when it comes to TV programmes: doing everything we can to allow creators to initiate high-end TV series. This alliance is very stimulating for all our producers and all the talent we work with, because thanks to the strength of the ITV group, we will be able to make French creations spread throughout the world.”

The move expands ITV’s portfolio of production companies across the world still further. It acquired Dutch formats giant Talpa for US$530m in 2015 and paid US$360m for a controlling stake in Pawn Stars producer Leftfield Entertainment in May 2014.

That followed the purchases of Duck Dynasty creator Gurney Productions, High Noon Entertainment, Hatfields & McCoys creator Thinkfactory Media and Diga Vision.