All3Media acquires Silverback Films
Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey (photo: Paul Groom)
Discovery- and Liberty Global-owned production and distribution group All3Media has acquired natural history specialist Silverback Films, the prodco behind Netflix’s Our Planet.
Silverback was founded in 2012 by BBC natural history veterans Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey. Most recently it was behind David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, which had a worldwide theatrical release at the end of September before launching globally on Netflix.
Our Planet was Netflix’s first original natural history commission and was produced in partnership with The Worldwide Fund for Nature.
Netflix’s first original natural history show Our Planet
Silverback’s wildlife documentaries for the BBC include seven-part series The Hunt, which revealed the strategies use by hunters to catch their prey. The team has also produced 11 out of 16 Disneynature films released on streaming platform Disney+, including Bears, Monkey Kingdom, Penguins and Dolphin Reef.
Forthcoming projects include A Perfect Planet, a fusion of blue-chip natural history and earth science which explains how our living planet operates. This five-part landmark series for BBC1 and Discovery will premiere in 2021.
Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media, said: “I am delighted that Silverback is joining All3Media and we are looking forward to working with Alastair, Keith and the team. The talent is world-class and Silverback is at the very top of its game at a time when the relevance of landmark natural history programming has never been greater.
Sir David Attenborough
“Silverback’s films are stunning, showing us the diversity of the natural world and through their fantastic storytelling and ingenious mastery of technique and technology they capture breathtaking moments on camera and take us to places we have never seen before, and continue to teach us about the world’s natural environments and how vital it is to preserve them.”
Fothergill, joint founder and CEO of Silverback Films, added: “All of us at Silverback Films are delighted to be joining All3Media. We have found a partner that shares our creative ambition to make the highest quality programming. Key to this is our shared focus on attracting and retaining the best talent long into the future.”
Silverback was advised by Tom Manwaring, of Helion Partners, on the transaction. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
You can read our in-depth interview with Scholey about his Netflix projects here.
