Autentic acquires Gedeon Media’s assets and sets up new studio arm

Autentic in Germany has acquired the assets of France’s Gedeon Media Group (GMG), including its ongoing productions and a catalogue of about 3,000 hours of factual content.

Patrick Hörl

GMG was ordered into judicial liquidation by the Paris Commercial Court earlier this year after the factual group faced financial difficulties, with six companies reportedly interested in its assets.

Beta-owned Autentic has now been confirmed as the winning bidder. GMG’s catalogue will now be distributed by Autentic Distribution, while its digital channels will be managed by Autentic’s channels division. GMG shuttered its distribution arm, Terranoa, earlier this year.

Production and development activities, meanwhile, will continue under the newly established French subsidiary Gedeon Studios. This includes about 25 hours of television programming currently in production and two feature-length documentaries.

A seven-member team from the existing organisation will join Gedeon Studios, “ensuring that the company’s creative expertise and editorial know-how remain at the heart of its future,” Autentic said. The team includes senior producers Laurence Favreau, Valérie Guerin and Coraline Roch and head of development Mina Cuche.

Carine Nonnenmacher, one of GMG’s established producers, will lead the new studio, working alongside the team to build on the company’s legacy and drive its future development.

Stéphane Millière, GMG’s founder and former president, will also continue to work with the new company as senior consultant, programme development.

Gedeon Programmes was established in 1996 and went on to become one of France’s most respected factual production companies.

Making around 40 hours of content annually across a wide range of factual genres and subjects, the company has built a strong reputation among leading French and international broadcasters, including the BBC, CCTV, National Geographic, PBS, NHK, RadioCana-da, Rai, RTS, RTVE, SBS, SVT and ZDF.

Autentic distributes documentaries and factual series for the global market, working with producers, broadcasters and digital platforms. It also operates its own factual free, ad-supported streaming TV and YouTube channels.

“With Gedeon Studios in Paris, and Autentic in Munich, we will have teams in the two biggest markets in Europe,” said Patrick Hörl, MD at Autentic.

“Combining the expertise of both companies, and using significant synergies in the monetisation of content, will make us more resilient in the current, challenging market environment.”

Millière added: “I am very pleased that Autentic is taking over the assets of the Gedeon Group through a new company that will continue to build on the work of the outstanding editorial team that has worked alongside me to develop the brand, carry forward ongoing projects and distribute the catalogue established over the past 30 years.”