Core adds Holzman as CEO, rebrands

American Idol producer Core Media Group has undergone a rebrand and appointed Eli Holzman as CEO after acquiring the former All3Media America CEO’s production company.

Eli Holzman

Core Media Group, which includes the companies 19 Entertainment, B-17 Entertainment, Thumb Candy and Sharp Entertainment, has rebranded as Industrial Media.

Holzman will continue in his role as CEO of his prodco The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) while also becoming CEO of Industrial Media.

Core, which is behind shows such as So You Think You Can Dance for Fox and The Wall for NBC, is currently led by executive chairman Dennis Miller, who will remain as chairman of Industrial Media.

Holzman will lead Industrial Media with plans to grow “aggressively both organically and through strategic acquisitions and investments,” working with Miller in evaluating M&A opportunities, the company said.

IPC was founded in 2016 and its credits include Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath for A&E, Active Shooter for Showtime, Sticker Shock for Discovery and Operation Odessa for Showtime and Netflix.

Holzman began his career in 1996 in the feature film department at Miramax Films. He went on to co-found the company’s television department and create the Project Runway franchise.

In September 2008, Holzman founded the US arm of UK production company Studio Lambert, where he launched and executive produced Undercover Boss. In 2013, Studio Lambert USA was fully acquired and changed its name to All3Media America, with Holzman leading the production giant’s US operations.

19 Entertainment, Sharp Entertainment, B-17 Entertainment and B-17’s newly formed digital studio, Thumb Candy, along with the newly acquired IPC, will continue to operate independently.

IPC president and co-founder Aaron Saidman will join Holzman at Industrial Media as its president, while also remaining in his current capacity as president of IPC.

Core was part of the joint venture that 21st Century Fox and Apollo Global Management created in 2014 with the merger of Apollo’s Endemol and Core with Fox’s Shine Group.

But the firm remained largely separate from Endemol Shine as it looked to refinance debt and eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Core is owned by majority shareholder Crestview Partners, Tennenbaum Capital Partners and United Talent Agency (UTA).

“Our partners at Crestview, Tennenbaum and UTA, and the Core management team, especially Dennis Miller and chief financial officer Scott Frosch, and UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer, have done a brilliant job re-fashioning their assets into a creative, nimble, powerfully resourced studio of the future,” said Holzman.