july august | Page 7

ITV Studios acquires Hartswood Films

ITV Studios has acquired a majority stake in Hartswood Films , the multiaward-winning production company behind recent ITV hit Douglas Is Cancelled , Prime Video ’ s critically acclaimed returning psychological thriller The Devil ’ s Hour and the BBC ’ s Emmy award winning Sherlock .

Based in London and Cardiff , Hartswood Films was founded in 1979 by Beryl Vertue , making it the longest established scripted producer in the UK . Led by CEO Sue Vertue ,
alongside director of operations Debbie Vertue , managing director Dan Cheesbrough and creative director and executive producer Steven Moffat , Hartswood Films has a broad slate of exceptional returning drama and comedy series , produced for global broadcasters and platforms including the BBC , ITV , Netflix and Prime Video .
The company works with a wide range of producers , writers and actors from Moffat to Mark Gatiss , Benedict Cumberbatch to Stanley Tucci , Hugh Bonneville to Karen Gillan and Dolly Wells to Ukweli Roach . International distribution for future Hartswood Films commissions will be handled by ITV Studios .
“ From Men Behaving Badly to Sherlock , The Devil ’ s Hour to Douglas is Cancelled , Hartswood Films has been a huge part of the TV landscape for decades ,” noted Julian Bellamy , managing director ITV Studios . “ They have a hard won reputation for being brilliant producers of quality , ambitious and highly successful scripted television . I ’ m delighted to welcome them to ITV Studios .”
“ Hartswood are not known for making rash decisions and it ’ s taken us 40 years to make this one : we are delighted therefore to have chosen to team up with ITV Studios ,” added Sue Vertue . “ We have always been open to investment if we could meet likeminded people who understood the need for independence which is at the ‘ heart ’ of Hartswood , while bringing us a whole new range of strengths and skills . We are a small company and have done very well on our own , but we couldn ’ t be more excited about a bigger future and what we can achieve together with ITV Studios .”
ITV says the acquisition is a further milestone in the strategy of expanding its international content business , with Hartswood Films becoming the latest in a line of production companies to join the group in recent years , including Nicola Shindler ’ s Quay Street Productions , Happy Prince , led by Dominic Treadwell-Collins , Ben Stephenson ’ s Poison Pen Studios and premium natural history and factual entertainment prodco , Plimsoll Productions .
Cellnex , Vodafone , VMO2 boost UK connectivity
Telecoms infrastructure provider
Cellnex UK , Vodafone and
Virgin Media O2 have agreed
for Cellnex UK to provide the
two mobile network operators
with tower infrastructure and
associated services . This new
agreement strengthens and
grows the existing relationship .
“ This agreement exemplifies
the strength of Cellnex ’ s
partnerships with its customers ,”
commented Gianluca
Landonlina , Cellnex UK CEO .
“ The new agreement , forged
through great collaboration
between our organisations , will
enable the efficient sharing of
our infrastructure today and the
flexibility to support the growth
of our customers ’ networks in
the future . Cellnex will provide
related services and share our
capabilities , thereby becoming
a valuable partner to help
Vodafone and Virgin Media O2
achieve their objectives . At all
times , we are aligned with our
customers on the common goal
of extending reliable and high performing telecommunication networks to serve their end customers . Also , to become integral to the successful rollout of wireless connectivity throughout the UK to help the digitalisation of the whole country . This agreement further strengthens our commitment to the UK market and provides long term visibility to both our industrial activity and financial investment ”.
“ This partnership helps us both expand and maintain our reliable network in all corners of the UK , not only now , but also in the future ” added Andrea Dona , chief network officer , Vodafone . “ We look forward to continuing to work with the team at Cellnex .”
“ This partnership will help us maintain and upgrade our existing sites across the country and ensure we continue to provide our customers with the fast and reliable mobile connectivity they increasingly rely on as we invest billions of pounds each year in our networks and services ,” said
Jeanie York , chief technology
officer at Virgin Media O2 .
This new agreement ensures
that Vodafone and Virgin Media
O2 have access to Cellnex ’ s
tower infrastructure across the
UK and facilitates Vodafone
and Virgin Media O2 ’ s network
sharing under their separate
network sharing agreement ,
which the parties recently
renewed .
Canal + launches in Hungary
After recent launches in
various countries in Europe
including Austria , Czech
Republic , Slovakia and the
Netherlands , Canal + Group is
launching in Hungary , grouping
linear services together
with movies and series , bundled
in the Canal + streaming
app .
In Hungary its offer is already
being distributed under the
Direct One brand .
In 2025 , Canal + will provide its
Hungarian customers with a
branded Canal + app , dedicated
to the Hungarian market , mixing live TV and streaming by grouping in one platform local and international linear TV channels and a variety of movies and series of all genres with a European DNA . In addition to the direct marketing of its platform , Canal + will partner with Hungarian telco 4iG to expand the launch and the distribution of its offer to 4iG ’ s customers in 2025 . Canal + will also transfer its B2B activities and Direct One DTH portfolio to 4iG , who will keep servicing the customers through their satellite platform . As well as other cooperations , Canal + is counting on two of the Group ’ s subsidiaries , StudioCanal and SPI International , to serve its subscribers content need . StudioCanal has a catalogue of over 8,000 international titles . SPI has a catalogue of over 10,000 international films and series . This content will be added to Canal + Originals , including the likes of The Brigade , Of Money and Blood and Django .
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