may june | Page 7

Mediawan merges with Leonine Studios

Major producers Mediawan and Leonine Studios are to merge in an all-stock transaction . The combination aims to foster closer collaboration between the businesses , and establish Mediawan as a premier studio with a global presence across 13 countries , 85 labels , a catalogue of some 30,000 hours of content and revenue exceeding € 1 billion .

Mediawan and Leonine first partnered in 2020 when Mediawan acquired a 25 % stake in Leonine .
Mediawan says the transaction will allow it to complete its European footprint with the addition of the German-speaking region , the second largest market in Europe for audiovisual content . Furthermore , the combination will further deepen Mediawan ’ s scripted content production with the addition of the production labels of Leonine to Mediawan ’ s network of international producers coordinated by Elizabeth d ’ Arvieu , CEO of Mediawan Pictures . In addition , Leonine will diversify Mediawan ’ s operations across geographies , customers and business segments .
Leonine was founded in 2019 by Fred Kogel and his management team with financial support from KKR and Atwater Capital1 through acquiring and merging TMG , Universum Film , i & u TV and Wiedemann & Berg Film , followed by W & B Television , SEO
Entertainment , hyperbole , Beetz Brothers Film Production and Toon2Tango .
Mediawan ’ s presence now spans 13 countries including France , Germany , Italy , Spain , Scandinavia , Benelux , and the UK in Europe , alongside operations in Africa , Asia , and the US .
With the direction of Pierre-Antoine Capton as group CEO , Kogel will lead
Mediawan says the transaction will allow it to complete its European footprint with the addition of the German-speaking region
operations in the German-speaking regions alongside the existing Leonine management team and will join Mediawan ’ s executive committee . Mediawan is controlled by its co-founders Capton , Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse .
“ With the addition of Leonine Studios , we have achieved an important milestone in
Mediawan ’ s strategy to create a pan-European studio with a strong presence in all key markets ,” stated Capton . “ I am delighted to welcome Fred Kogel and the entire Leonine team who have built a leading independent studio over the years – together , we will become an even more attractive platform for creative talent and strengthen our position as a leading studio for premium content across all genres .”
“ Within five years we have built the leading integrated independent media group in the German-speaking region and a home to some of the best talent in the industry ,” added Kogel . “ This is a testimony to the hard work and commitment of all Leonine employees over the years . Our combination with Mediawan to create a pan-European powerhouse is the next step and will bring exciting benefits to our valued partners and customers in Germany , the US and beyond . I look forward to executing on our ambitious growth strategy alongside Mediawan , Leonine ’ s great management team and our dedicated employees .”
“ KKR ’ s investments in Mediawan and Leonine follow a long history of investing behind exceptional entrepreneurs in talent- and IPcentred businesses ,” commented Philipp Freise , co-head of European Private Equity at KKR .
Completion is subject to obtaining antitrust clearance from the authorities in Germany and Austria .
Barb issues ITT for data fusion initiative
UK TV audience measurement
body Barb has issued an
invitation to tender ( ITT )
for the next iteration of its
audience measurement service ,
which aims to extend Barb ’ s
integration of big data and panel
data .
Barb ’ s strategy has long been
underpinned by the belief that
audience measurement requires
both panel and big data . This
strategy , brought to life through
Dovetail Fusion , has delivered
viewing figures for broadcasters ’
VoD services since 2018 . Barb
Panel Plus is the next iteration ,
replacing Dovetail Fusion ,
which will integrate multiple
data sources into a coherent
set of audience-measurement
standards .
As part of Barb ’ s strategic priorities for 2024 , which include enhancing core services through increased investment , it aims to synthesise data available from suppliers with evolving data requirements from subscribers .
Dovetail Fusion currently combines panel data with census data from Broadcast Video on Demand ( BVoD ) players . Barb Panel Plus additionally seeks to embrace return path data , such as connected TV and set-top boxes , as well as first-party server data .
“ There are more data sources available than ever before , both
from media owners and third parties ,” notes Caroline Baxter , chief operating officer at Barb . “ Datasets drawn from large samples of millions of devices are now seen as invaluable . Adding census or server datasets to the Barb panel gives us a bigger data sample , and therefore more accurate measurement of audience volumes . Conversely , census or server datasets typically don ’ t include the important detail about demographics , co-viewing and cross-platform duplication which the panel does . Our subscribers increasingly want
fusion across all these data sources . We are looking for proposals that support Barb in calibrating volumes of viewing using the more accurate figures from census data , while preserving demographic , co-viewing and cross-platform duplication information from the panel .”
For this ITT , the Panel Plus contract is divided into two components which include : 1 . Methodology – design of a fit-for-purpose data fusion methodology to bring together panel data with Return Path Data , first-party server data , and BVoD census data . 2 . Data Processing and Delivery – development of software to process data according to the fusion methodology , to a schedule and on demand .
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