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Playmaker Media sold to Sony Pictures Television

Producers of The Code, Love Child and House Husbands make a company sale to US media giant.

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CARDWELL_223Playmaker Media, producers of The Code, Love Child and House Husbands, has been acquired by Sony Pictures Television.

The production company, headed by David Taylor and David Maher, recently won the Production Business of the Year award at the Screen Producers Australia Awards.

Established in 2009 the company is proceeding with new seasons on all three of its 2014 dramas plus upcoming ABC drama, Hiding, featuring James Stewart.

As part of the agreement, SPT’s distribution arm will now sell Playmaker programs and formats throughout the rest of the world.

“Playmaker is having fantastic success creating the next generation of distinctive, high quality Australian television drama. They are a great addition to our international production group and we look forward to working with David and David to continue to build their award-winning company,” said Andrea Wong, president, international production for SPT.

“We love producing authored drama with the best Australian writers and creative,” said Maher and Taylor.

“This next step with Andrea Wong, Wayne Garvie and the team at Sony Pictures Television presents new opportunities to increase the quality and reach of our content both locally and in the international marketplace.”

Recent ‘super-indie’ mergers and acquisitions in the independent sector have included Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder, Matchbox Pictures being bought out by NBCUniversal and Banijay taking over Screentime.

FOX-owned Shine Group and Apollo-controlled Endemol and CORE Media Group will also see Shine Australia and Endemol Australia fall under another ‘super-indie.’

Maher and Taylor will continue to lead Playmaker from their Sydney offices in Moore Park.

Source: The Australian, Deadline

5 Responses

  1. I dont understand why Screen Aust grants Enterprise Funding to Aust Production companies only to see them then sold to US Studios. This then opens the door so the US studio can access Australian Production funding to develop their slate…admittedly it requires an Aust broadcaster to be on board but it then grows the value of the US owned company……why why why ?.

  2. Sony set up an Australian TV arm about 15 or so years ago. It didn’t last. Good luck to the producers but the Americans don’t have much of a track record owning production companies here because the culture is different and the market is small. But given the new digital technologies and the lack of popularity of their own shows here they are likely to be more persistent than previously. Ronnie is right it will make it even harder for locally owned companies. Nearly all the big local drama companies are now foreign owned and answerable to either LA or London.

  3. Does that mean there is a possibility the USA could make their own versions of Lovechild and House Husbands? Not that I would watch as these already are not favourite shows – in fact have never seen Lovechild and only watch House Husbands when nothing else interesting is on.

  4. All the profits syphoned away overseas.

    Playmaker have had some good local success of late, but apart from The Code which i thought was quite well done, the rest seem mediocre FTA fodder that won’t travel particularly well overseas.

    I guess Sony have the SET channels in some territories where Playmaker shows probably wouldn’t be out of place.

  5. The rationalisation and golablisation of the sector continues but at what point do these billion-dollar corporations stop being eligible for federal and state production subsidies while they wipe out the grass root producer base with each new commission?

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