TV and film giant Fremantle is making a major push into sports with the launch of a dedicated global unit.
Fremantle Sports will focus on non-scripted and factual documentaries, alongside new digital formats, working with the entertainment, documentary and drama and film teams. The company says it aims to “significantly” expand its current sports offerings, which from its variety of labels already includes the likes of the “All or Nothing” franchise on Amazon, “The World At Our Feet” for Disney+, Wildside’s “My Name is Francesco Totti” for Sky, and “Los Williams” for ETB in Spain and Netflix.
This new business unit will focus on supporting Fremantle’s labels to produce scripted and factual content, will also exploring the development of new cross-platform formats.
Owain Walbyoff, who last year left Banijay as chief commercial officer and later joined Fremantle in a consultancy role, has been named director of sports, and will lead and develop Fremantle Sports’ strategy. The new unit has been spearheaded by Amelia Brown, CEO Fremantle UK; Gabriella Carriere, group head of strategy; Georgette Schlick, CEO Fremantle Northern Europe; Jeff Hasler, president original productions; and Mark Reynolds, global head of documentaries and factual.
“Expanding our sports capabilities is an exciting next step in our growth strategy, following the successful blueprint that has delivered continued growth across our drama & film and documentaries pillars,” said Fremantle’s Global CEO Jennifer Mullin.
“Thanks to our exceptionally talented cohort of labels, we already have a strong offering for the genre, which we are thrilled to be evolving with Fremantle Sports under the expert guidance of Amelia, Gabriella, Georgette, Jeff, Mark and Owain. We look forward to providing global audiences with compelling sports storytelling and sports formats that engage the passions and desires of fans around the world.”
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