The move comes as part of eOne’s planned expansion of non-scripted business to bolster the company’s position in the UK
Entertainment One (eOne) has entered into an agreement to acquire UK-based Daisybeck Studios, an independent television company producing quality factual, factual entertainment and event programming. Daisybeck Studios’ Emmy® nominated Managing Director and Founder, Paul Stead, will continue to oversee day to day operations of the Daisybeck Studios brand under eOne’s ownership. The acquisition continues the planned expansion of eOne’s non-scripted activities in the UK. The announcement was made by eOne’s President, Global Unscripted, Television Tara Long, along with Stead.
“Paul and his team have built a best-in-class business by focusing their efforts in the unscripted arena on what they do incredibly well and we believe their current and future projects along with their existing catalog align well with the continued strategic growth plans of our unscripted business in the UK and beyond.”
Tara Long, President, Global Unscripted, eOne
Founded in 2013, the company has made hundreds of hours of programming including “The Yorkshire Vet,” “Springtime on the Farm,” “Big Week at the Zoo,” and “Made in Britain,” making the Company the largest truly independent production company in Yorkshire. Daisybeck Studios has twice won the Independent Production Company of the Year at the Royal Television Society (Yorkshire) Awards in 2016 and 2017, as well as the coveted RTS Award for Best Documentary Series for the ground breaking “Body Donors” documentary and another RTS Award this year for Best Documentary Series for “The Yorkshire Vet.”
“Joining eOne is the perfect strategic move for Daisybeck. It will provide our infrastructure with the proper capabilities and support to allow us to truly capitalize on the unscripted television opportunities in the UK from our base in the North of England. It’s a very exciting time in content creation, not least because of UK network Channel 4 setting up their National Headquarters down the road from our studios. This will help us continue our growth with other key UK networks including Channel 5 and being part of eOne really future proofs our business. We chose them because of their passion for programming and the support they clearly provide to the creative teams across their group.”
Paul Stead, Managing Director and Founder, Daisybeck Studios
Under Long, eOne’s current unscripted partner network includes Emmy nominated producers Mark Ford and Kevin Lopez’s Creature Films, Matthew Anderson and Nate Greens Purveyors of POP, Joseph Freed and Allison Berkley’s Marwar Junction Productions, David Solomini and Philip Segal’s Crush+Lab and Simon Howley and Jon-Barrie Waddell’s UK based Fired Up Films, as well as David Ayer, will.i.am, Drake, Jermaine Dupri, Tommy Mottola, and Master P.
