Sky acquires majority stake in Blast! Films, one of the UK’s longest established independent production companies

Isleworth, 27-7-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — Sky has taken a majority stake in Blast! Films, the independent production company responsible for hit series The Supervet, The Route Masters and 999: What’s Your Emergency?

Founded in 1994 by Ed Coulthard, Blast! Films is one of the UK’s longest established independent production companies and has produced award-winning films, including Hunger, Steve McQueen’s debut feature, The Channel 4 film of the opera The Death of Klinghoffer and the Bafta-winning drama Soundproof.

Blast! Films will continue to operate as a distinct company under the new ownership structure, producing programmes and films for a variety of broadcasters.  Ed Coulthard and managing director Claire Bosworth will run the company with their current team.

Sky’s international distribution business, Sky Vision, will become Blast! Films’ distribution partner, and will represent new programmes and formats.  Blast! Films’ existing agreements with other broadcasters and distributors will remain unchanged.

Founder and creative director at Blast! Films, Ed Coulthard, said: “Sky really gets the Blast! Films DNA. As programme makers we are passionate about quality and this is a great fit for us as we continue to evolve the company. I’m really proud of the team we’ve built here and this deal allows us to continue to attract great talent, keep raising the bar and be ambitious about what we can achieve.”

Jane Millichip, Managing Director, Sky Vision commented: “Blast! Films has an incredible pedigree. Ed Coulthard is a first-class producer, and together with Claire Bosworth and team, they have a production slate that combines creative excellence with real commercial appeal.  We look forward to working with them to build on their success in the UK and internationally.”

Sky has stakes in several independent production companies including Jupiter Entertainment, Love Productions, and Znak & Jones, all of which partner with Sky Vision on domestic and international distribution.  Sky Vision works extensively with independent producers in the UK and US. It has development deals with a number of production companies; including Ugly Brother Studios in the US; and Spring Films, back2back productions, Hungry Bear Media and Roughcut TV in the UK.

For more information:

Sky
Robin Tozer
Email: robin.tozer@sky.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 032 0620

Follow us on twitter @SkyCorporate
Visit: www.sky.com/corporate

About Sky
Sky is Europe’s leading entertainment company with 21 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 31,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

For more information visit www.sky.com/corporate 

About Blast! Films
Blast! is currently in production with over 80 hours of programming including the third series of Channel 4’s The Supervet, a fixed rig series set on trawler boats for Channel 4, and a documentary series on The Post Office for BBC Two. It is also making two series for US Channel Discovery id as well as a new series for A & E’s FYI.

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Sky acquires majority stake in Blast! Films, one of the UK’s longest established independent production companies