Fremantle announced the launching of its global sports, Fremantle Sports, which will focus on non-scripted and factual documentaries, and new digital formats, working with the Fremantle Entertainment, Documentary and Drama & Film teams, aimed at significantly expanding Fremantle’s current sports offering.
Owain Walbyoff will be appointed as the new Director of Sports at Fremantle. In his new role, Owain will lead and develop the Fremantle Sports strategy in expanding the company’s global sports content offering, through partnerships with rights holders, brands, first look and co-production deals. The new global sports entertainment 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.
Jennifer Mullin, Global CEO, Fremantle, said: “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. 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.”
Fremantle is already well established in sports content with its portfolio of international labels having already made waves in the sector, including: 72 Films’ award-winning "All or Nothing" (Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur) for Amazon; UFA’s "All or Nothing: German National Team"; Fremantle Australia’s "Matildas: The World At Our Feet" for Disney+; Wildside’s "My Name is Francesco Totti" for Sky; Fremantle Italy’s "Underwater: Federica Pellegrini" for Amazon; En Cero Coma’s "Los Williams" for ETB in Spain and Netflix; and Monster Films’ "Dirty Sports: The Biathlon Scandal" for TV2 in Norway.
The launch of Fremantle Sports forms part of our wider growth strategy, building on the successful expansion of Fremantle’s Drama & Film and Documentary businesses in recent years. This new business unit will focus on supporting Fremantle labels in the creation of entertainment, scripted and factual content based on sports IP, talent and stories. The ambition of the content strategy will also explore the development of new cross-platform sports formats for global distribution.
The Fremantle Sports global output will lean on the wider expertise of Fremantle and our labels including: 72 Films, UFA, TalkbackThames, Fremantle Australia, Fremantle North America, Wildside, Naked, Fremantle Italy, Beach House Pictures, Silvio Films, Original Productions, Stand By Me, November Film, En Cero Coma and Monster Films.
In establishing Fremantle Sports, teh company will build on its impressive IP to tell entertaining stories within sports – humanising stories with athletes, teams, federations, and more. Through its extensive creative network, Fremantle Sports aims to execute the best sports projects on a global scale and allow sports talent and rights holders to engage with their global fanbase.