There was a time whenFremantlewas shorthand for theAmerican Idolcompany.
Peter Bose, the preeminent Danish drama producer behind shows includingWallander, knows this better than most.
Who is Fremantle within scripted?
‘The Price Is Right’, TV’s oldest game show
We couldnt actually argue, you know, Bose remembers.
It was the company that transformed SirKenneth Branaghinto Boris Johnson forThis England.
Its Nordic noir hitFace to Face, made by Miso, was key to Viaplays international rollout.
Fremantle even soldNeighboursto Amazons Freevee, proving that soaps are not parochial relics of linear TV.
Theyve gone on a mad one, was how one rival summed it up.
A History Lesson
Fremantle is the product of acquisitive minds.
RTL sprouted from this union and its production assets were rebirthed as FremantleMedia.
This isnt a unique journey for us.
Mullins French predecessor Cecile Frot-Coutaz, now running rival Sky Studios, favored smaller bets.
Mullin says an early priority of her tenure was to supercharge the spending.
One theory for Mullins trolley dash is that Fremantle had fallen behind in Europes content ownership arms race.
ITV Studios, Sony and All3Media remained in deal mode internationally.
Amazon inhaled MGM and Netflix was buying drama companies in the UK, including Charlie Brookers Broke & Bones.
They struggled to buy anything in the past.
There was a bit of catching up to do, says the boss of a Fremantle competitor.
Announcements then came thick and fast.
Lux Vide and Element joined the group last year, as did Passenger, maker ofThis England.
Israels Silvio Productions sold Fremantle a similar stake for 646,000 ($785,000).
Many of these financial figures are being disclosed for the first time by Deadline.
But Banijay reached the milestone thanks largely to the transformative acquisition of Endemol Shine Group, maker ofMasterChefandBig Brother.
A few more transactions are already in process, she says, though declines to offer details.
Hat Trick Productions, the seasoned UK producer behind comediesDerry GirlsandEpisodes,has been floated as one potential target.
Some argue that Fremantles very public revenue target has left it vulnerable to overpaying for production companies.
They are paying big sums at the moment rightly or wrongly, says a third source.
Scrosati argues that you will not find one single vanity transaction if you analyze Fremantles deals.
A colleague adds: Andrea walks away from deals all the time.
He does a huge amount of due diligence and is very big on cultural fit.
A UK rival grudgingly acknowledges: Theyre buying good quality talent.
Margins, Margins, Margins
Attention is now turning to bedding in Fremantles new friends.
Insiders talk about an obsessive focus on profitability.
Theres pressure on us to make a return, another adds.
Scrosati does not deny it is a priority.
Our shareholder has invested a lot in the company and deserves the company to be profitable, he says.
Bose, of Miso Films, puts it another way: Were not here to deliver the status quo.
Speculation about a restructure is rife among Fremantles production chiefs.
Scrosati denies that consolidation is on the agenda.
Elsewhere, Mullin has been ruthlessly disposing of unwanted assets.
She has restructured Fremantles top team, anointing a flurry of chief executives since the turn of the year.
There are a lot of MD-level people at Fremantle who turned into CEOs.
Mullin says her management style is to empower those around her.
Scrosati, the former Sky Italia executive, is the best example of this.
One thing is for certain: The seat of power at Fremantle is no longer in London.
Were not a UK-based company, Mullin says.
The problem is, its not obvious to me who would buy it.
Fremantles leadership would not be drawn on the speculation.
Fremantle is and will remain core to RTL Groups business and growth strategy, he says.
As the company pushes in its chips, others are taking them off the table.
Faced with runaway inflation and dampened demand for content, Fremantles customers are slashing costs.
It gives me pause, Scrosati admits.
But Fremantles leaders will tell you that its 100-year-old DNA has survived worse than the current economic crisis.
