Endemol To Launch Sports Division
Endemol, producer of reality TV show Big Brother, is to launch a new sports division.
The firm has hired two senior executives from sports marketing agency IMG to head the new division, Lawrence Duffy, former head of development at IMG Sports Media, and Gregg Oldfield, former vice-president of network ventures at IMG Media.
Duffy and Oldfield will be joint managing directors of the new venture, which will launch in January.
“Creating unique content across multiple platforms is what Endemol is known for and that’s exactly what Endemol Sport’s purpose will be,” said Duffy.
It is expected that the group will use its global reach to work directly with sporting bodies to develop multi-platform propositions.
The company will draw on its experience from an existing partnership it has with the Dutch premier football league to work with broadcasters, brands and sports bodies around the world.
Marco Bassetti, chief operating officer of the Endemol Group, said: “This is an exciting new direction for Endemol. We’ve already had success in this area with the recent launch of our Dutch premier league football channel, Eredivisie Live.
“Endemol Sport will bring this genre into the heart of our global business and securing Lawrence and Gregg is a very strong first step.”
Endemol: www.endemol.com