TF1’s Newen invests in Dutch and Danish production
September 7, 2018
From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris
TF1’s production and distribution subsidiary Newen is consolidating its expansion in the international market after taking shares in Dutch production company Pupkin and Denmark’s Nimbus.
Newen has acquired a majority 60 per cent share of Pupkin through Tuvalu Media Group, the other Dutch production company it owns, and that will further strengthen in its domestic market. Founded in 2003 and operated by producers Pieter Kuijpers, Iris Otten and Sander van Meurs, Pupkin is a leading Dutch studio for cinema and drama. In 2018, it provided Netflix with the platform’s first Dutch drama series, greenlit for 2019.
Newen is taking a 33 per cent share in Nimbus. Both groups are already exploring new developments for productions Newen would distribute internationally. Giving drama and Europe priority, Newen is looking both to cross-fertilise projects and talent in both territories as well as strengthening its distribution catalogue.
“Both operations allow the company to offer an enriched line-up of Euro content to local broadcasters and global platforms,” Newen comments.