MONTREAL — Quebec-based TV and film producer and distributor Datsit Sphere has acquired factual and kids production company BGM (formerly Bristow Global Media) from beleaguered Kew Media Group, it was announced Wednesday.
The acquisition of Toronto-based BGM, whose current content slate includes “Haunted Hospitals” and Paranormal 9-1-1”, represents Datsit Sphere’s first foray into English-language factual entertainment, says the news release. BGM’s kids content lineup includes “Backyard Beats” and “It’s My Party!”.
“Our strategy for some time has been to create a completely diverse talented network of creatives. We have carefully over time become a home for excellence in all genres: animation, unscripted, documentary, fiction, distribution and feature film,” says Bruno Dubé, president and CEO of Datsit Sphere, in the news release. “BGM is one of the leaders of the Canadian domestic production scene and more crucially for us, a significant player in the international market. This acquisition is a building block towards realizing our plans to create a global, sustainable, independent production group capable of producing quality entertainment across all genres and platforms.”
BGM was formed in 2013 to create multi-genre, multiplatform content and is currently headed by new CEO Marlo Miazga after founder Julie Bristow left the company in November 2019. Miazga first joined BGM as vice-president of content in 2016, and since then she has helped to deliver a diverse lineup of high-end productions, including the documentary series Canada: The Story of Us and drama-documentary 100 Days To Victory, co-produced by BBC Scotland, Foxtel and History Canada.
“In 2019 BGM Inc. entered into a new and exciting stage of growth and scale, expanding both our premium factual and kids divisions; rolling out over 5 new series into the global marketplace. Datsit Sphere’s diverse slate of content, across multiple platforms and genres, makes it the perfect home for our escalating ambitions,” Miazga said in the news release.
Datsit Sphere is best known for primetime drama and comedy productions, including the English-language series Transplant, 19-2, Rumours and This Life.
The acquisition of BGM from Kew Media Group comes less than two weeks after Kew was placed in receivership and all of its directors resigned. The same day, February 28, Kew Media announced its Frantic Films division was sold to the film production company’s CEO Jamie Brown.
The first signs of trouble for Kew Media began in mid-December when the company announced it was launching a strategic review after it was discovered its former chief financial officer had allegedly misrepresented the company’s financial performance, which impacted several quarters’ worth of fiscal statements. In late January, the Ontario Securities Commission ordered Kew Media to permanently cease trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
