A. Smith & Co.

A. Smith & Co Productions

Founded	1985;40 years ago (1985)
Founders	Arthur Smith Kent Weed
Headquarters	Toluca Lake, Los Angeles , United States
Key people	Arthur Smith (chairman and CEO) Jenny Daly
Parent	Tinopolis (2011–)
Website	asmithco.com

A. Smith & Co. Productions is an American entertainment television production company that specializes in creating unscripted reality, documentary and non-fiction programming for a wide range of networks. It was co-founded in 2000 by Arthur Smith and Kent Weed. Since 2011 it has been owned by Welsh international TV group Tinopolis. The company is known for producing adaptations of international formats such as Hell's Kitchen and American Ninja Warrior.

History

In November 2000, when Canadian producer and former CBC Sports executive Arthur Smith left his role as executive vice president of programming, production and news at American sports channel group Fox Sports Net following his successful run, he partnered with former W.A.V.E Productions founder Kent Weed, establishing their own American unscripted reality production company based in Los Angeles, California, entitled A. Smith & Co. Productions. Arthur Smith became chairman and CEO of the new unscripted studio, whilst Kent Weed became the new company's president.

In October 2010, A. Smith & Co. Productions had entered the management field with the acquisition of management and production firm Braverman/Bloom, which gained A.Smith & Co. Productions its own management division with Braverman/Bloom becoming a subsidiary of the while retaining the Braverman/Bloom name. Michael Braverman and Barry Bloom, founders of Braverman/Bloom continued to manage the management firm under its new parent company. ^[1]

In June 2011, it was announced that Welsh international TV production group Tinopolis had acquired Los Angeles-based American unscripted reality production company A. Smith & Co. Productions. This gained Tinopolis its own American production subsidiary and its entry into the American production market with Tinopolis merging its American production operations into the acquired American studio. A. Smith & Co. Productions would collaborate with Tinopolis' fellow subsidiaries such as Sunset+Vine to co-produce content, and adapt Tinopolis' formats into America, as A. Smith & Co.'s co-founders Arthur Smith and Kent Weed had continued to lead the acquired Los Angeles-based American unscripted production company under Tinopolis and its founders had joined Tinopolis' board of directors. ^{[2] [3]}

In November 2016, A. Smith & Co. Productions expanded its production operations into the factual and documentary programming and entertainment production genres with the establishment of its two new production divisions as A. Smith & Co. Productions had merged with Tinopolis' fellow Los Angeles-based American unscripted production subsidiary BASE Productions into forming a new factual production division within A. Smith & Co. Productions, which was named A. Smith & Co. Dox, that would produce documentary & factual programming. A. Smith & Co. Productions' CCO Frank Sinton had served as president of the new factual production division A. Smith & Co Dox. A. Smith & Co. Productions launched its entertainment division entitled A. Smith & Co. Entertainment that would produce its entertainment programming as A. Smith & Co. Productions had appointed former FremantleMedia North America executive Toby Gorman president of its new entertainment division, A. Smith & Co. Entertainment. ^{[4] [5]}

Filmography

Title	Years	Network	Notes
American Ninja Warrior	2009–present	G4/NBC	Took over production since season 2. Co-production with Tokyo Broadcasting System and Lake Paradise Entertainment (seasons 2-5).
American Ninja Warrior Junior	2018–2019	Universal Kids/Peacock [6]	A children's edition of American Ninja Warrior. Co-production with Tokyo Broadcasting System.
Human vs Hamster [7]	2024	Max

References

1. Weisman, Jon (October 14, 2010). "A.Smith acquires Braverman/Bloom". Variety.
2. Finke, Nikki (2011-06-28). "A. Smith & Co Prods Merges With UK-Based Tinopolis Group For $100M Deal Creating Reality TV Powerhouse". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
3. "Tinopolis snaps up A Smith & Co". Variety. 28 June 2011.
4. Petski, Denise (November 14, 2016). "Reality Producer A. Smith & Co Launches Documentary & Entertainment Divisions". Deadline Hollywood.
5. Holloway, Daniel (November 14, 2016). "A. Smith & Co. Launches Documentary, Entertainment Divisions". Variety.
6. White, Peter (May 13, 2021). "Amy Poehler's 'Baking It', Spinoffs From 'Top Chef' & 'Below Deck' Cooked Up For Peacock". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 13, 2021.
7. Maas, Jennifer (2 November 2023). "Chip and Joanna Gaines's Magnolia Network Sets Four Family-Friendly Unscripted Series at Max, Including Competition 'Human vs Hamster'". Variety. Retrieved 29 November 2024.

External links

• Official website