Love Productions

Last updated

Love Productions Limited
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Television production
Founded3 September 2004;19 years ago (2004-09-03) in United Kingdom
Founders
  • Richard McKerrow
  • Anna Beattie
Headquarters,
England
Number of locations
3
Products
Parent
Website loveproductions.co.uk
Footnotes /references
[1]

Love Productions Limited is a UK-based television production company. Its cooking competition series The Great British Bake Off is among the most watched shows in the UK of its era. [2]

Contents

History

Richard McKerrow and Anna Beattie formed Love Productions in 2004. [1] In 2014, Sky acquired a 70% stake in Love Productions. [3] In 2020, Sky bought the remaining shares making the studio a wholly owned subsidiary, seemingly part of a strategy to build a production empire. [4] The acquisition came on the back of increased dividends for Sky 2019 of £22.7 million compared with £3.5 million in 2018; while two directors received £4.6 million in 2019, up from three directors receiving £1.4 million in 2018. [4]

In 2020, the company's key "Bake off" series of productions has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which is likely to result in a loss of income in 2020/21. [4]

Love Productions is also associated with the brands Love West, based in Bristol, and Love Productions USA. [5]

Productions

The list of programmes produced by Love Productions include:

TitleGenreNetwork(s)First broadcast
Cirque de Celebrité Game show Sky One 2006
The Baby Borrowers Reality television BBC Three 2007
The Great British Bake Off Baking BBC Two (2010–2013)
BBC One (2014–2016)
Channel 4 (2017–)
2010
Tower Block of Commons Documentary Channel 4 2010
Junior Bake Off Baking CBBC (2011–2016)
Channel 4 (2019–)
2011
Rich, Famous and in the Slums Factual BBC One 2011
Make Bradford British Documentary Channel 4 2012
The Great British Sewing Bee Sewing BBC Two (2013–2019)
BBC One (2020–)
2013
Benefits Street Documentary Channel 4 2014
Famous, Rich and Hungry Factual BBC One 2014
The Great Pottery Throw Down Pottery BBC Two (2015–2017)
More4 (2020)
Channel 4 (2021–)
2015
The Chronicles of Nadiya Documentary BBC One 2016
Battle of Britain: Model Squadron Structured reality Channel 4 2018
The Biggest Little Railway in the World Structured reality Channel 4 2018
Westside Reality television Netflix 2018
Singapore Social Docuseries Netflix 2019
The Piano Talent show Channel 4 2023

Controversies

Love Productions' best earning programme, The Great British Bake Off, had moved network channel from BBC Two to BBC One after three series due to its increasing popularity. [6] Towards the end of series six, Love Productions's profits were decreasing; the company wished to remain on BBC One, however the £75 million asking price for three series was unacceptable to the BBC. [7] Controversy arose as there were concerns the nature of the show would change with the move to Channel 4 and because most of the show's presenters did not make the move for the following series. [7] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Robinson</span> English actor, author and campaigner (born 1946)

Sir Anthony Robinson is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel 4 series Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. He has written 16 children's books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Two</span> Television channel operated by the BBC

BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream and popular BBC One.

Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV plc</span> British-based media company

ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Lucas</span> English actor and comedian

Matthew Richard Lucas is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006) and Come Fly with Me (2010–2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living TV Group</span> British television broadcaster, 1990–2011

Living TV Group was a British television consortium originally called Flextech before becoming a subsidiary of British Sky Broadcasting, with Challenge still broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Perkins</span> British actress and comedian (born 1969)

Susan Elizabeth Perkins is an English actress, broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer. Originally coming to prominence through her comedy partnership with Mel Giedroyc in Mel and Sue, she has since become best known as a radio broadcaster and television presenter, notably of The Great British Bake Off (2010–2016), Insert Name Here (2016–2019) and Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Giedroyc</span> British actress and comedian (born 1968)

Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc is an English actress, comedian and television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Berry</span> English food writer and television presenter (born 1935)

Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at college. She then moved to France at the age of 22 to study at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, before working in a number of cooking-related jobs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV Studios</span> British television production company

ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is based in 12 countries across 60 production labels, with local production offices in the UK, US, Belgium, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Israel, France, Spain and Scandinavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E4 (TV channel)</span> British free-to-air television channel

E4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The "E" stands for entertainment and the channel is primarily aimed at the 16/18–34 age group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Studios</span> British production company

BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. BBC Studios creates, develops, produces, distributes, broadcasts, finances and sells content around the world, returning around £200 million to the BBC annually in dividends and content investment.

This is a list of British television related events from 2004.

True North Productions is an independent British television production company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The company creates factual programmes and series in a wide variety of genres, including observational documentary, true crime, current affairs, history, food, property, and children's content. Their programmes have been sold via distributors to broadcasters throughout the world and have been screened in numerous countries, including the United States, Australia, Russia, and Africa.

Channel 5 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK and Australia division. It was launched in 1997 to provide a fifth national terrestrial channel in the United Kingdom.

<i>The Great British Bake Off</i> British television baking competition

The Great British Bake Off is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, attempting to impress two judges with their baking skills. One contestant is eliminated in each round, and the winner is selected from the three contestants who reach the final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Hollywood</span> English baker and chef (born 1966)

Paul John Hollywood is an English celebrity chef and television personality, widely known as a judge on The Great British Bake Off since 2010.

The seventh series of The Great British Bake Off aired from 24 August 2016, with twelve contestants competing to be crowned the series 7 winner.

This is a timeline of the history of Sky Television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BritBox</span> Internet media streaming and video on demand service broadcasting British TV

BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa. It is focused on British television series and films, mainly featuring current and past series and films supplied from two British terrestrial broadcasters of the BBC and ITV, in addition to original programming. BritBox is said to feature the biggest collection of British box sets available in one place, with additional original programming available from 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bristol's Love Productions, firm behind The Great British Bake-off, strikes multi-million Sky deal". SouthWestBusiness. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Great British Bake Off final was the UK's most watched TV show since 2012". 7 November 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  3. "Sky buys 70% stake in Bake Off and Benefits Street firm". BBC News. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Kanter, Jake (7 July 2020). "Sky Takes Full Control Of 'The Great British Bake Off' Maker Love Productions". Deadline. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  5. ""Contact Us"". Love Productions. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  6. Sweney, Mark (16 October 2013). "BBC2 controller laments losing the Great British Bake Off to BBC1". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  7. 1 2 Steafel, Elanor (4 August 2017). "5 things we learnt from the new Great British Bake Off trailer" . The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 9 February 2017.