January 9, 2024
Following the close of the acquisition of eOne, Lionsgate Jan. 9 announced it is launching Lionsgate Alternative Television, a division that combines its majority owned unscripted television producer Pilgrim Media Group, with eOne’s U.S. and U.K. non-scripted groups,Blackfin, Renegade and Daisybeck Studios.
The division will be headed by Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer Craig Piligian, who will serve as managing director. The market-facing labels of each company will remain intact, with most of the production, post-production and backroom operations integrating to work as one.
The newly formed division has been responsible for several of the biggest unscripted TV franchises, including “Naked and Afraid,” “Street Outlaws,” “Wicked Tuna,” “The Yorkshire Vet,” “Ex on the Beach,” “Selling Sunset” and “MILF Manor,” as well as premium limited series such as “Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez” and “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre.”
Additional Lionsgate Alternative Television senior management includes Pilgrim Media Group’s COO Gretchen Stockdale and chief current officer and GM Nicholas Caprio. Renegade’s leaders David Garfinkle and Jay Renfroe will serve as senior executives on the management team.
Reporting into the management team, Lionsgate Alternative Television’s labels will be overseen by creative officers Tom Huffman for Pilgrim; Bob Kusbit for Renegade; Geno McDermott for Blackfin; Matt Pritchard, Matt Walton and Malcolm Gerrie for eOne U.K.; and Paul Stead for Daisybeck, with former History Channel leader and Half Yard Productions CEO Dirk Hoogstra joining Lionsgate to lead the eOne U.S. label.
Lionsgate Alternative Television will also collaborate with the eOne Canada team, led by Jocelyn Hamilton.
“The launch of Lionsgate Alternative Television marks another key milestone in the expansion of our global television footprint,” Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate Television Group chairman and chief creative officer, said in a statement.
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