BBC Studios Buys ‘The Newsreader’ Production Company Werner Film Productions
deadline.comBBC Studios has acquired Werner Film Productions, the company behind Australian drama hit The Newsreader. BBC Studios Productions Australia paid an undisclosed amount for Warner, marking the latest in several high-profile deals for the BBC’s commercial division.
Last month, it paid £255M ($325M) for ITV’s share in their streamer, BritBox International. The Werner deal is billed as “a significant investment” in Australia’s production ecosystem, and comes soon after BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell confirmed the BBC company was raising its debt facility to £600M as it seeks to invest in new business and double its size by 2027/28.
Werner is best known making ABC drama series The Newsreader, which stars Anna Torv and Sam Reid as an embattled anchorwoman and an ambitious reporter who confront studio politics and their own issues during the 1980s, in association with eOne.
The series has won multiple Logies and AACTA awards and season three is currently filming. The BBC has bought both seasons of the show and played them on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
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