Love Productions
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | 3 September 2004inUnited Kingdom |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , England |
Number of locations | 3 |
| Products | |
| Parent |
|
| Website | loveproductions |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Love Productions Limitedis a UK-based televisionproduction company.Its cooking competition seriesThe Great British Bake Offis among the most watched shows in the UK of its era.[2]
History
[edit]Richard McKerrow and Anna Beattie formed Love Productions in 2004.[1]In 2014,Skyacquired 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 theCOVID-19 pandemicwhich is likely to result in a loss of income in 2020/21.[4]
Love Productions is also associated with the brands Love West, based inBristol,and Love Productions USA.[5]
Productions
[edit]The list of programmes produced by Love Productions include:
| Title | Genre | Network(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
[edit]Love Productions' best earning programme,The Great British Bake Off,had moved network channel fromBBC TwotoBBC Oneafter 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 theBBC.[7]Controversy arose as there were concerns the nature of the show would change with the move toChannel 4and because most of the show's presenters did not make the move for the following series.[7][2]
References
[edit]- ^ab"Bristol's Love Productions, firm behind The Great British Bake-off, strikes multi-million Sky deal".SouthWestBusiness. 22 July 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 10 February 2018.Retrieved10 February2014.
- ^ab"Great British Bake Off final was the UK's most watched TV show since 2012".7 November 2016.Retrieved10 February2018.
- ^"Sky buys 70% stake in Bake Off and Benefits Street firm".BBC News.21 July 2014.Retrieved26 August2023.
- ^abcKanter, Jake (7 July 2020)."Sky Takes Full Control Of 'The Great British Bake Off' Maker Love Productions".Deadline.Retrieved26 August2023.
- ^""Contact Us"".Love Productions.Retrieved12 February2018.
- ^Sweney, Mark (16 October 2013)."BBC2 controller laments losing the Great British Bake Off to BBC1".The Guardian.Retrieved10 February2018.
- ^abSteafel, Elanor (4 August 2017)."5 things we learnt from the new Great British Bake Off trailer".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved9 February2017.