A strategic creative collaboration has been revealed between Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and Guardian Media Group, a UK news media organisation that publishes the left-leaning The Guardian newspaper.
With the goal of creating content appropriate for audio-visual adaptation, SPE will acquire exclusive first rights to all of the Guardian’s worldwide journalism as a result of the agreement. The agreement covers all of SPE’s television production groups, including the nonfiction and scripted television divisions in the United States and international production.
The latter comprises unscripted, sport, and factual entertainment producers like The Whisper Group, as well as scripted companies Left Bank Pictures (“The Crown”), Bad Wolf (“His Dark Materials”), and Eleven (“Sex Education”). The deal also covers SPE’s feature film division, which is home to the labels Screen Gems, Columbia Pictures, 3000 Pictures, and TriStar Pictures.
All of these SPE entities will have access to the 200-year history of articles, blogs, columns, videos, and podcasts in the Guardian archive, in addition to the news stories that are currently trending and developing.
They have three option deals with SPE that will initiate the new collaboration and will be disclosed shortly, in addition to recent deals with the BBC, Netflix, and Sky. They also have a number of other projects in development in the UK and the US
Keith Underwood, chief financial and operating officer of Guardian Media Group said: “Guardian journalism has a well-established track record in this space, with Oscar and BAFTA award-winning output over recent years. Sony Pictures Entertainment brings industry-leading development, production and distribution expertise on a global scale, and this agreement reflects our mutual commitment and shared passion to bring more Guardian journalism to screen”.
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