RDF Media
Encyclopedia
Zodiak Media is a Anglo-America
n television production company. It was formed in 2010 when RDF Media Group was acquired by, and merged with Zodiak Entertainment. The company is owned by the De Agostini
Group, and has its global headquarters in London
.
Group acquired Zodiak Television and merged it with Marathon Media Group
and Magnolia Group to form Zodiak Entertainment. In July 2010 following a merger with RDF Media, Zodiak Entertainment was rebranded to Zodiak Media Group.
Zodiak's films include Men Who Hate Women, based on the Stieg Larsson
best-selling novel "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
".
in the Zodiak Media Group. It has offices in West London
and Bristol
. It was founded in 1993 and has established an outstanding reputation for producing popular and innovative programmes across programming genres of Entertainment, Factual Entertainment, Comedy, Documentaries, and Daytime & Features.
In recent years, RDF Television programming has won the Rose d'Or
of Montreux
and Golden Rose of Lucerne (Europe's top entertainment award), an International Emmy, as well as numerous BAFTA, Royal Television Society
, and Broadcast awards. Key shows have included: Wogan's Perfect Recall
, How the Other Half Live
, Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands, Wife Swap
, and Scrapheap Challenge
(Channel 4); Dickinson's Real Deal
, A Night for Heroes: The Military Awards, and The Truth About… (ITV1
); Ladette to Lady
(ITV1/Network 9);Oz & James Drink to Britain (BBC Two
).
magazine's Best Production Company of the Year Award for 2002, 2004 and 2006, the only company to win this award on more than one occasion. Several of its programmes have won BAFTA, RTS
, and Rose D'Or
awards. Recent awards include:
The detective series Wallander (TV series), produced by Zodiak's subsidiary Yellow Bird (company)
, won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Award for Best Drama Series in 2009. Wallander broadcast on BBC One
in the UK in 2008 and Public Broadcasting Service
Masterpiece (TV series) in the U.S. in 2009.
showed a trailer to journalists of an RDF documentary
series, A Year with the Queen, that seemed to show the monarch storming out of a photoshoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz
. It later emerged the Queen was walking into the shoot. Stephen Lambert
, RDF's Chief Creative Officer, took responsibility for making a misleading edit for a trailer that was shown to international co-producers, although the promotions company Red Bee subsequently edited the trailer that was shown to journalists. Both the BBC and ITV
froze all new commissions from RDF until the completion of an independent inquiry – the Wyatt Report
– into the "Tiaragate affair". Stephen Lambert resigned from the company as an independent inquiry into the affair was published on 5 October 2007. That report, commissioned by the BBC, said that no one "consciously set out to defame or misrepresent the Queen in the tape" but also that "RDF edited the footage of the Queen in a cavalier fashion". Both Peter Fincham
, Controller of BBC One
, and his Head of Publicity, Jane Fletcher, also resigned following the report.
Anglo-America
Anglo-America is a region in the Americas in which English is a main language, or one which has significant British historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural links...
n television production company. It was formed in 2010 when RDF Media Group was acquired by, and merged with Zodiak Entertainment. The company is owned by the De Agostini
De Agostini
De Agostini S.p.A. is a publishing house in Italy. It was founded in 1901 by the geographer Giovanni De Agostini in Rome, Italy, and later moved to Novara, Italy.- Overview :*De Agostini Editore S.p.A.**Istituto Geografico De Agostini S.p.A....
Group, and has its global headquarters in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Zodiak Entertainment
In 2008 the Italian De AgostiniDe Agostini
De Agostini S.p.A. is a publishing house in Italy. It was founded in 1901 by the geographer Giovanni De Agostini in Rome, Italy, and later moved to Novara, Italy.- Overview :*De Agostini Editore S.p.A.**Istituto Geografico De Agostini S.p.A....
Group acquired Zodiak Television and merged it with Marathon Media Group
Marathon Media Group
Marathon Media Group is a worldwide French television production company based in Paris that produces shows for all ages: children, teenagers and adults....
and Magnolia Group to form Zodiak Entertainment. In July 2010 following a merger with RDF Media, Zodiak Entertainment was rebranded to Zodiak Media Group.
Zodiak's films include Men Who Hate Women, based on the Stieg Larsson
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland Larsson , who wrote professionally as Stieg Larsson, was a Swedish journalist and writer, born in Skelleftehamn outside Skellefteå. He is best known for writing the "Millennium series" of crime novels, which were published posthumously...
best-selling novel "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an award-winning crime novel by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. It is the first book in the trilogy known as the "Millennium series"....
".
RDF Media
RDF’s production activities include making entertainment programming, reality shows, factual programming, drama, comedy and children’s programming. This is done through the group’s content companies; RDF Television, IWC Media, Touchpaper Television, The Foundation, The Comedy Unit, Presentable and RDF Contact. RDF’s content division also produces content for non-standard TV platforms.RDF Television
RDF Television is the largest production companyProduction company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
in the Zodiak Media Group. It has offices in West London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. It was founded in 1993 and has established an outstanding reputation for producing popular and innovative programmes across programming genres of Entertainment, Factual Entertainment, Comedy, Documentaries, and Daytime & Features.
In recent years, RDF Television programming has won the Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
of Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
and Golden Rose of Lucerne (Europe's top entertainment award), an International Emmy, as well as numerous BAFTA, Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
, and Broadcast awards. Key shows have included: Wogan's Perfect Recall
Wogan's Perfect Recall
Wogan's Perfect Recall was a game show presented by Terry Wogan. It was broadcasted on Channel 4 and ran from 25 August 2008 to 19 November 2010.-Format:...
, How the Other Half Live
How the Other Half Live
How the Other Half Live is a British documentary series, broadcast on Channel 4. It features two families: one of which is rich, usually with parents from humble backgrounds; the other which is poor....
, Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands, Wife Swap
Wife Swap
Wife Swap is a reality television program, originally produced by UK independent television production company RDF Media and created by Stephen Lambert. It was first broadcast in 2003 on the UK's Channel 4. Since 2004, a US version has also been broadcast on the ABC network...
, and Scrapheap Challenge
Scrapheap Challenge
Scrapheap Challenge is an engineering game show produced by RDF Media and broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. In the show, teams of contestants have 10 hours in which to build a working machine that can do a specific task, using materials available in a scrapheap. The format was exported to the...
(Channel 4); Dickinson's Real Deal
Dickinson's Real Deal
Dickinson's Real Deal is an ITV, UK modern antiques and collectables television programme presented by David Dickinson. The new series air on the ITV Network whereas old episodes are repeated on ITV3.-The show:...
, A Night for Heroes: The Military Awards, and The Truth About… (ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
); Ladette to Lady
Ladette to Lady
Ladette to Lady is a reality based series that first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV in June 2005. The series was produced by UK-based RDF Media....
(ITV1/Network 9);Oz & James Drink to Britain (BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
).
Zodiak Rights
Zodiak Rights is Zodiak’s distribution and content exploitation business. It is engaged in selling TV shows and formats to broadcasters worldwide as well as leveraging value from content rights and brands through licensing and merchandising.Zodiak USA
Zodiak USA (formerly RDF USA) is the US arm of the Zodiak Media Group; the Company's offices are located in Los Angeles and New York.Programming
- Faking ItFaking ItFaking It was a television programme originating on Channel 4 which has spawned various international remakes, including a US version which began in 2003 on the TLC network...
– Channel 4 & TLC BAFTA Best Features award 2001 & 2002 - Wife SwapWife SwapWife Swap is a reality television program, originally produced by UK independent television production company RDF Media and created by Stephen Lambert. It was first broadcast in 2003 on the UK's Channel 4. Since 2004, a US version has also been broadcast on the ABC network...
– Channel 4 & ABC BAFTA Best Feature award 2003 - Secret MillionaireSecret MillionaireThe Secret Millionaire is a reality television show which originated in the UK, in which millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities and agree to give away tens of thousands of pounds . Members of the community are told the cameras are present to film a documentary...
– Channel 4 and ABC - Location, Location, LocationLocation, Location, LocationLocation, Location, Location is a Channel 4 property programme, presented by Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer and produced by IWC Media, part of the RDF Media Group. The reality show follows Kirstie and Phil as they try to find the perfect home for a different set of buyers each week. It first...
– Channel 4 - Relocation, Relocation – Channel 4
- Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands – Channel 4 - T4
- Scrapheap ChallengeScrapheap ChallengeScrapheap Challenge is an engineering game show produced by RDF Media and broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. In the show, teams of contestants have 10 hours in which to build a working machine that can do a specific task, using materials available in a scrapheap. The format was exported to the...
– Channel 4, also known as Junkyard Wars TLC - Hardcore PawnHardcore PawnHardcore Pawn is an American documentary reality television series produced by RDF USA and Richard Dominick Productions for truTV about the day-to-day operations of American Jewelry and Loan, a family-owned pawn shop on Greenfield Road between 8 Mile Road and the John C...
– truTV - Don't Forget the Lyrics – Fox & Sky One
- Jangan Lupa Lirik!Jangan Lupa Lirik!Jangan Lupa Lirik! or JLL! is a Malaysian quiz show format of Don't Forget the Lyrics! with a jackpot of RM 1,000,000. It is currently shown on Astro Ria since April 28, 2008....
– Astro Ria - Ladette to LadyLadette to LadyLadette to Lady is a reality based series that first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV in June 2005. The series was produced by UK-based RDF Media....
– ITV - Holiday ShowdownHoliday ShowdownHoliday Showdown is a BAFTA-nominated and Royal Television Society award winning reality television programme, produced by Chris Kelly for the UK independent TV production company RDF Media. It first aired in 2003 on ITV in the United Kingdom....
– ITV - Masters and Servants – Channel 4
- The Century of the SelfThe Century of the SelfThe Century of the Self is an award winning British television documentary film. It focuses on how Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, and Edward Bernays influenced the way corporations and governments have thought about, dealt with, and controlled people....
– BBC2
- The Queen's Castle – BBC 1
- Rock SchoolRock SchoolRock School is a British reality TV series starring Gene Simmons , in which he has a short time to turn a class of school children into a fully fledged rock band, at the end of which they must perform in a supporting slot for a leading rock band.Rock School is made by British production company...
– Channel 4 - The Queen's Sister – Channel 4
- City of ViceCity of ViceCity of Vice is a British historical crime drama television series set in Georgian London and was first screened on 14 January 2008 on Channel 4. It is produced by Touchpaper Television part of the RDF Media Group. The series mixes fiction with fact following the fortunes of the famous novelist...
– Channel 4 - Monarchy : The Royal Family at Work – BBC1
- Escape from Scorpion IslandEscape from Scorpion IslandEscape from Scorpion Island is a BAFTA-nominated BBC children's TV adventure game show in which contestants try to 'escape from an exotic island with a mind of its own' by doing various challenges to improve their chances of escaping. Series 1 was made by RDF Television for CBBC...
– CBBC - MurderlandMurderlandMurderland is a three part British television series created by David Pirie and directed by Catherine Morshead. The series also marks a return to ITV for Robbie Coltrane...
– ITV - WaybulooWaybulooWaybuloo is a pre-school British and Canadian children's television series originally created by Dan Good and Absolutely Cuckoo. It was commissioned by Michael Carrington at the BBC, and first aired on CBeebies in May 2009. The 100-episode show is filmed by the Foundation in Glasgow and animated...
– CBeebies - Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street IrregularsSherlock Holmes and the Baker Street IrregularsSherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars was a 2007 BBC television drama about Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars, a gang of children who would occasionally help him. It was an original story by Kurti & Doyle, Produced by Andy Rowley and shot and post produced in Dublin, Ireland...
– CBBC - Mister MakerMister MakerMister Maker is a pre-school children's arts and crafts programme commissioned by Michael Carrington at the BBC for CBeebies. The programme launched in 2007 and also airs on BBC One and BBC Two. In the United States and Latin America the show airs on the Discovery Familia network, dubbed in...
– CBeebies - Dani's HouseDani's HouseDani's House is a UK BAFTA-nominated Series produced BBC children's sitcom, starring actress Dani Harmer. The series started broadcast on 26 September 2008, three series have now aired and a fourth is currently being broadcast on CBBC, it started on 16 September 2011. A fifth series was...
– CBBC - How the Other Half Live – Channel 4
- Boys Will Be Girls – Channel 4
- Killer KaraokeKiller KaraokeKiller Karaoke is an upcoming reality game show which features contestants attempting to sing in front of a live studio audience while various attempts are made to disrupt their performances. It is a much similar format to the British game show Sing If You Can. The program will be presented by...
– truTV (slated to air early 2012)
Awards
RDF Media received BroadcastBroadcast magazine
Broadcast is a weekly magazine for the United Kingdom television and radio industry. It covers a wide range of news and issues affecting the professional broadcast market in the UK. Broadcast has regular weekly sections covering News, Commissioning, Facilities, Analysis, Opinion, Interview,...
magazine's Best Production Company of the Year Award for 2002, 2004 and 2006, the only company to win this award on more than one occasion. Several of its programmes have won BAFTA, RTS
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
, and Rose D'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
awards. Recent awards include:
- RDF Rights - Winner of Broadcast Distributor Peer Poll 2009
- Being Human - Winner of Broadcast Digital Award for Best Programme Launch 2009
- Terry Pratchett: Living with Alzheimer’s – Scottish BAFTA for Best Factual Series 2009
- Rab C Nesbitt Christmas Special – Scottish BAFTA for Best Entertainment Programme 2009
The detective series Wallander (TV series), produced by Zodiak's subsidiary Yellow Bird (company)
Yellow Bird (company)
Yellow Bird is a Swedish film and television production company founded by best-selling novelist Henning Mankell and film-producers Ole Søndberg and Lars Björkman. The company was founded to produce films based on Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels. Yellow Bird was sold to Danish media house Zodiak...
, won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
Award for Best Drama Series in 2009. Wallander broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in the UK in 2008 and Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
Masterpiece (TV series) in the U.S. in 2009.
Tiaragate Affair
In July 2007 RDF found itself at the centre of controversy when the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
showed a trailer to journalists of an RDF documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series, A Year with the Queen, that seemed to show the monarch storming out of a photoshoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer.-Early life and education:Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants, from Central and Eastern Europe. Her father's...
. It later emerged the Queen was walking into the shoot. Stephen Lambert
Stephen Lambert (media executive)
Stephen Lambert is an English television producer and executive. He is best known for creating and launching international hit formats such as the award-winning Wife Swap, Faking It, Secret Millionaire, and Undercover Boss...
, RDF's Chief Creative Officer, took responsibility for making a misleading edit for a trailer that was shown to international co-producers, although the promotions company Red Bee subsequently edited the trailer that was shown to journalists. Both the BBC and ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
froze all new commissions from RDF until the completion of an independent inquiry – the Wyatt Report
Will Wyatt
Will Wyatt is a British media consultant and company director, formerly a journalist, television producer and senior executive at the BBC. His career began in 1964 as a trainee journalist on the Sheffield Telegraph newspaper, before moving to the BBC in 1965 as a sub-editor in BBC radio news...
– into the "Tiaragate affair". Stephen Lambert resigned from the company as an independent inquiry into the affair was published on 5 October 2007. That report, commissioned by the BBC, said that no one "consciously set out to defame or misrepresent the Queen in the tape" but also that "RDF edited the footage of the Queen in a cavalier fashion". Both Peter Fincham
Peter Fincham
Peter Fincham is a British television producer and executive, currently the Director of Television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the Controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, until his resignation on 5 October 2007, following...
, Controller of BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, and his Head of Publicity, Jane Fletcher, also resigned following the report.