Channel 4 takes equity stake in Renowned Films

26 March 2015

 

Channel 4 Corporation today announced that it has made a new investment from its £20m Growth Fund, taking a minority stake in young, up-and-coming indie Renowned Films to support the scale ambitions of this thriving creative company.

Renowned Films was co-founded by Duane Jones, Max Welch and Tim Withers in 2012. Max and Tim boldly dropped out of their first year at Bournemouth University after they met BBC Radio 1Xtra presenter Duane whilst making a documentary for a major record label. The trio connected through their passion to disrupt traditional broadcast media and create innovative factual entertainment and documentaries using emerging technology and platforms to tell fresh stories to young audiences.

Duane left his Sony Gold Award winning drive time BBC show to launch Renowned Films with Max and Tim and they secured London Live’s first major commission, F2 Kicks Off (16x30’). The highest rating series for the channel to date, it followed football freestylers Billy Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch’s stunt journey across London and has since been licensed to over 14 territories worldwide.

Other highlights include Winner’s Circle (11x30’) for Sky offering behind the scenes access to top premiership football stars, licensed across 66 territories; branded content series including FCUK (5x6’) following Olympic Gold medalist Anthony Joshua; and content for online music platform Vevo featuring interviews with top music stars.

Renowned Films are currently in development with new series for BBC Three, ITV, MTV and 4Music. Last year Max was named one of Broadcast magazine’s 2014 Hot Shots, the youngest producer/director to date.

David Abraham, Channel 4’s Chief Executive said: “Renowned Films are an exciting addition to our expanding Growth Fund investment portfolio. Duane, Max and Tim are a passionate and ambitious team with an appetite to create compelling formats across both new and traditional media platforms to inspire young audiences globally. We’re looking forward to working with this talented young indie to help push them to the next level.”

Duane Jones said: “Renowned Films is thrilled to start a new chapter in our development, bolstered by the support of Channel 4. As a company built by young creatives from the ground up, we share the broadcaster's commitment to innovation, experimentation, and the development of burgeoning British talent. The Growth Fund investment allows us to continue our mission to engage and entertain today's youth audience with the forward-thinking content they deserve.”