Actress and businesswoman Reese Witherspoon is selling her production house Hello Sunshine for $900 million. The production house – which made Big Little Lies and The Morning Show, among others – is being bought by a new production house that has yet to get a name. The new house wants to become the main supplier for streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon.
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The competition in the streaming market is fierce. The only way to keep your head above water is to bring good content. Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer (former top managers at Disney) have understood that very well. They therefore deposit 900 million dollars (757,910 euros) for Hello Sunshine, the production house of Reese Witherspoon.
According to international reports, Staggs and Mayer are being supported in the establishment of their new production house by the investment company Blackstone, which has several billions available for other purchases. The ambitions are high: they want to become the series supplier to the streaming platforms. The new house has yet to be named.
Streamingsdiensten
It is the third time in a short period of time that large sums have been put on the table for the merger or takeover of a production house. “Earlier this month, Amazon bought MGM for 8.5 billion dollars (7.12 billion euros), which puts the 900 in perspective for Witherspoon,” says media expert Professor Tom Evens (UGent). “Then you know that something is moving in that market. There are now many streaming services that are all trying to get a piece of the cake. Good content may therefore cost something.”
When it comes to watching TV, it is no longer ‘what the hell’, but who presents the best dish. “Correct. And people don’t keep buying subscriptions indefinitely. We have two or three platforms in house. It is therefore important to have an extensive and exclusive offer. And that every month again.”
– Big Little Lies
‘Make an impact’
It is Witherspoon herself who founded Hello Sunshine years ago when her career was in the doldrums. She felt that there were too few strong female lead roles in Hollywood and therefore set up her own production house. Rolled off the line Gone Girl in Wild. The latter in particular put Witherspoon back on the map. After a while, the focus shifted from films to series. Big Little Lies for HBO became an instant success, cashing in on eight of the sixteen Emmy nominations. And also The Morning Show developed exclusively for Apple TV, was highly successful.
Witherspoon and her team will therefore remain on board the new production house, and will have more funds to make series and films. “This is a meaningful match because it proves that female stories matter. We are going to tell even more entertaining but also impactful and enlightening stories. We will be able to provide opportunities for filmmakers, writers and other creative minds to reach a wide audience,” said Witherspoon.
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