Former Reef Television CEO Richard Farmbrough has joined forces with Executive Producer Owen Rodd to create Somersault Studio, a new indie with bases in London and Cardiff.
Somersault Studio will focus on creating factual content for broadcasters, streamers, brands and the podcast market.
Farmbrough previously launched and ran Reef Television for 15 years and exited the company after its sale to Zinc Media. Reef Television’s output included Messiah at the Foundling Hospital (BBC), Paul Hollywood’s City Bakes (Food Network) and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (BBC).
As a freelance executive and series producer, Rodd has overseen returning series and documentaries for the past 15 years including Channel 5’s Egyptian Tomb Hunting with Tony Robinson, Smithsonian’s Combat Ships and C4’s Penelope Keith’s Hidden Villages. He will be Co-Founder and Creative Director of Somersault Studio.
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The company is in advanced development on multiple projects including travel and history shows and a music-based podcast project. Somersault Studio has also secured a major commission with the BBC to produce Gareth Malone’s Passion.
The show will see choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone take eight untrained singers and stage his own performance of Bach’s St John Passion on the 300th anniversary of its first performance.
Farmbrough said: “It is immensely exciting to be back in the production game with the multi-talented Owen Rodd, this time with a remit to create factual content for a truly broad range of customers. The opportunities to reach audiences in this continually fragmenting market are huge, but as producers we need to be more nimble and agile than ever before – somersaulting our way through the media landscape.”
Rodd said: “Richard and I first met at Reef in 2010 - the first of a great many stints for me there. He and I share a clear sense that the story is everything. We both love the challenge of applying that to new genres and platforms and that is where we are headed with this exciting new venture.”
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