In a move aimed at reshaping the entertainment industry and paving the way for more opportunities for Latino creators, Banijay Americas Chairman Cris Abrego and actress, producer and director Eva Longoria have teamed up to launch joint venture Hyphenate Media Group (HMG).
The media holding company and premium content studio will invest in creator-led enterprises as well as develop and produce its own slate of original programming. Banijay, led by Chairman Stéphane Courbit and CEO Marco Bassetti, has made a strategic investment in the new business to accelerate its growth.
Abrego, a celeb-reality pioneer and longtime unscripted executive, will be the new venture’s CEO, while remaining Chairman of Americas for Banijay. Longoria will be the company’s chief creative officer.
Collaborators for the past two decades, and company co-founders, Abrego and Longoria plan to leverage their shared vision and expertise to identify creator-led enterprises with a potential to scale. The initial phase of Hyphenate Media Group’s growth will focus on building a dynamic portfolio of partners.
Hyphenate offers an alternative model, supporting creator-entrepreneurs, giving them a platform to develop and sell projects independently, while keeping an eye on the rapidly evolving marketplace, driven by a younger and more diverse audience.
“With Hyphenate Media Group, Eva and I are building an engine for culture-defining content by investing in visionary multi-hyphenate artists and providing these extraordinary creative leaders with the resources and infrastructure they need to scale their businesses,” says Abrego. “Through capital, brand development, and the leadership provided by Hyphenate, we will drive their creative output, enhance their deal-making capacity, and grow their brands, building franchises driven by original IP.”
To kick-start its independent studio, Hyphenate Media Group has acquired the full slate of UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, the independent production label founded by Longoria in 2005 soon after her breakthrough onscreen role on Desperate Housewives. Her company has been behind titles such as Grand Hotel (ABC), Telenovela (NBC), documentary Reversing Row (Netflix
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“With Hyphenate Media Group, Cris and I are leveraging the power of the creative industry’s greatest resource, the multi-hyphenate, to help meet audiences and the industry where they are. We are answering the industry’s call for premium inclusive content with broad appeal and an undeniable point of view,” states Longoria. “Our intention is to provide greater financial participation for makers, creators, talent, and entrepreneurs – the Hyphenates. Given the multiple transformations that our business is undergoing, I cannot think of a better time to lean into makers, who are the essential drivers of the creative enterprise.”
UnbeliEVAble Entertainment projects will be folded into the core operations of the new business, with Hyphenate taking over and advancing the entire lineup as well as developing new scripted and unscripted programs. HMG’s first title, Apple TV+’s Land of Women, is expected to be released in 2024. Both Abrego and Longoria will produce exclusively for the new company, and all television projects directed by Longoria will be produced under the new banner.
Abrego and Longoria, currently in negotiations with a select group of prominent executives, anticipate unveiling their leadership roster in the coming months.
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