Red Arrow Entertainment Group acquires majority interest in New York based producer Left/Right.
• Strengthens the Group’s production foothold in the world’s largest production market
• Partners the Group with an award-winning production company with long-standing relationships to US networks
• Leverages a strong management team with excellent creative and commercial skills
• Positions Red Arrow as a leading supplier of high-quality factual content to the global market
• Drives Red Arrow’s distribution business by accessing US formats with hit potential
Red Arrow Entertainment Group today announced the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Left/Right Productions, a multi award-winning independent TV production company. Founded in 2005 by Banks Tarver and Ken Druckerman, Left/Right has grown to become one of the most successful production companies on the East Coast. To date, Left/Right has produced over 300 hours of TV programming across a diverse range of genres, from docu-soap to documentary, competition to celeb-reality, serious fare to seriously funny, and everything in between. The company’s broad production slate ranges from three-time Emmy Award-winning TV adaptation “This American Life” for Showtime, to breakout hit series “Mob Wives” for VH1, to “Home By Novogratz” for HGTV, to “Small Town Security” for AMC.
Banks Tarver and Ken Druckerman, who will continue to lead the company going forward, have spent numerous years in factual and reality TV production. Banks developed and oversaw the hit factual series “True Life” for MTV and supervised and produced many of MTV’s pro-social documentaries while on staff at MTV. Ken worked on critically acclaimed factual series and feature documentaries such as “Frontline” (PBS), while also producing and directing reality shows for networks such as A&E and Discovery. The partners first came together while working as freelance showrunners on the hit series “Growing Up Gotti,” (A&E), and started Left/Right soon thereafter. Seven years and hundreds of hours of television later, the partners can point with pride to a diverse client base and a ridiculously eclectic mix of projects that gives meaning to the name: the company’s projects span the creative spectrum from Left…to Right.
Ken and Banks are supported by a strong management team, including SVP and Head of Production Kevin Vargas (who has been with the company since its inception), SVP and Head of Development Anneka Jones (previously with MTV’s News & Docs division), SVP and Head of Current Production Nina Diaz (show runner on “Mob Wives” and creator of hit series such as “My Super Sweet 16” and “Cribs”), and Head of Post Production, Mike Mezaros (who handles all aspects of the company’s advanced editorial workflow).
Jan Frouman, Group Managing Director of Red Arrow, said: “This is a really significant and exciting step for us. Not only have Ken and Banks proven themselves to be a ‘rock-star’ team – but we are also dramatically expanding our presence in the US. The deal has all the elements we prioritize: great people, a key territory, a stellar track record, and a strong group fit.”
Ken Druckerman, Founder & Co-President of Left/Right, added: “We had been looking for an international partner who could help Left/Right with its desire to expand internationally, and we could not have found a better partner than the Red Arrow group. We have been incredibly impressed with their professional approach, and their portfolio of production companies and like-minded producers.”
Banks Tarver, Founder & Co-President of Left/Right, says “We are thrilled to join forces with Red Arrow, as it allows us to ‘globalize’ our approach to the television marketplace, and to develop and produce new ideas and formats from around the world. The partnership will strengthen our core unscripted television business, while presenting us with a platform to develop new opportunities in scripted television and other new areas as well.”
Left/Right was advised by About Corporate Finance, specialist investment bank advisors to the TV production industry.