An agreement has been reached between Viaplay Group and the current management of Paprika Studios, the Central and Eastern European market-leading production company: the management team led by Ákos Erdős (CEO) will take over the ownership of Paprika Studios. The producton group’s own-produced content is already available wildspread on the biggest media outlets of CEE such as Netflix, HBO Max, Czech Voyo, Channel 5 UK, Romanian Pro Tv, Pop Tv Slovenia, Czech Tv Nova , Lithuanian public broadcast television, Slovak Markiza, Hungarian RTL and TV2 Group and AXN, among others. In parallel to the changes, the dynamically growing company has already initiated negotiations to open new branches in addition to its eight-country operating footprint.
The current management team led by Ákos Erdős CEO has successfully closed the acquisition of Paprika Studios from Viaplay Group as part of a management buyout. The Central and Eastern European market-leading production company is headquartered in Budapest and has its own branches in eight countries. The group will continue its successful business strategy and plans to further strengthen cooperation with international streaming providers in addition to its television collaborations.
Paprika Studios became part of the Modern Times Group in 2012 and then Viaplay Group, which decided last year to focus on its Nordic and Netherlands operations as part of a new business strategy and to refocus its content offering on premium sports, acquired films and series, and local non-scripted productions. After considering several options, Viaplay Group decided to accept a purchase offer for Paprika Studios from the latter’s management team. The offer was subject to approval by Viaplay Group’s shareholders, which was received on January 10, and the transaction closed on January 19.
The change of ownership will open up new market opportunities for Paprika Studios. Furthermore, in addition to continuing our collaborations with several market-leading broadcasters, we will be able to deepen our partnerships with other international streaming providers. Our business strategy has always been based on the production of quality content, whether it is entertainment, fiction or reality productions, movie productions, or short films. This professionalism and commitment will be even stronger with the arrival of the management team as owners, said Ákos Erdős, the CEO of Paprika Studios.
We are pleased to close this transaction, which is in line with Viaplay Group’s business strategy. The offer from Paprika’s management created the most value for Viaplay Group’s shareholders and made a swift process possible. We wish Ákos and his team all the best as they take Paprika Studios forward as an independent company. – Enrique Patrickson, Viaplay Group EVP, CFO and Head of Strategy and M&A.
Paprika Studios has been in business for almost two decades, produced almost 600 hours of entertainment content in 12 different languages in 2023. This content was made available to viewers on streaming services such as Voyo, HBO MAX, Netflix, RTL+ and Viaplay. Paprika Studios also produced content that aired on UK’s Channel 5, Czech Republic’s Tv Nova, Slovakia’s Markiza Tv, Slovenia’s Pop Tv, Romania’s Pro Tv, Hungary’s RTL, TV2 Group and AXN and Lithuania’s LRT. Paprika Studios has produced such well-known and popular formats as Survivor, The Voice, X-Factor, Paradise Hotel, Dancing with the Stars, Traitors, The Teacher, Neighbor’s Cow, Fish on the Cake, The Bridge, Land of the Brave, Farmer Wants a Wife, Tiger Daddy, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Love Island, Power Couple and many more.
