RINGSIDE MEDIA AND B-SIDE FILM AND TV ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP EXPANDING RINGSIDE’S INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
Ringside Media, the investment arm of Newen-backed indie Ringside Studios, and B Side Film and TV (B Side) have announced Ringside’s fourth major investment as it acquires a stake in B Side.
B Side was founded by Matimba Kabalika, whose previous roles include heading up BFI NETWORK and the content development division of a leading talent agency. B Side will focus on creating content with unique and diverse perspectives, highlighting emerging talent both on and off screen. Talent will remain at the heart the company’s developments, as B Side will be supported by a strategic relationship with B Side Management; Kate Morrison, Sarah Stephenson, and Sam Fox’s talent agency. This will allow B Side to take advantage of the deep and extensive relationships it holds across the industry.
Matimba Kabalika said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with Ringside as we continue to grow our slate and ambition to work with the most exceptional emerging talent”
Kate Bennetts, Ringside’s Managing Director, said: “Matimba is such an exciting force in the industry right now, and we are delighted to be welcoming her into the Ringside group and to developing a great relationship with Sam, Kate and Sarah. Together this team brings a formidable background in both content production and talent management, as well as a deep knowledge of the new and diverse writing community we are seeing blossoming in this country”.
Philippe Levasseur, Newen’s Head of International, said “Matimba, and the whole B Side team are a fresh and exciting addition to the Ringside family. They are hitting the ground running with a great slate of developments and we look forward to working with, and supporting, them in the future”.
Both Ringside Media and Ringside Studios were founded by leading British producer and former commissioner Gub Neal (Liaison, The Fall, Queer as Folk) in 2020 as part of parent company *Newen’s strategy to expand into the English-speaking scripted market and to strengthen its ties to the world class production activity currently being generated out of the UK. The boutique investment fund is making bespoke investments and partnerships with companies looking for the benefits of a larger supportive international and domestic network. The companies will all work closely with Newen Connect, Newen’s distribution arm. Ringside Media announced investments into Fictionhouse, Slate Entertainment and Further South Productions in 2021.
Ringside were advised by the team at Lee & Thompson, and B-Side by Grey Seal Media.
* Newen, a subsidiary of the TF1 group, is a major player in audiovisual production and distribution in Europe. The group has a multi-genre catalogue that fits diversified client demands from all around the world. Since 2017, Newen has grown internationally with the acquisition of companies such as Tuvalu and Pupkin (Netherlands), Nimbus (Denmark), De Mensen (Belgium), Reel One (Canada, United States and United Kingdom), Ringside, Fictionhouse, Slate Entertainment (United Kingdom) and iZen (Spain). With its international distribution arm, Newen Connect, and the integration of TF1 Studio in 2020, the Newen group has a catalog of 6,000 hours and more than 1,000 films.