The Top 7: RDF Media

RDF Media
London, UK
www.rdfmedia.com

If you want to know just how influential RDF Media is, consider the company's moves in the last year alone. In May 2005, RDF went public, establishing a market cap of £48 million (US$84 million). In August, it acquired control of drama producer Touchpaper Television, and appointed former controller of BBC3 Stuart Murphy as creative director. In December, rdf acquired Scotland's largest independent producer, IWC Media, as well as London-based entertainment producer Radar TV. To begin 2006, it hired Nigel Pickard, director of programs at ITV, as director of family and children's, and brought Simon London and Steph Harris into Radar as creative directors. (Both came from Talkback Thames, where they held the positions of editor of comedy entertainment and editor of factual entertainment, respectively.) Then, just for the heck of it, it launched a new LA-based management company called Pangea Management under top American agent Chris Coelen, with the goal of maximizing the intellectual property rights of scripted and reality formats of British and European producers. Most recently, the company also brought on Flextech's director of rights, Debbie Manners, as commercial director. What's next for RDF? Watch this space - you'll never have long to wait.

Recent titles: Wife Swap, Rock School, Shipwrecked
Employees: 350, plus freelancers
Hours in 2005: 552
Upcoming includes: Boys will be Girls (E4), Wife Swap: the Aftermath (E4), Wild Thing - I Love You (Channel 4), Top Dog (C4), Excuse My French (BBC2), Extreme Family Values (Five), Kitchen Showdown (UKTV), Ian Wright's Unfit Kids (C4)