Ten Alps
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| Company type | Public Limited Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | UK |
Key people | Mark Browning[1] (CEO & president) |
Number of employees | 283 |
| Divisions | Zinc Distribution |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Website | www |
Zinc Media Group Plc (LSE: ZIN) (formerly known as Ten Alps Plc) is a British multimedia production & distribution company that creates factual documentary, unscripted television series and cross-platform content for UK and international broadcasters, brands, and businesses. It operates through two main segments: Television Production, which includes labels like Brook Lapping - which produces current affairs programming such as Dispatches and Tern TV, and Content Production, which creates films, podcasts, and other content for brands, the company has its own distribution arm named Zinc Distribution that handles global distribution of programming produced by its own production labels. It also produced films, branded content, digital content, podcasts, and publishing content for businesses, worldwide brands and rights holders.
Ten Alps Communicate manages a digital cross-platform portfolio which includes major programmes such as Transport for London's Children's Traffic Club, and educational websites, apps and channels for Siemens, Nationwide, BMW, AstraZeneca, and other major organisations.
Ten Alps Publishing is structured around specialised business-to-business audiences with a focus on finance, small businesses, health, pharmaceuticals, logistics and farming niches.
History
[edit]Zinc Media was founded in 1999 as Ten Alps by Alex Connock, Bob Geldof and Des Shaw.[citation needed] For £1 they bought Planet 24 Radio, a subsidiary of Geldof's previous TV production company Planet 24, producer of The Big Breakfast and The Word, when Planet 24 TV was sold to ITV subsidiary Carlton TV.[citation needed] The name Ten Alps derives from Planet, spelt backwards. The first production was award-winning current affairs radio programme Sunday Service for BBC Radio 5 Live.[citation needed] Ten Alps listed on the AIM in 2001.[2]
On 17 June 2015, Ten Alps completed its major recapitalisation and had brought London-based factual television production company Reef Television to expand its factual production business, giving Ten Alps another production company with Reed Television became a subsidiary of the former group as Reef Television founder & chief executive Richard Farmbrough continued leading the London-based factual production company and became Ten Alps' new commercial director whilst Ten Alps' creative director Fiona Stourton retained her position of the group's television operations.[3] Ten Alps' co-founder & musician Bob Geldof stepping down as board of the TV & media production group Ten Alps following the production group's major restructuring alongside Timothy Hoare with the group's president & CEO Peter Bertram remained as CEO of the production group as Entertaineur Jonathan Goodwin and former Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson joined Ten Alps as non-executive directors however Bob Geldof retained a shareholder in the production group.[4][5]
On 29 February 2016 following Ten Alps' major restructure of its leader board and the acquisition of Reef Television one year prior in 2015, Ten Alps had been rebranded themselves to Zinc Media with its portfolio of its production companies including Blakeway Productions and Brook Lapping retained its names and adapted Zinc Media's rebranding as Zinc Media launched its new website which became effective.[6]
On October 25 2017 following the rebranding of Ten Alps to Zinc Media a year prior, Zinc Media acquired Scottish & Northern Irish indie production company Tern TV to expand Zinc Media's factual production operations, giving Zinc Media its own Scottish & Northern Irish production outfit and its entry into the Scotland and Northern Ireland markets as Tern TV became a subaidary of Zinc Media.[7]
In September 2020, Zinc Media Group increased its factual entertainment & factual businesses by establishing a new factual entertainment subsidiary based in London named Red Sauce that would produce factual entertainment & factual programming and would partner with Zinc's Branded Content division with former BBC commissioner editor and diversity executive Tom Edwards heading Zinc Media's new factual entertainment label as president.[8] A day later in that same month following Zinc's launch of factual entertainment label Red Sauce, Zinc Media Group shuttered two of its production companies which are Manchester-based production company Blakeway North and London-based production subsidiary Reef Television as Zinc's new factual entertainment unit Red Sauce would take over production of factual programmies from both Zinc's former companies.[9]
In April 2021, Zinc Media Group joined forces with award-winning director Mike Christie to launch a new production label dedicated to live-event music, arts & sports broadcasts, factual content, brand fimms and exhilarating documentaries called Supercollider as Zinc Media's sixth production subsidiary with the award-winning director heading the new production label Supercollider as its president of the new production subsidiary.[10][11]
In August 2022, Zinc Media Group expanded its international production output with the acquisition of global award-winning British and Middle East-based international film production company The Edge Picture Company and its international offices based in both former countries and in Vancouver, Canada and Paris, France.[12] A month later in September of that year, Zinc Media Group entered the post-production activities with the establishment of its post-production service based in London called Bumblebee that would handle post-production services for programmes produced by Zinc's production companies and would work on various cilents.[13][14]
In October 2024, Zinc Media Group brought factual independent production and distribution group behind the series Police Interceptors Raw Cut TV alongside its London-based distributiom arm Raw Cut Distribution and Cardiff-based Welsh production subsidiary Tomos TV. Zinc's acquisition of Raw Cut TV alongside its distribution arm Raw Cut Distribution and Cardiff-based Welsh outfit Tomos TV had marked Zinc's first entry into the Welsh production genre and gained Zinc an international distribution unit that would bring programming from Zinc's production companies to other markets.[15]
In October 2025 ahead of MIPCOM and following Zinc's acquisition of Raw Cut TV including its distribution unit Raw Cut Distribution back in 2024, Zinc Media Group announced its entry into the distribution operations with the launch of its in-house distribution division named Zinc Distribution that would bring all of programming & back catalogue produced by Zinc's production companies under one distribution arm as Raw Cut TV's founder & president Steve Warr became head of Zinc's distribution arm Zinc Distribution.[16]
Group companies
[edit]Red Sauce
[edit]Red Sauce is the factual entertainment & digital content label of Zinc Media Group that produce factual entertainment programming.
In May 2022, Red Sauce announced its three executives across the company's development and produciton.[17]
Filmography
[edit]| Title | Years | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun | 2016–present | 5 | continued from Blakeway North |
| Legends of Comedy with Lenny Henry[18] | 2024–present | Channel 4 | co-production with Douglas Road Productions |
Tern Television
[edit]Tern Television is a Scottish multi-award-winning, independent television production subsidiary of Zinc Media Group that produces factual, documentary, and specialist television series.
In late-September 2006 following Tern Television's successful Irish television series The Greenmount Garden, Tern Television expanded its production operations into Northern Ireland by establishing a new production office based in Belfast with former BBC producer Alison Millar heading Tern Television new Irish production office.[19]
In October 2007, Tern Television further expanded its production services into the multimedia platform operations with the launch of its own multimedia platform division Tern Digital as the new division would handle Tern Television's content into multi-platform services with Tern Television appointing former IWC Media development producer Simon Meek to head the production company's new mulimedia platform division as CEO of the new unit.[20][21]
Productions
[edit]| Title | Years | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beechgrove | 1978–present | BBC One/BBC Two/BBC Scotland | |
| Ladies That Launch[22] | 2005 | Discovery Home & Health | |
| Sunday Morning Live[23] | 2010–present | BBC One | inherited from BBC Studios co-production with Green Inc. |
| Town with Nicholas Crane[24] | 2011–2013 | BBC Two | |
| Emergency Helicopter Medics | 2018–present | Channel 4 | co-production with GroupM Motion Entertainment |
| Inside the Zoo[25] | 2020–present | BBC Scotland | |
| Spooked Ireland[26] | 2023 | Really | |
| Our Tiny Islands[27] | 2024 | More 4 | co-production with Northern Ireland Screen |
| Jailed: Women In Prison[28] | 2025 | BBC Scotland |
References
[edit]- ^ "Senior Management Team & Board". Zinc Media.
- ^ "Ten Alps – Company History". Retrieved 2009-07-19.
- ^ "Ten Alps completes recapitalisation". Private Equity Wire. 17 June 2015.
- ^ Smitherman, Gary (17 June 2015). "Ten Alps buys Reef, Geldof exits". C21Media.
- ^ "U.K. TV Producer Ten Alps to Acquire Reef, Bob Geldof to Leave Board". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 June 2015.
- ^ "Ten Alps rebrands as Zinc Media". Prolific North. 29 February 2016.
- ^ "Zinc Media acquires Tern TV for £5.45m". Televisual. 25 October 2017.
- ^ Whittingham, Clive (10 September 2020). "Zinc Media serves up Red Sauce". C21Media.
- ^ Chapman, Stephen (11 September 2020). "Zinc closes Blakeway North". Prolific North.
- ^ Creamerdate=21 April 2021, Jon. "Zinc Media launches Supercollider with Mike Christie". Televisual.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Regan, Chelsea (21 April 2021). "Zinc Media Launches New Label with Mike Christie". Worldscreen.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (3 August 2022). "Zinc Media Group Acquires Edge Picture Company – Global Bulletin". Variety.
- ^ Creamer, Jon (6 September 2022). "Zinc Media launches post house Bumblebee". Telvisual.
- ^ Priestley, Jenny (6 September 2022). "Zinc Media Group announces new climate-conscious post production service". TVB Europe.
- ^ Whittingham, Clive (30 October 2024). "Zinc Media Group acquires UK 'blue light' factual indie Raw Cut". C21Media.
- ^ Whittingham, Clive (1 October 2025). "Zinc Media Group launches distribution arm ahead of Mipcom showcase". C21Media.
- ^ https://www.televisual.com/news/red-sauce-adds-to-development-production-teams/
- ^ "Lenny Henry meets Legends of Comedy in new Channel 4 series". Channel 4. 16 May 2023.
- ^ "Belfast office opens as Scottish Indie Tern Television expands". 4RFV. 29 September 2006.
- ^ "Tern TV Launches Tern Digital And Announces Appointment". 4RFV. 24 October 2007.
- ^ "Multimedia move for Tern". Broadcast Now. 31 October 2007.
- ^ "Discovery to air businesswoman show". Broadcast Now. 7 July 2005.
- ^ "Outcome of the competitive tender to produce Sunday Morning Live". BBC Media Centre. 15 August 2022.
- ^ "Town wkth Nicholas Crane". Tern TV.
- ^ Creamer, Jon (24 June 2020). "Tern takes a trip to the zoo for BBC Scotland". Televisual.
- ^ "Warner Bros. Discovery UK & Ireland announces a host of new and returning linear and discovery+ commissions". Warner Bros. Discovery. 28 March 2023.
- ^ Stalcup, Jamie (6 February 2023). "Channel 4 Commissions Series from Northern Ireland Indies". Worldscreen.
- ^ Creamer, Jon (25 January 2025). "BBC orders women's prisons doc series from Tern". Televisual.