Led by Paul Wooding, the newly merged business will be dedicated to the development and production of natural history and specialist factual programming for the UK and international market.
Woodcut Media, one of the fastest growing Indie’s in the UK has merged with Spark TV to launch Woodcut West. The newly merged business, which will be dedicated to the development and production of natural history and specialist factual programming for the UK and international market, will be effective from 1st December.
Woodcut West will be based out of Bristol and be spearheaded by award-winning executive producer Paul Wooding.
With an impressive track record that spans over 30 years, Wooding is a highly-respected factual exec who has achieved a reputation for bold and ambitious natural history and specialist factual programmes, having secured numerous commissions from the BBC, Discovery US and UK, HISTORY, Smithsonian Channel, C4, and National Geographic, to name a few.
Wooding’s long list of impressive credits feature T. Rex Autopsy, Blitz Street, Black Files Declassified, Hive Alive, Last War Heroes, Smash Lab and Wild Tube.
Woodcut Media (co-founded by Kate Beal) and Spark TV (founded by Paul Wooding) form part of the Anthology Group and share similar creative ambitions and high-production values, so this is a natural next step in Woodcut’s expansion which will benefit both parties, creating an even stronger talent pool of resources.
Kate Beal, Co-Founder & CEO, Woodcut Media said: “We are proud to unveil this new partnership with Paul to create Woodcut West. Bristol is recognised worldwide as the UK’s creative hub for natural history and wildlife documentaries and we have known and respected Paul’s work for many years now; he breaks the mould when it comes to producing bold, innovative and immersive programming. This alliance will allow us to expand our mutual specialist factual horizons and branch out into new genres, which is a very exciting next stage in Woodcut’s growth.”
Paul Wooding, Managing Director, Woodcut West said: “Woodcut shares the same vision and work ethos as I do when it comes to factual production. In the lead up to this launch, we have been brainstorming numerous ideas, and have a number of projects in development that we will be announcing over the coming months. Our combination of editorial expertise and talent base will provide a broad and exciting range of great projects for the broadcasters we all love to work with worldwide.”
Hilary Strong, Chairman of Woodcut Media and CEO of the Anthology Group added: “The Anthology Group is delighted to announce this merger between its two factual production companies, bringing creative synergies and scale to both. Paul’s impressive track record for bold and innovative production, combined with Woodcut’s creativity, scale and unparalleled track record make for a formidable team.”
