Lionsgate Launches Alternative TV Division Led by Craig Piligian

 Posted on August 23, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  783 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Lionsgate is launching a new alternative television division.

The news comes on the heels of the independent studio closing its $375 million acquisition of eOne in late December. Lionsgate Alternative Television will combine Pilgrim Media Group (which is majority owned by Lionsgate) with eOne’s U.S. and U.K. non-scripted group, as well as Blackfin, Renegade and Daisybeck Studios.

Craig Piligian will serve as managing director of Lionsgate Alternative Television. The management team under him will be made up of executives like Pilgrim Media Group’s president and COO Gretchen Stockdale and chief current officer and general manager Nicholas Caprio. Renegade’s leaders David Garfinkle and Jay Renfroe will serve as senior executives on the management team.

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Per Lionsgate, the market-facing development labels of each company will remain intact, with most of the production, post-production and backroom operations integrating.

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“The launch of Lionsgate Alternative Television marks another key milestone in the expansion of our global television footprint,” said Lionsgate Television Group Chairman and chief creative officer Kevin Beggs. “As a major force in the non-scripted programming world, Craig is the perfect executive to take our unscripted operations to the next level.”

Reporting to the management team, Tom Huffman will oversee operations for Pilgrim, while Bob Kusbit will now do so for Renegade. Geno McDermott will oversee Blackfin, Matt Pritchard, Matt Walton and Malcolm Gerrie will take on eOne U.K. Paul Stead will watch over Daisybeck, with former History Channel leader and Half Yard Productions CEO Dirk Hoogstra joining Lionsgate to lead the eOne U.S. label. Lionsgate Alternative Television will also collaborate with the eOne Canada team, led by Jocelyn Hamilton.

“I am thrilled to announce Lionsgate Alternative Television’s extraordinary management team, comprised of the most influential non-scripted producers working in our industry today,” said Piligian. “In addition, our top-tier creative leadership team will supercharge our business, as Lionsgate becomes one of the largest independent unscripted production companies in the world.”

Among the unscripted franchises under the umbrella of the new division are: “Naked and Afraid,” “Street Outlaws,” “Wicked Tuna,” “The Yorkshire Vet,” “Ex on the Beach,” “Selling Sunset” and “MILF Manor,” as well as limited series such as “Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez” and “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre.”

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