Sky Studios launches Transistor Films

Thursday 18 March 2021
  • New wholly-owned factual and unscripted production company
  • Formed by team behind Netflix smash-hit I AM A KILLER and Sky Original The Murderer & Me

Sky Studios has launched Transistor Films, a new, wholly-owned factual and unscripted production company headed by award-winning producer, Danny Tipping.

With a remit to produce documentary and unscripted programming that keeps viewers on the edge of their seat, Transistor Films promises bold, new content that appeals to broadcasters around the world.

The company, based in London, launches under the new label this week with Executive Producer Ned Parker, Series Producer Zoe Hines and Development Executive Jason Oates joining the company. The name is inspired by the company’s focus on finding and amplifying new stories for a global audience.

Most recently, Tipping and the team that forms Transistor Films delivered Sky Original documentary series The Murderer & Me for Sky Crime, plus two series of the global smash hit series I AM A KILLER which instantly became a Top 10 series for Netflix upon launch.

The first project to deliver under the Transistor Films banner will be a series of 3 x 90’ feature length documentary specials titled Living With A Serial Killer for US broadcaster Oxygen. 

Transistor Films is already in active development on a range of new projects with US & UK broadcasters including projects for Sky’s new factual channels, Sky Crime and Sky Documentaries.

Danny Tipping, CEO of Transistor Films, said, "The Transistor Films team and I couldn’t be more excited to get going this week under our new banner. Building on the success of our recent true crime series, we’ll be pushing further into documentary and factual entertainment programming over the coming months. We are pleased to have a number of active developments underway already, and excited to become the newest member of the Sky Studios family of production companies.

Caroline Cooper, Chief Operating Officer, Sky Studios, said: "The market for unscripted content has never been stronger. With a remit to produce premium factual content for broadcasters around the world, Transistor Films, perfectly complements Sky Studios’ existing range of production companies. Danny’s eye for new, untold stories and his global network make him ideally placed to lead Transistor Films in this new chapter."

Alongside Transistor Films, Sky Studios owns or has equity stakes in several production companies in the UK and the US, including Great British Bake Off creator Love Productions, and the premier reality crime producer in the US, Jupiter Entertainment, creator of long-running hit Snapped. Sky Studios has also invested in high quality factual specialists Blast Films, True North Productions and Catalina Content; natural history producer True to Nature; drama producers The Lighthouse and Longboat Pictures; and growth businesses Sugar Films, Chrysalis Vision, and Talos Films (US).

For further information please contact Harrison.Kelly@sky.uk / +44 (0) 7817476365.

Danny Tipping – Biography

Danny Tipping is CEO of Transistor Films, a Sky Studios company.

With over 20 years’ experience in the television industry, Danny was most recently Head of Factual for Znak & Co, where he oversaw the production and delivery of hundreds of hours of high quality, award-winning Factual and Factual Entertainment programmes to leading broadcasters around the world including PBS, Discovery Networks, National Geographic, A+E,  Sky, UKTV, Foxtel and Netflix.

Prior to joining Znak & Co., Danny was the Director or Programming and Development at Sky Vision and has previously worked at Discovery Networks International and Channel 4 in the UK. 

About Sky

Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Across six countries, we connect our 24 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news, arts and to our own award-winning original content.

Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love – with entertainment from Sky TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer, and apps like Spotify, YouTube, BBC Sounds, Highbrow, Fiit, and more, in one place, easy. Our streaming service, NOW TV, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.

Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, Bulletproof and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free, while Sky Arts, the UK’s only dedicated free-to-air arts channel, makes the arts accessible for everyone. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which will open in 2022, is expected to create over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK over the first five years.

We believe that we can be a force for good in the communities in which we operate. We’re committed to being Europe’s first net zero carbon entertainment company by 2030 and we’re proud to be a Principal Partner and Media Partner of COP26. We take pride in our approach to diversity and inclusion: we’ve been recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our commitment to diversity and we’ve set ambitious 2025 targets to continue to increase diversity and representation. We’re also committed to investing £30million across our markets over three years to improve our approach to diversity and inclusion, and to tackle racial injustice.

About Sky Studios

Sky Studios brings to screen unique stories from the very best talent in Europe.

We develop, produce and fund original drama, comedy and documentary for Sky’s 24m customers and beyond. Building on the success of critically-acclaimed Sky Originals including Emmy-winning Chernobyl, Bafta-winning Patrick Melrose and international hits Das Boot, Riviera and Britannia, Sky Studios is the new creative home of Sky Originals, such as The Third Day with Jude Law, I Hate Suzie, co-created by Lucy Prebble and Billie Piper and BAFTA-nominated hit comedy, Brassic.

We’re an agile Studio, seeking out the best untold stories from new voices while working in creative partnership with today’s best writers, producers and on-screen talent to bring viewers stories they wouldn’t find anywhere else.

With commissioning talent and production capability across the UK, Germany and Italy, we understand local tastes across Europe better than anyone else and have plans to more than double our investment in original content by 2024, fully supported and backed by Comcast NBC Universal.

We’re also developing a new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which is expected to lead to the creation of over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK creative sector in the first five years alone.

Sky Studios invests in the cultural economy and global production sector with equity stakes in several production companies in the UK and the US, including Great British Bake-Off creator Love Productions, and the premier reality crime producer in the US, Jupiter Entertainment, creator of long-running hit Snapped. Sky Studios has invested in high quality factual specialists Blast! Films, True North Productions, and Transistor Films; natural history producer True to Nature; drama producers The Lighthouse and Longboat Pictures; and growth businesses Sugar Films, Chrysalis Vision, and Talos Films (US).

Sky Studios launched in June 2019. The senior leadership team is Chief Executive Officer Gary Davey, Chief Content Officer Jane Millichip, Chief Operating Officer Caroline Cooper, Director of Drama UK Cameron Roach, Director of Comedy UK Jon Mountague, Director Original Production Sky Italia Nils Hartmann, and Director Original Productions Sky Deutschland Marcus Ammon.