Ben Silverman & Howard T Owens’ Propagate Gets Backing From Raine Group
Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens’ independent TV studio Propagate has secured a significant financi..
Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens’ independent TV studio Propagate has secured a significant financial investment from global merchant bank, The Raine Group. The exact amount was undisclosed but will be used by Propagate to accelerate the company’s global growth. That will include the launch of new ventures and targeted acquisitions. Raine joins A+E Networks as a backer of Propagate.
Silverman and Owens founded the studio in 2015. It has 17 series in production and 40 projects in development at over 21 networks and streaming services. It’s notably the maker of Apple’s first series, Planet Of The Apps, as well as Amazon Prime’s Lore. This year will see its first straight-to-series scripted order, Blood & Treasure, on CBS.
Going forward, the company will expand worldwide production, distribution and digital businesses, including the formation of a branded content studio division and podcast network. There will also be new units in Latin America, Asia, India and the Middle East. The company launched an international distribution division in January last year.
More recently, it has joined forces with Gwyneth Paltrow, and Grammy Award-winner Zac Brown to produce content based upon their respective lifestyle brands.
“Over the past few years we have seen massive shifts in the media industry that have changed the way production companies have traditionally done business,” say Silverman and Owens. “The world of media and technology continues to evolve rapidly, and we want to have the capital and partners in place to help us grow even faster allowing us to continue to deliver premium content to audiences around the world. Nancy Dubuc and the team at A+E Networks have been fantastic partners, and Joe Ravitch and the team at Raine bring incredible experience and access. We are thrilled to have such best-in-class partners that will help us climb to new heights.”
Ravitch adds, “We see the future of storytelling as global, and Howard and Ben have a great record of approaching the world that way, building and distributing multinational formats with great success.” Ravitch and Raine’s Erik Hodge will join the Propagate board.
Raine’s previous media investments have included Vice, Imagine Entertainment, Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s Important Studios, fantasy sports operator Draft Kings and action sports company Nitro Circus.
