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Objective Media Group

Television production company

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Objective Media Group Limited (OMG), previously known as Objective Productions Limited, is a media production company that is a subsidiary of Banijay UK, in turn to be a division of Banijay Entertainment, and consists of several individual production labels that create scripted dramas, comedies, reality, and factual entertainment programmes for UK and international broadcasters. It develops and produces entertainment, reality, factual, and scripted programming including The Cube, Lingo, The Gold, Feel Good, Peep Show, Fresh Meat, and Toast of London. The company has offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Scotland and Los Angeles, California.

Objective has won a number of awards including BAFTA, RTS Awards, British Comedy Awards, Rose d'Or, Monte Carlo Golden Nymphs and the South Bank Show.

01History

Objective Media Group Limited was incorporated on 9 April 1992 as Objective Productions Limited by Andrew O'Connor.

On 15 August 2007, British independent powerhouse group All3Media acquired Objective Productions in order to expand its TV production and distribution.

On 24 September 2015, Objective announced that they would undergo a creative restructure.

On 17 December 2015, Objective announced that they had launched a factual entertainment label with Deborah Sargeant in which it was named Second Star Productions. However, on 22 April 2022, after the departure of Deborah Sargeant, the founder of Second Star Productions, Objective Media Group folded its factual entertainment label Second Star Productions into All3Media's fellow production subsidiary Betty TV.

On 6 January 2016 following the establishment of Objective Productions' factual entertainment label Second Star Productions a month prior in December 2015, Objective Productions launched a second production label which its an entertainment subsidiary entitled Panda Television with Objective Productions appinted former Wall to Wall Media exeuctive Moira Ross to head Panda Television as the role of CCO. Two weeks later on the 22nd of that month, Objective Productions partnered with former head of Objective's comedy production state & former BBC in-house comedy executive Ben Farrell (who had returned to Objective after leaving to join the BBC back in 2014) to launch a new comedy production label that would handle all of Objective's comedy production state while Ben Farrell would head up Objective's new comedy label under the role of CCO, while Objective Productions' comedy team Charlie Lewis and Kelly McGolpin had become core producers of the newly launch production label and Joe McVey became Development Executive of Objective Fiction; the new comedy label would soon be named Objective Fiction.

On 20 May 2019, Objective Media Group had established its then-unnamed creative production label based in Manchester with former BBC executives Pam Cavannagh and Dympna Jackson would head up Objective's new unnamed creative production outfit as co-presidents; the name for Obejctive's new Manchester-based creative production label would later be named Purple Productions.

In June 2020, Objective Media Group teamed up with Neil Forsyth to form a new production label under Objective's comedy production division Objective Fiction called Tannadice Pictures that would produce all of Neil Forsyth's upcoming programming state.

In August 2022, Objective Media Group's parent All3Media had merged its production subsidiairy Maverick Television UK into Objective Media Group's Glasgow-based Scottish production division Objective Media Group Scotland as the latter's parent Objective had formed a new production label based in OMG Scotland's Glasgow office named 141 Productions alongside a London office with Toby Stevens, head of OMG's Scottish division OMG Scotland, and Maverick Television UK’s Creative Director Hannah Brownhill would run the new production label

On 18 January 2023, Objective and its parent company All3Media announced that they had sold producer Main Event Media, which was founded by Jimmy Fox in 2017, to Religion of Sports in an exclusive production deal with the latter now being a production arm under the former.

In May 2024, Objective Media Group consolidated two of its unscripted production labels which were London-based gameshow & unscripted entertainment label Triple Brew Media and factual & lifestyle programming label Betty TV (also based in London, which Obejctive Media Group's parent All3Media acquired it from Discovery (now Warner Bros. Discovery) in 2017) as Objective Media Group had the two production labels merged alongside their production states into a new then-untitled unscripted entertainment production label. One month later on 26 June of that year following the merger Objective Media Group's two production labels Betty TV and Triple Brew Media into forming one then-untitled unscripted entertainment label, Objective Media Group had named the new unscripted entertainment production label Objective Entertainment with its parent appointed Neale Simpson to head the parent's new unscripted entertainment outfit Objective Entertainment under the role of managing director whilst Betty TV joint creative director Helen Cooke joining the new label Objective Entertainment as creative director.

Four months later in September of that year following Objective naming its new unscripted label as Objective Entertainment back in May, Objective Media Group's new unscripted production studio Objective Entertainment had taken over the unscripted production state such as The Only Way Is Essex and Celebs Go Dating from All3Media's fellow production subsidiary Lime Pictures (whom Objective had previously produced Fresh Meat with them) when Lime Pictures had shuttered its London production office as Rebecca Kenny-Smith who formerly headed Lime's London office joined Objective Entertainment to head the production takeover of the brands.

In July 2026 when Objective Media Group's parent All3Media had merged with French international production/distrobution group Banijay Entertainment in that same month, Objective Media Group had closed its Manchester-based factual and game show entertainment production label Purple Productions after seven years.

02Companies

Part of Banijay UK, Objective Media Group is led by Layla Smith and is composed of the following companies:

  • Objective Entertainment (Powerhouse unscripted label set up in 2024, developing and producing the next generation of channel-defining formats in the UK and internationally.)
  • Objective Fiction (scripted comedies and comedy-dramas)
  • OMG America (Los Angeles, California, American division)
  • OMG North (Manchester, England, run by Pam Cavannagh and Dympna Jackson)
  • OMG Scotland (Glasgow, nations hub)
  • Coming Up Roses (Launched in March 2023 Coming Up Roses is led by Oliver Wright, focusing on developing and producing high quality and strong rating factual series and documentaries.)

03Filmography

Title Years Network Notes
The Alphabet Game1996-1997BBC Oneco-production with BBC North
Meet the Challenge1998
Extreme Magic, Extreme Danger2000ITVco-production with LWT
Secrets of Magic2003-2005BBC Two
Peep Show2003-2015Channel 4
19 Keys2003Channel 5co-production with Crook Productions
BedsitcomChannel 4
Balls of Steel2005-2008
Star Stories2006-2008
The Real Hustle2006-2012BBC Threeco-production with Crook Productions
Trick or Treat2007-2008Channel 4
Dogface2007E4
The Peter Serafinowicz Show2007-2008BBC Two
The Kevin Bishop Show2008-2009Channel 4
The Justin Lee Collins Show2009ITV2
Reggie Perrin2009-2010BBC One
The Cube2009-2021ITVco-production with Triple Brew Media
Derren Brown: The Events2009Channel 4
Robert's Web2010co-production with That Mitchell & Web Co.
Pete versus Life2010-2011
John Bishop's BritainBBC Oneco-production with 3 Amigos
Tool Academy2011-2012E4
Fresh MeatChannel 42011-2016co-production with Lime Pictures
Mr & Mrs Hotty Hot Show2011E4
The Mad Bad Ad Show2012Channel 4
Operation Ouch!2012-presentCBBCas Objective Media Group Scotland
continued from Maverick Television
Face the Clock2013Channel 4as Objective Productions Scotland
Big Bad WorldComedy Central
Relfex2014BBC One
Bad Robots2014-2015E4
Killer Magic2015BBC Threeas Objective Productions Scotland
Beat the BrainBBC Twoco-production with Over the Top Productions
King of the NerdsSky Oneco-production with Electus
Make Me a Millionaire Inventor2015-2016CNBCas Objective Productions USA
co-production with All3Media America
Thief Trackers2015-2017BBC Oneco-production with Crook Productions
Tricks of the Restaurant Trade2016-2019Channel 4as Objective Media Group Scotland
co-production with Betty
Culinary Genius2017ITVco-production with Studio Ramsay
Last Commanders2018-2019CBBC
  • Originally titled Fear Falls
  • as Objective Media Group Scotland
  • co-production with Panda Television (season 1)
Flirty Dancing US2019-2020Foxas Objective Media Group America
co-production with All3Media America and Second Star Productions
Saving Our Nurses2020BBC Oneas Objective Media Group North; co-production with Betty
12 Dates of Christmas2020-2021HBO Maxas Objective Media Group America
co-production with All3Media America
Lingo2021-presentITV1as Objective Media Group North
co-production with Objective Entertainment
The Answer Trap2021Channel 4as Objective Media Group Scotland
co-production with Triple Brew Media and Motion Content Group
The Cube USA2021TBSas Objective Media Group America
co-production with All3Media America and 59th & Prairie Entertainment
The LarkinsITV12021-2022as Objective Media Group Scotland
co-production with Objective Fiction and Genial Productions
Gordon Ramsay's Future Food Stars2022-2023co-production with Studio Ramsay Global
The Great American Recipe2022-presentPBSas Objective Media Group America
co-production with VPM Media Corporation
Alan Carr's Picture Slam2023-presentBBC Oneas Objective Media Group Scotland
co-production with Objective Entertainment

04Objective Fiction

Objective Fiction is a specialized television production label under the Objective Media Group that focuses on creating original scripted comedy and drama content for UK and international broadcasters. Headed by Ben Farrell, the label operates in both the UK and North America.

It was formed on 22 February 2016, when Objective Media Group partnered with former head of Objecitve's comedy production state & former BBC in-house comedy executive Ben Farrell, who had returned to Objective after leaving to join the BBC back in 2014, to launch a new comedy production label, which was named Objective Fiction a month later in March, that would handle all of Objective's comedy production state while Ben Farrell would head up Objective's new comedy label under the role of CCO while Objective Productions' comedy team Charlie Lewis and Kelly McGolpin had become core producers of the newly launch production label and Joe McVey became Development Executive of Objective Fiction.

In June 2021, Objective Fiction signed a first look partnership with Mae Martin to produce & develop scripted programming with Objective Fiction would produce them with Mae Martin.

Productions

Title Years Network Notes
Toast of London2013-2022Channel 4/BBC Two
  • Known as Toast of Tinseltown
  • Took over production from Objective Productions for series 4
  • co-production with Wiip
GameFace2014-2019Channel 4/E4Took over production from Objective Productions
The Larkins2021-2022ITV1co-production with Objective Media Group Scotland and Genial Productions
Wayward2025Netflixco-production with Sphere Media

05Current productions

  • Britain Today Tonight
  • GameFace
  • Is OJ Innocent? The Missing Evidence
  • It Was Alright in the 70s
  • Now You See It
  • Stupid Man, Smart Phone
  • United Shades of America
  • Witless

06Past productions

Watch videos about Objective Media GroupExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Objective Media Group, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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