Youngest Media, the content studio led by former Endemol Shine U.K. executives Lucas Church and David Flynn, has launched a subsidiary in Germany. The German arm, headed by Mark Stehli, has received its first order: a German version of reality series “Battle of the Bands” for channel RTL II.
Stehli, who has the title managing director at the German company, was previously director of production and corporate development at All3 Media in Germany.
Church and Flynn said: “Establishing an embedded presence in one of Europe’s most important territories represents a significant step for Youngest Media. We’ve been extremely encouraged by the appetite of Germany’s major platforms to innovate and launch new formats and RTL II’s commission of ‘Battle of the Bands’ underscores this.”
“Battle of the Bands,” which is a working title, will launch on RTL II in 2020, with Christoph Oldenburg and David Flynn as executive producers for Youngest Media.
Youngest Media’s formats include “Small Fortune,” which launched in a primetime Saturday night slot on British broadcaster ITV with an audience of more than 3 million, and recently sold to NBC in the U.S. Other international successes have included “Game of Clones,” which has sold to multiple territories including the U.S., U.K., Germany and France, and soon to be launched docu-reality show “HouseShare” for BBC Three.
Before co-founding Youngest Media in 2016, Church was CEO of Endemol U.K. and latterly chairman of Endemol Shine U.K., one of the U.K.’s largest production companies and behind some of television’s biggest hits. He also chaired Endemol Shine Group’s commercial board, which globally coordinated and initiated business across more than 30 territories in areas including digital video, gaming, apps and brand relations.
Flynn was formerly chief creative officer of Endemol Shine U.K., responsible for overseeing creativity across the group. He created and executive produced “The Million Pound Drop,” which travelled to 54 territories and won a BAFTA for digital creativity, and co-created and executive produced breakout hits including BBC One’s “Pointless.”
