Content Media Corporation (Historical)

Overview

Content Media Corporation was a London-based international sales and distribution company that operated from 2002 until its dissolution in 2020. The company's library is now owned by Quiver Distribution, a Toronto-based distributor led by Jeff Sackman and Berry Meyerowitz. Content Media Corporation no longer exists as an operating entity, and filmmakers seeking distribution for new work should approach Quiver Distribution or other active sales agents.

The company was originally founded as ContentFilm plc in September 2002 by CEO John Schmidt. In 2004, ContentFilm acquired Winchester Films, a British film production and distribution company. In 2005, the company entered television production by acquiring Canadian television company Fireworks Entertainment from CanWest, renaming it Fireworks International. In September 2006, ContentFilm acquired the assets of American companies Sterling Entertainment Group and Allumination FilmWorks, entering the DVD distribution market. In March 2011, ContentFilm rebranded as Content Media Corporation with three divisions: Content Television, Content Film, and Content Digital.

At its peak, Content Media Corporation's library included 3,200 hours of television content, 300 hours of digital content, and approximately 800 TV movies. The company's catalog included feature films such as Rules of Engagement and Hector and the Search for Happiness (starring Simon Pegg), TV dramas including The Driver and The Bletchley Circle, and documentaries like Leaving Neverland (HBO/Channel 4) and Morgan Spurlock's The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. The company also handled international rights to the BBC drama Line of Duty.

The Kew Media Group Collapse

In 2017, Content Media Corporation was sold to Kew Media Group and renamed Kew Media Distribution (KMD). Kew Media Group was a publicly traded Canadian media company that acquired multiple production and distribution companies. In February 2020, Kew Media Group was placed into receivership, and its UK-based subsidiaries, including KMD, were put into administration.

The collapse revealed significant financial problems. Documents released by administrator FTI Consulting showed that Kew Media Distribution owed approximately GBP 10.8 million (around $13.3 million) to more than 250 entities when the company was placed into administration. Notable creditors included Shaftesbury (owed GBP 1.59 million), CNN, Netflix, BBC Studios, and Line of Duty producer World Productions. Leaving Neverland producer Dan Reed was owed nearly GBP 523,000. Multiple producers, including Reed and Nick Broomfield, disputed the inclusion of their films in the sale process and threatened legal action to protect their rights.

In May 2020, Quiver Entertainment acquired KMD's library of approximately 1,000 titles. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Nearly 40 companies had expressed interest in acquiring the library, which FTI Consulting narrowed to nine potential buyers before entering exclusive talks with Quiver. Jeff Sackman and Berry Meyerowitz stated that they had "inherited partnerships with some of the most creative and respected producers in the industry" and intended to continue distributing the content.

Distribution Model (Historical)

Content Media Corporation operated as a mid-tier international sales agent, handling rights sales at major film and television markets including Cannes, AFM, Berlinale (EFM), and MIPCOM. The company placed theatrical rights with territorial distributors, streaming rights with SVOD platforms, and television rights with broadcasters across multiple territories simultaneously.

The company's multi-format catalog, spanning both film and television, gave it flexibility in how it packaged and sold content rights internationally. Content Television, led by Greg Phillips, handled the library rights for 3,200 hours of TV and 300 hours of digital content. Content Film, led by Jamie Carmichael, handled approximately 800 TV movies. Content Digital, created in 2011, licensed properties to digital media platforms worldwide including on-demand, broadband, and mobile.

For productions with strong television and streaming potential alongside theatrical distribution, Content Media's broadcaster relationships provided access to licensing revenue streams that pure theatrical sales agents could not negotiate. This made the company relevant for productions that expected to generate revenue across multiple windows and formats, particularly documentary and factual content that could generate broadcaster licensing revenue.

What Filmmakers Should Know

Content Media Corporation is no longer operating. Filmmakers who encounter Content Media Corporation or Kew Media Distribution in older contracts, festival guides, or industry directories should understand that the company collapsed in 2020 with significant unpaid royalties. Any rights previously held by Content Media Corporation are now managed by Quiver Distribution, though some titles were reclaimed by their original producers during the administration process.

Filmmakers with content that was previously represented by Content Media Corporation or Kew Media Distribution should contact Quiver Distribution to clarify the status of their rights and any outstanding payments. Given that KMD owed GBP 10.8 million to over 250 creditors when it collapsed, filmmakers should not assume that pre-2020 contractual arrangements with Content Media Corporation remain intact without verification.

For new productions, Quiver Distribution operates as an active distributor and may be a viable partner for independent film and television content. The company is based in Toronto and led by Jeff Sackman (former Lionsgate Films president) and Berry Meyerowitz (former eOne executive). Quiver Distribution operates alongside its sister company, Quiver Entertainment, which manages the acquired KMD library.

Historical Context

Content Media Corporation's trajectory from a promising London-based sales agent to a collapsed subsidiary illustrates the volatility of the international distribution business. The company built a substantial multi-format library over 15 years, expanded through acquisitions (Winchester Films, Fireworks Entertainment, Sterling Entertainment, Allumination FilmWorks), and rebranded to reflect its growing multi-platform business. The sale to Kew Media Group in 2017 was intended to provide scale and resources. Instead, Kew Media Group's collapse in 2020 left over 250 producers and rights holders with millions in unpaid royalties.

The collapse also highlighted a structural risk in the international sales business: producers who license their content to sales agents for international distribution can lose access to their own rights if the sales agent enters administration. Multiple KMD producers discovered that their distribution rights were being sold as part of KMD's assets, even though KMD had failed to pay them the royalties they were owed. This situation led to legal threats from producers including Dan Reed and Nick Broomfield, who argued that KMD did not have the right to sell their films.

See Also

For how international sales agents manage multi-format rights across theatrical, streaming, and broadcast windows, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model the combined revenue from theatrical, broadcast, and streaming licensing across international markets, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For understanding how distribution fees and recoupment structures affect filmmaker receipts, see What Does a Distributor Keep?.