Consultants Forum Advertise
Subscribe
Close

  • Free for qualified executives and consultants to industry

  • Receive quarterly issues of Area Development Magazine and special market report and directory issues

Subscribe Now
Renew

Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

ITV America-Wheel House Entertainment Relocates Operations to Stamford, Connecticut

05/29/2018
Entertainment production group ITV America, the largest independent producer of non-scripted entertainment content in the United States, will be relocating a significant portion of its business operations to Stamford, Connecticut.

Additionally, newly launched Wheelhouse Entertainment, founded by entrepreneur and media magnate Brent Montgomery, also will be using Stamford as one of its bases of operations.

Combined, the two entertainment companies plan to create approximately 450 jobs in Stamford across areas of finance and operations, production, and post-production, and more, according to Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s office.

ITV will also maintain production and office staff in its New York and Los Angeles offices.

“It’s a time of great change and disruption in our industry, and as a leading creator of unscripted content, ITV America is focused on finding innovative ways to keep our business thriving while securing career opportunities for both current and future employees,” ITV America CEO David George said. “Our proposed partnership with the State of Connecticut delivers on both fronts, we’re delighted to have worked with the Governor’s office on this plan, which allows us to service many of our current projects while also promoting growth at ITV America. We look forward to putting down roots in Stamford and to being a dynamic part of the community.”

As an incentive, Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development will support the project with a $6 million loan to ITV America and a $3 million loan to Wheelhouse Entertainment, with partial forgiveness based on jobs created. DECD funds will be used for the purchase of machinery and equipment and capital improvements. In addition, both companies are eligible for film/digital media production and infrastructure tax incentives.

Wheelhouse’s production arm Spoke Studios maintains a production partnership with ITV America.

“The cornerstone of entrepreneurship is investing in people whose ideas and hard work create opportunity, precisely what drove Wheelhouse Entertainment to partner with ITV America and Governor Malloy in this venture,” Wheelhouse Entertainment CEO Brent Montgomery said. “My philosophy has always been to find great people and keep them, and building what we anticipate being one of the top production facilities on the East Coast is another way we aim to recruit and retain the first-class talent that ultimately produces the best programming. This is the first of many projects Wheelhouse and Spoke Studios look forward to with Stamford as we team to cultivate the city as a vibrant center for media and content production.”

“Over the last several years, Connecticut has seen significant growth among media production companies, and we are pleased that ITV America and Wheelhouse have decided to establish operations in our state,” Governor Malloy said. “Connecticut is home to more than 1,200 media-related businesses that employ over 16,000 people. These two nationally renowned production companies plan to create hundreds of good jobs for our state’s residents, and we welcome them to our community.”

Exclusive Research