US and UK based production company ATS and UK-based Nest Productions have announced that they are joining forces for a new transatlantic development and production partnership.
The partnership will foster collaboration and boost entertainment production partnerships between the US and UK. The initiative will see the legacy companies bringing together their decades of experience in US and UK on unscripted coproductions and their international network, to support and enhance major US entertainment formats and productions in the UK. The partnership will also develop and facilitate UK productions in and for a US market, with production taking place in both territories.
The new partnership will aim to leverage both company’s expertise in navigating international productions, and foster creative collaborations with US producers looking to bring projects to the UK for production. ATS is known as the go-to production company, challenge and set-builders for adventure and challenge formats, including some of the world’s leading unscripted entertainment titles including the global Ninja Warrior franchise, Ultimate Beastmaster (Netflix), The Titan Games with Dwayne Johnson USA (NBC), Holey Moley (ABC) and Celebrity Bear Hunt (Netflix). ATS brings its expertise in line producing adventure and challenge formats to international productions including The Bridge, El Puente, and SAS: Who Dares Win.
Nest Productions is built around providing a strong infrastructure and production support to help its partners to produce content of the highest standards. Nest provides local infrastructure through its senior management, in-house production teams, and key support services—legal, finance, HR,
The initiative will aim to leverage both company’s expertise in navigating international productions, and foster creative collaborations with US producers looking to bring projects to the UK for production.
This initiative is based around a number of key UK production benefits that Nest and ATS will make accessible to US producers. These include reduced costs of up to 20% for US productions shot in the UK by offering lower price points for labour, kit, and crew; access to additional funding for large-scale projects filmed in Scotland through Nest’s Scottish base, Nest Scotland, and enhanced UK tax incentives, including the new scripted tax credits. With the potential of a UK Unscripted Tax Credit, Nest is actively championing the opportunities this could bring for entertainment shows. Extending this credit to unscripted productions in the UK could prove highly attractive for US entertainment projects.
Additionally, with the UK boasting world-leading crew and editorial talent, the initiative will offer US productions access to Nest and ATS’s wide network and highly skilled talent pool for a variety of projects.
Derek Drennan, Managing Director of Nest Productions: “This partnership is an exciting opportunity to combine our expertise and resources to help US productions thrive in the UK. By leveraging the UK’s world-class talent, reduced production costs, and enhanced tax incentives, we can offer a compelling proposition for US producers looking to expand their footprint internationally.”
Danny Sanz, Managing Director and COO at The ATS Team says: “We are thrilled to officially partner with our long-time friends at Nest. The team bring a unique mastery when it comes to the development and infrastructure needed to bring together a high-quality project, and together, with our expertise in set-builds and international line productions, combining forces feels like a no-brainer. Having both supported the others work over the years, we are excited to launch our strategic partnership towards the expansion of US productions in the UK”.
Based across Los Angeles, London, Lisbon, and most recently Manchester, ATS is established in the international production market and has collaborated with global partners on a range of unscripted productions. These territories include North America, Southeast Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East for the global Ninja Warrior franchise and titles such as Ultimate Beastmaster (Netflix), The Titan Games with Dwayne Johnson USA (NBC) and Holey Moley (ABC). With this expertise, ATS provide consultancy for international productions around the world, offering guidance on tax incentives, infrastructure and talent.
In addition to its growing slate of original IP such as Dating Naked UK, which has been commissioned for a second series by PARAMOUNT+ AND MTV, Nest Productions is built around providing a strong infrastructure and production support to help its partners to produce content of the highest standards. Nest works with some of the most well-known and high-profile talent across the industry and has teams experienced in delivering many genres including branded content, live events, quiz shows, reality, factual entertainment, documentaries, and scripted content.
Nest provides support from development and pre-production all the way through to delivery of the project ensuring that the programme or series is delivered to the highest standard and within budget, schedule and compliance / legal guidelines.
