Screentime is an Australian television production company, which develops and produces scripted and unscripted television programs in Australia and New Zealand. The company has produced numerous popular series including Popstars, the Underbelly format, RBT and Janet King.
In 2012, French company Banijay Entertainment acquired a majority stake in Screentime.
History
The company was formed by Bob Campbell and Des Monaghan with Capital Investment Group in 1996. Screentime's first production was New Zealand talk show 5.30 with Jude on TV One which ran for three seasons.
In 1999, Screentime bought the format rights to talent competition Popstars from its New Zealand creator, and went on to sell and co-produce adaptations of the format internationally. In 2002, it was estimated that Screentime earned 20 percent of revenue generated from Popstars: The Rivals.
In April 2001, Screentime's New Zealand production division Screentime New Zealand had merged with Auckland-based New Zealand production company Communicado, a well-known New Zealand independent production house established in 1983 by media executive & journalist Neil Roberts, alongside co-founders Murray Roberts, Garry McAlpine and Robin Scholes, & Screentime New Zealand was renamed to Screentime-Communicado with Communicado's executive Alan Withrington and its co-founder Robin Scholes joining the newly merged Screentime's New Zealand production division Screentime Communicado as joint-managers & co-presidents of Screentime's newly merged production arm Screentime Communicado while Communicado's Paul Holmes & Karen Soich joined the Australian production company Screentime and became board members of its newly merged New Zealand production division Screentime Communicado.
At the end of January 2003, Screentime had started to expand its production business into Europe by taking a 50% majority stake in Dublin-based Irish television production outfit ShinAwil, which had produced the Irish adaptation of Screentime's format Popstars, the buyout of a 50% stake in the Irish production company ShinAwil had gained Screentime an Irish production subsidiary as they formed a production partnerhsip with ShinAwil to create Screentime's Irish joint-venture production arm Screentime ShinAwil that would handle & produce with Screentime's founders Des Monaghan and Bob Campbell as chairman & board member of the newly created joint-venture unit while ShinAwil's founder & president Larry Bass and director Brenda O'Keefe as managing director & director of the joint venture unit. A month later in February of that year, Screentime had appointed former BBC executive & Seven Network head of entertainment and former Network Ten managing director Jacqui Culliton to become Screentime's head of entertainment. Three
In August 2003, Screentime expanded its production to the UK production market by creating a new British distribution joint-venture division with British distribution company ECM International that would distribute Screentime's scripted & non-scripted programming and formats in-house entitled Screentimes Partners with Chris Bonney and David Asher as CEO and CFO of Screentime's newly created British distribution arm Screentime Partners while Screentime's founders Des Monaghan and Bob Campbell became chairman & board member of Screentime's newly formed British distribution division Screentime Partners alongside former ECM senior programming executives Tom McClelland, Maria Rakhmatullina and Belinda Ronalds.
Near the end of September 2006, Screentime had exited the British distribution business & had sold its London-based British international distribution arm Screentime Partners to British production company Shed Productions, giving Shed Productions its own distribution subsidiary & would handle distribution to all of Shed Productions' programming while Screentime continued to license its formats internationally & handle production partnership with other companies.
In 2012, Banijay Group purchased a controlling stake in Screentime, giving Screentime the rights to adapt Banijay formats in Australia. Des Monaghan stood down from his executive position at Screentime in 2014.
In 2015, Screentime sold its 49% stake in Irish production company Shinawil.
In 2019, Screentime partnered with the Screen Makers Conference in Adelaide.
In October 2024, Screentime New Zealand had established a new film & television production studio based in Queenstown that would handle all of Screentime New Zealand's productions in-house called Remarkable Studios NZ, marking Screentime New Zealand's first major film & television production facility, a primary production base and gained Queenstown a new film & television studio. The new film & television production studio Remarkable Studios NZ would handle all of Screentime New Zealand's future projects starting with the crime drama series A Remarkable Place to Die & it became the first production to be filmed at the new studio Remarkable Studios NZ.
Productions Programs with a shaded background indicate the program is still in production. Title Network Years NotesGenre Breakers Network Ten 1998–1999 Co-production with Chrysalis DistributionScripted Ten 7 Aotearoa TVNZ 2 2002–2023 Unscripted MDA ABC 2002–2005 Scripted Ghost Hunt TVNZ 2005–2006 Co-production with Osiris ProductionsUnscripted Yasmin's Getting Married Network Ten 2006 Unscripted Underbelly Nine Network 2008–2013, 2018, 2022 Scripted Dragons' Den RTÉ One 2009Unscripted RBT Nine Network 2010–present Unscripted Bloodlines TVNZ 2010 Scripted Annabel Langbein: The Free Range Cook TVNZ 1 2010–2014 Co-production with FremantleMedia and Annabel Langbein MediaUnscripted MasterChef Ireland RTÉ Two 2011Unscripted Tim Winton's Cloudstreet Showcase 2011 Scripted Crownies ABC 2011 Scripted Underbelly NZ: Land of the Long Green Cloud Three 2011Scripted Tricky Business Nine Network 2012 Scripted Safe House TVNZ 2012 Scripted Animal Files Prime 2013 Unscripted Water Patrol TVNZ 2013 Unscripted Outback Coroner Crime + Investigation 2013–2014 Unscripted ANZAC Girls ABC 2014 Scripted Janet King ABC 2014–2017 Spin-off of CrowniesScripted Village Vets Australia Lifestyle 2014–2015 Unscripted Outback ER ABC 2015 Unscripted I Am Innocent TVNZ 1 2015–2017 Unscripted How Not to Behave ABC 2015 Scripted Stop Laughing...This Is Serious ABC 2015 Unscripted Anh's Brush with Fame ABC 2016–present Unscripted You're Back in the Room TVNZ 2 2016 Unscripted The Secret Daughter Seven Network 2016–2017 Scripted Wolf Creek Stan 2016–2017 Co-production with Emu Creek ProductionsScripted Undressed SBS 2017 Unscripted Murder Calls Australia Nine Network 2017 Scripted Testing Teachers SBS 2017 Unscripted Pine Gap ABCNetflix 2018 Scripted Date Night Nine Network 2018 Unscripted Straight Forward ViaplayTVNZ 2018 Co-production with Mastiff Denmark, Viaplay, TVNZ and Acorn TVScripted Hughesy, We Have a Problem Network Ten 2018–2021 Unscripted Playing for Keeps Network Ten 2018—2019 Scripted Driving Test Australia Nine Network 2018 Unscripted Eat Well for Less Australia Nine Network 2018 Unscripted Orange Is the New Brown Seven Network 2018 Unscripted The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds Network Ten 2018 Unscripted Trial By Kyle Network Ten 2019 Unscripted Quimbo's Quest Network Ten 2019 Scripted Wife Swap New Zealand TVNZ 2019 Unscripted The Gulf ThreeZDF 2019–present Co-production with Lippy Pictures and Letterbox FilmproduktionScripted Wife Swap Australia Seven Network 2019, 2021 Previous season produced by Shine AustraliaUnscripted Informer 3838 Nine Network 2020–present Scripted SAS Australia Seven Network 2020–present Unscripted The Hundred with Andy Lee Nine Network 2021–present Unscripted Bali 2002 Stan 2022 Co-production with Endemol Shine AustraliaScripted The Claremont Murders Seven Network 2023 Co-production with See PicturesScripted
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