Beyond International Limited is an international

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

with operations in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The company is involved in the creation and international distribution of television, feature films and ancillary products. The company has an extensive television program catalogue of over 5,000 hours and covers all genres including

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

, feature

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

, children's,

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

, and

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

programs. The company was formed in 1984 to produce the science and technology magazine program '' Beyond 2000'', a commercial reworking of the program ''Towards 2000'' which aired on the Australian public broadcaster ABC. ''Beyond 2000'' was later

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

ed in 2005 as '' Beyond Tomorrow''. Other notable programming produced and/or distributed by Beyond include ''

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...

'', ''

Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) Television, network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted ...

'', '' Beat Bugs'' and '' Highway Thru Hell'' (most of which is now owned by

Banijay Entertainment Banijay Entertainment S.A. (formerly Banijay Group and later Banijay) is a French multinational television production and distribution company which is the world's largest international content producer and distributor with over 130 production co ...

History

The company was founded by producers Carmel Travers, Iain Finlay and Chris Ardill-Guinness, as well as consultant Phil Gerlach and accountant Mikael Borglund, briefly titled CIC Productions, initially with the intention of making only one program, ''Beyond 2000'' after which the company took its name. The company took responsibility for distributing the series, finding success in selling the program overseas, including to

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

in America and an American adaptation for Fox. Early programs produced by Beyond include ''Just For the Record'' and '' Jack Thompson Down Under'' for

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

and ''Chances'' for the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

. Beyond's relationship with Discovery Channel saw the company commissioned to produce a number of the channel's early programs, including a nine-season run of ''Invention'' and eventually the company's most successful program ''

Mythbusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...

''. In 2009, Beyond acquired distribution company Magna Pacific from

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

. In 2013, Beyond formed a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with

Seven West Media Seven West Media Limited is an Australian ASX-listed media company. It is Australia's largest diversified media business, with an extensive presence in broadcast television, radio, print and online publishing. Seven West Media owns the Seve ...

called 7Beyond to produce programs in North America. 7Beyond shows include '' My Lottery Dream Home'' and '' My Kitchen Rules''. In July 2020, Beyond International purchased Seven West Media's shareholding. In 2020, Beyond acquired TCB Media Rights from receivership, following the collapse of Kew Media Group, valuing TCB at around $2.5 million. TCB Media Rights invests and distributes factual series including ''Abandoned Engineering'' and ''Extreme Ice Machines''. In October 2022, it was announced that Banijay would acquire Beyond. The acquisition was completed on December 30, 2022 and Beyond was delisted from the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary Exchange (organized market), securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or c ...

on January 3, 2023. At the end of February 2023, most of the company's employees at the company's distribution and sales arm (Beyond Rights) were let go. Beyond Rights was eventually folded into Banijay's own distribution and sales arm, Banijay Rights. The former company's site was moved to the latter company on August 24, 2023. On 11 January 2024, it was announced that Mikael Borglund had purchased back Beyond Productions from both companies, including all content produced by them under Banijay ownership. Banijay retained all of Beyond's pre-2022 back catalog, and secured a five-year first-look distribution deal for all new Beyond productions.

Ownership

The company was listed on the ASX from 1987 until 2023. In 2008,

FremantleMedia Fremantle Limited (), formerly FremantleMedia, is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. The company was founded as Pearson Television in 1993 when publishing and education company Pearson ...

purchased just under 20% of shares in the company, making it the largest shareholder.

Television series

Beyond's pre-2022 catalogue is now owned by

References

External links

* {{Banijay Group Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Television production companies of Ireland Television production companies of the United Kingdom Television production companies of Australia Television production companies of the United States Banijay *Beyond International Group Irish companies established in 1984 British companies established in 1984 Australian companies established in 1984 American companies established in 1984 Entertainment companies established in 1984 2022 mergers and acquisitions RTL Group