Syco Entertainment is a British media entertainment and production company, headquartered in London, founded and owned by British entrepreneur and record executive

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

. The company focuses on TV production. The company was formed in 2005 through

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

entering 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 ...

by purchasing Cowell's shares of his record label S Records and television company Syco Television. In 2009, Sony and Cowell entered a joint venture agreement that covered the joint ownership of Syco's television formats, which include the '' Got Talent'' and ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' franchises. Until 2020, the company operated television and music projects with Sony Music labels around the world and television production company

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. It employs a staff of more than 50 in offices in London and Los Angeles, and manages a string of television and music brands through partnerships with the label Sony Music and the television production company. Retail billionaire Sir Philip Green, a close friend of Cowell, served as an advisor to the company until 2018. Through its divisions: Music, Film and TV, Syco has produced the ''Got Talent'' and ''The X Factor'' franchises which encompassed local versions in numerous countries and have launched the careers of

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

, Leona Lewis,

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

, Susan Boyle and

Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, is an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and formerly Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group signed a ...

amongst others. Syco have also been instrumental in the careers of artists not originating from its franchises, including Il Divo and Westlife. It has also produced films such as '' One Direction: This Is Us'' (2013) and ''The X Factor'' parody musical, '' I Can't Sing!'' (2014). In July 2020, Cowell bought Sony Music's stake in Syco Entertainment, with exception for Syco Music. The record label and its artists and back catalogue were retained by Sony Music and subsequently absorbed. TV rights and assets were transferred to the newly created Syco Entertainment Ltd, which is owned 100% by Cowell.

Formation and history

Cowell founded S Records whilst employed by BMG back in 2004. The label oversaw music by Robson & Jerome, Five, Westlife and Teletubbies. A year later, BMG, now named

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

, bought Cowell's share in both Syco Music and Syco Television. In 2010, a new company was formed as a 50/50 partnership between Cowell and Sony Music, keeping the name Syco but titled as Syco Entertainment. In 2015, it was announced that the Syco Entertainment joint venture would be extended for a further 6 years. Retail Billionaire Sir Philip Green, a close friend of Cowell, served as an advisor to the company until 2018. It was initially divided into three units: Syco Music, SYCOtv and Syco Film. A few years later in July 2020, it was announced that Cowell had agreed to buy out Sony Music's stake in the company, with Sony Music retaining the company's artist roster and catalogue.

Operations

Syco's television operations were founded originally as SYCOtv, primarily operating in the UK and US with key franchises ''

'' and '' Got Talent''. It was launched by Simon Cowell in 2003. Following Cowell's purchase of

's stake in the business in 2020, Cowell went on to expand his existing TV arrangements with

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

in 2021. The new deal will see a range of non-scripted series for the streaming service

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

developed (though this does not include ''Walk the Line''). As part of the deal, Cowell will appear as a judge on '' AGT: Extreme'', a spin-off from '' America's Got Talent''.

''The X Factor''

, which launched in September 2004, was one of the most popular television shows in the UK. Syco and Fremantle Media launched '' The X Factor USA'' in September 2011, which averaged 12 million viewers and a 4.0 rating in the adults 18–49 demographic in its first season, leading FOX to nightly wins on Wednesdays and Thursdays and topping all other fall season reality competition. Internationally, ''The X Factor'' is produced individually in 41 countries including major markets like

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

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 ...

. Additionally, ''The X Factor USA'' is screened in 166 countries around the world.

''Got Talent''

'' Britain's Got Talent'' consistently tops UK ratings when it is broadcast in April, May and June. In 2009, nearly 20 million people (approximately one third of the UK population) tuned into the series 3 final to see

Diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

crowned winners. '' America's Got Talent'' matched a series high 4.6 rating amongst adults 18–49 in the summer of 2011 for its sixth season. Since launching in 2006, ''America's Got Talent'' has consistently been the most watched show of the summer in the US and topped the ratings in the key adults 18–49 demographic.

Other projects

Syco produces other shows outside its key brands. In 2011, ITV series '' Red or Black?'' was met with mixed reaction. Syco were also behind '' American Inventor'' which ran for two seasons on ABC and the unsuccessful '' Celebrity Duets'' on Fox. In addition to its major formats, Syco also produces entertainment specials. This includes '' I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle Story'', which broke ratings records in the US on TV Guide network and scored 10 million viewers on ITV in the UK. In 2013, Syco and Optomen launched ITV series '' Food Glorious Food'', which aired on Wednesday evenings in the UK. Syco Entertainment were the executive producers of the film '' One Direction: This Is Us'' from director Morgan Spurlock and One Direction: Where We Are from director Paul Dugdale, which follows the life of pop sensations

. The band had come third in the 2010 UK ''X Factor'' series, before being signed to Syco. In January 2013, Syco set up a new London-based television division called Over The Top Productions. This production company was run by Syco's Global Head of Television, Nigel Hall, and would be responsible for formats such as ITV's '' Rolling In It''. In July 2016, The Investigator: A British Crime Story was a co-production between Syco & ITV which was broadcast for four consecutive weeks on ITV at 9pm. The series was inspired by Simons Cowell's interest in the crime series Making a Murder, and the Jinx. The Investigator: A British Crime Story was broadcast globally via Netflix until 21 August 2021. The series looked in to the murder of Carole Packman who disappeared from her family home in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

in June 1985. Carole's husband, Russell Causley was convicted of her murder in 1996 and again in 2004 following a successful appeal.

You Generation

In March 2013, Syco in partnership with YouTube, launched The You Generation channel which is listed as the 'world's first global audition'.

La Banda

In May 2014, Syco and Univision announced an upcoming TV show called '' La Banda'' which will focus on searching contestants from Hispanic America to find the "ultimate Latino boy band" with the winner receiving a recording contract for Sony Music Latin and Syco.

''I Can't Sing!''

2014 saw Syco launch '' I Can't Sing!'', a parody musical based on ''The X Factor''. After technical issues and poor critical reception, the show was pulled from the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

less than two months after it opened. Cowell later said of the venture that occasionally things didn't work out and that they had been too ambitious trying to launch a new show in the West End.

Shows produced

Current productions

* '' America's Got Talent'' (2006–present) * '' Britain's Got Talent'' (2007–present) * '' Romania Got Talent'' (2011–present)

Former productions

* '' American Inventor'' (2006–2007) * '' America's Got Talent: The Champions'' (2019–2020) * '' America's Got Talent: Extreme'' (2022) * '' America's Got Talent: All-Stars'' (2023) * '' America's Got Talent: Fantasy League'' (2024) * '' Britain's Got More Talent'' (2007–2019) * '' Britain's Got Talent: The Champions'' (2019) * ''

'' (2004–2018) * '' The Xtra Factor'' (also called ''The Xtra Factor Live'') (2004–2016) * '' The X Factor: Battle of the Stars'' (2006) *'' The X Factor: Celebrity'' (2019) * '' The X Factor: The Band'' (2019) * '' Celebrity Duets'' (2006) * '' Grease Is the Word'' (2007) * '' I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle Story'' (2009) * '' Red or Black?'' (2011–2012) * ''That Dog Can Dance'' (2012) * '' Food Glorious Food'' (2013) * '' The You Generation'' (2013–2014) * '' La Banda'' (2015–2016) * ''Planet's Got Talent'' (2015–2016) * ''Your Song'' (2017) * '' The Greatest Dancer'' (2019–2020) * '' Walk the Line'' (2021) * '' X Factor Romania'' (2011–2018: 2020–2021: 2025)

Screen and stage

* '' One Direction: This Is Us'' (2013) * '' I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical'' (2014) * ''One Direction: Where We Are'' (2014)

References

External links

Syco TV
at

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{{Authority control British companies established in 2005 Companies based in Los Angeles Companies based in London Film production companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies based in London Publishing companies established in 2005 Talent agencies of the United Kingdom Television production companies of the United Kingdom Former Sony subsidiaries Privately held companies of the United Kingdom