What Hungry Bear Media does

Hungry Bear Media is a privately held, UK-based independent television production company founded in 2014 by Dan Baldwin and Juliet Denison Gay. The company specializes in entertainment TV formats—comedy and variety shows, game shows, reality and competition formats, celebrity travelogues, and sports entertainment—producing 200+ hours of content for BBC (One, Two, Three), ITV/ITV2, Channel 4, Channel 5, and Netflix. Its catalog includes returning flagship properties such as Michael McIntyre's Big Show, The Wheel, Gladiators (revived 2024 with an 8.7 million average audience), Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad, Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof, All Round to Mrs Brown's, Judge Romesh, and NFL: Big Game Night (premiered 2025 on Channel 5).

The company's operating model rests on three business lines: (1) core television production, where commissions are negotiated per production with major UK broadcasters on non-publicly disclosed terms; (2) format licensing of proprietary entertainment formats, with six UK-registered trademarks (Hungry Bear, 1000 Heartbeats, Debatable, Play To The Whistle, Reality Bites, The National Comedy Awards); and (3) talent representation through the in-house HB Talent Agency, which manages on-screen personalities including Gladiators cast members. A jointly controlled joint venture, Hungry McBear Limited (formed 2015 with Michael McIntyre), produces entertainment vehicles built around McIntyre's on-screen persona for BBC One and Netflix.

Hungry Bear is headquartered in Hammersmith, London, with a second office at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, and operates with an 11–50 employee base. The company has no disclosed external investors or parent, and founders Dan Baldwin and Juliet Denison Gay retain operational control. The technical surface is conventional television production: there is no disclosed software platform, API, or AI capability, and no direct-to-consumer distribution channel—all content is delivered through commissioned broadcasts.

Name

Hungry Bear Media

Legal name

Hungry Bear Media Limited

Website

https://hungrybearmedia.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hungry Bear Media is a UK-based independent television production company founded in 2014 that produces entertainment formats—comedy, game shows, reality, and travel series—for major UK broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and Netflix, with an in-house talent agency and a joint venture with Michael McIntyre.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hammersmith

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. TV Production: Production of entertainment television formats for major UK broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5
2. Format Licensing: Licensing of proprietary TV formats and branded entertainment concepts to broadcasters and international partners
3. Talent Representation: HB Talent Agency provides talent management services for on-screen personalities including athletes, presenters, and entertainers
4. Joint Venture Production: Hungry McBear joint venture with Michael McIntyre produces comedy and entertainment specials for BBC One and Netflix

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hungry Bear Media is an independent UK television production company that creates and produces entertainment TV formats on a commissioned basis for major UK broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. Its portfolio spans comedy/variety, game shows, reality competition, celebrity travelogues, and sports entertainment formats, complemented by an in-house talent agency (HB Talent Agency) and a joint venture (Hungry McBear) with comedian Michael McIntyre.

Product overview

Hungry Bear Media is a UK-based independent television production company founded in 2014 by Dan Baldwin and Juliet Denison Gay. The company specializes in entertainment TV formats and has produced over 200 hours of content for major UK broadcasters including BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. The portfolio spans comedy/variety shows (Michael McIntyre's Big Show, All Round to Mrs Brown's), game shows (The Wheel, Debatable), reality/reality-competition formats (Gladiators, Freeze The Fear with Wim Hof), travel shows (Breaking Dad), and sports entertainment (Play To The Whistle, NFL: Big Game Night). The company also operates HB Talent Agency for talent representation and has a joint venture Hungry McBear with Michael McIntyre for producing his branded content. The company has offices in London (Hammersmith) and Glasgow (Pacific Quay).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hungry McBear: Joint venture production company with Michael McIntyre producing entertainment shows including Michael McIntyre's Big Show, The Wheel, and Michael McIntyre Showman
• HB Talent Agency

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Michael McIntyrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Joint venture formed in 2015 when Hungry Bear Media and Michael McIntyre joined forces to create Hungry McBear. This partnership has produced award-winning entertainment vehicles including Michael McIntyre's Big Show, The Wheel, The Very Christmassy Christmas Show, Easter at The London Coliseum, and Michael McIntyre: Showman for Netflix.
• BocPixminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partnership with BocPix for All Round to Mrs Brown's, the BBC comedy entertainment show starring Brendan O'Carroll as Mrs. Brown.
• The Talent ManagerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecruitment partnership through which Hungry Bear Media posts job openings and accepts applications. Job seekers can join the network to view and apply for positions as they become available.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Studio Lambert: UK independent production company (All3Media-owned) producing entertainment formats including Gogglebox and Undercover Boss. Comparable as a UK indie producing primetime entertainment for major broadcasters.
• Hat Trick Productions: UK independent production company founded in 1986, producing comedy and entertainment formats for BBC, ITV, Channel 4. Most comparable peer given similar indie structure, BBC/comedy focus, and primetime entertainment slate.
• North One Television: UK independent production company producing entertainment and factual formats for Channel 5 and other broadcasters. Comparable given multi-broadcaster model and entertainment format focus.
• Expectation Entertainment: UK independent production company producing entertainment and comedy formats for BBC, Channel 4. Comparable as a similarly sized UK indie with multi-broadcaster entertainment slate and primetime focus.
• Tiger Aspect Productions: UK independent production company producing comedy, drama, and entertainment for major UK broadcasters. Directly comparable given similar B2B broadcaster commissioning model and entertainment format focus.
• Twofour Group: UK independent production company producing entertainment, factual, and reality formats for ITV, BBC, Channel 4. Directly comparable given similar BBC/ITV relationships and entertainment/reality slate.

Broad incumbents

• ITV Studios: Production arm of ITV plc producing entertainment, drama, and reality formats globally. Comparable as it both commissions and produces entertainment for ITV (Hungry Bear's customer), with much larger scale and global format distribution capability.
• Fremantle: Global production and distribution company (RTL Group-owned) producing entertainment formats including Britain's Got Talent, Idol, and The X Factor. Comparable as entertainment format producer but operates at significantly larger global scale with owned IP and international distribution.
• BBC Studios: Commercial production and distribution arm of the BBC, producing entertainment, drama, and natural history globally. Comparable as both a customer and competing supplier of entertainment content for the BBC commissioning ecosystem.
• Banijay UK: Global production group with major UK operations (Endemol Shine) producing entertainment including Deal or No Deal, Big Brother, MasterChef. Comparable as a global entertainment format producer with UK indie operations, but at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/hungrybearmedia
• Xx.com/hungrybearmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/HungryBearMedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hungry-bear-media-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hungry Bear Media