Mentorn Media

What Mentorn Media does

Mentorn Media is a UK-based independent television production company founded in 1985 and wholly owned by Tinopolis Group. From production hubs in London (headquarters at 77-85 Fulham Palace Road) and Glasgow (established 2002), the company produces thousands of hours of programming across factual, factual entertainment, current affairs, and entertainment formats. Its portfolio includes long-running returning series such as Question Time (45+ years on BBC One), Traffic Cops (12+ series on Channel 5), Inside the Force 24/7, and Council House Swap, alongside exportable formats like Paradise Hotel (produced in 18+ countries) and An Idiot Abroad (the highest-rated factual series in Sky1 history). Mentorn serves major UK broadcasters including BBC (One, Three, Scotland, Four), Channel 4, Channel 5, and streaming platforms including Discovery+ and Paramount+, with international distribution handled through Passion Distribution, also part of Tinopolis Group.

Name

Mentorn Media

Legal name

Mentorn Media Limited

Website

https://mentorn.tv

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Mentorn Media is a UK-based independent television production company founded in 1985, producing thousands of hours of factual, current affairs, and entertainment programming for BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, and streaming platforms. A subsidiary of Tinopolis Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Broadcasting Commissioning: Mentorn Media produces television programmes under commission agreements with UK broadcasters including BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, and streaming platforms. Revenue is generated through production fees and rights licensing tied to original programme commissions.
2. International Content Distribution: Through Passion Distribution (part of Tinopolis Group), Mentorn's formats and finished programmes are distributed internationally to broadcasters in multiple countries. Paradise Hotel was produced in over 18 countries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mentorn Media is an independent UK television production company that develops, produces, and delivers original programmes under commission for UK broadcasters and international clients. Its output spans factual and factual entertainment series, current affairs debates, and entertainment formats distributed domestically and globally through the Tinopolis Group's distribution arm.

Product overview

Mentorn Media is a UK-based independent television production company established in 1985, producing thousands of hours of content for broadcasters including BBC, Channel 4, and Channel 5. The company operates from production hubs in London and Glasgow, offering a portfolio of programme brands spanning factual and factual entertainment (Traffic Cops, Inside The Force: 24/7, Dinosaur with Stephen Fry, Council House Swap, Greggs: More Than Meats The Pie, Ready Meals: The Shocking Truth), current affairs and debate (Question Time, The Big Questions, Debate Night, Free Speech, Panorama specials), entertainment formats (Paradise Hotel, Robot Wars, An Idiot Abroad, The Big Movie Sing Along, Corner Shop Cook Off, Bad Influencer), and documentary series (Secrets of an ISIS Smartphone, Inside The Gang, Children of the Cult, Into the Congo with Ben Fogle). The company is part of the Tinopolis Group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Question Time BBC One's flagship political debate programme featuring a panel of politicians and public figures facing questions from a live audience; now in its 45th year and produced by Mentorn for BBC audiences.
• Traffic Cops Long-running observational documentary series following traffic police officers on patrol across UK roads, dealing with accidents, crime, and dangerous drivers; produced by Mentorn for Channel 5.
• Dinosaur with Stephen Fry Landmark factual series presented by Stephen Fry using CGI and virtual studio technology to chart the 180-million-year story of dinosaurs; produced for Channel 5.
• Paradise Hotel Reality competition format where singles live in a luxury tropical resort competing to remain in paradise through strategic voting; internationally distributed by Passion Distribution to over 18 countries.
• Inside The Force: 24/7 Documentary series providing an unflinching look at modern-day policing inside police stations across the UK; produced for Channel 5.
• Council House Swap Entertainment series following council house tenants as they swap homes across the UK to change their lives by changing their postcode; produced for Channel 5.
• Debate Night Topical debate programme for BBC Scotland covering big issues affecting Scotland and beyond, with a public audience questioning politicians and public figures; produced by Mentorn Scotland.
• An Idiot Abroad Travel documentary format starring Karl Pilkington, sent by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant to visit the Seven Wonders of the World; produced for Sky1.
• Children of the Cult True crime documentary series telling the story of three British women who escaped the Children of God cult; produced for Discovery+ UK.
• Robot Wars Robot fighting competition series featuring amateur teams battling their robots in a purpose-built arena with iconic house robots; previously produced by Mentorn.
• Crash Investigators Documentary series following crash investigation teams in North Yorkshire, covering road policing and entire investigations from crash scene to court; produced for Channel 5.

Quantifiable outcome

• Question Time is the second most tweeted about show in the UK
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tinopolis GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMentorn Media is a subsidiary of Tinopolis Group, an international TV production and distribution group with businesses based in the UK and US. The Group comprises 13 content production companies spanning entertainment, factual, drama, and live sports coverage. Mentorn operates under the Tinopolis Factual Group alongside Firecracker Films Limited and Pioneer Film and Television Productions Limited.
• Passion DistributioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor and part of Tinopolis Group. Distributes Mentorn's formats and finished programmes internationally. Paradise Hotel format was distributed to broadcasters in over 18 countries through Passion Distribution.
• 495 ProductionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction company led by SallyAnn Salsano (creator of Jersey Shore) partnered with Mentorn Media for the revival of Paradise Hotel format for Fox Broadcasting Company.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Fremantle: Global production and distribution group producing entertainment, drama and factual content for UK and international broadcasters and streamers. Directly comparable in genre mix, customer base and format licensing model.
• Endemol Shine Group: One of the largest international TV production groups, producing reality, entertainment and factual formats globally. Highly comparable to Mentorn in serving major UK broadcasters and licensing formats internationally.
• Banijay UK: Large international production group with major UK indie operations producing entertainment, factual and reality formats for BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Closely comparable in scale, buyer set and genre focus to Mentorn.
• Studio Lambert: Award-winning UK indie behind long-running returnable factual and entertainment formats (e.g. Gogglebox, The Circle) for Channel 4 and other UK buyers. Closely comparable to Mentorn's factual-entertainment returnable-format playbook.
• Pioneer Productions: Tinopolis Group sibling producing premium factual and science documentaries for UK and US broadcasters including Discovery and BBC. Highly comparable in technology-led premium factual positioning to Mentorn's Dinosaur/Virtual Studio work.
• RDF Television: Sibling indie within the Tinopolis Group producing factual, entertainment and reality programming for UK broadcasters. Directly comparable in scale, buyer mix and group structure to Mentorn.
• All3Media: UK-headquartered independent production group with labels producing factual, entertainment and drama for UK and global buyers. Comparable in commissioning relationships, multi-label structure and export orientation.

Emerging players

• Curve Media: Independent UK producer of factual, entertainment and formatted programming for Channel 4, BBC and streamers. A more niche, streamer-leaning emerging peer partially overlapping with Mentorn's factual-entertainment output.
• Workerbee: Independent UK factual and factual-entertainment producer serving Channel 4, BBC and streamers. Smaller-scale emerging peer with overlapping genre focus and buyer relationships.

Broad incumbents

• ITV Studios: In-house production arm of ITV plc producing entertainment, drama and factual for ITV and third parties. Comparable genre mix but benefits from guaranteed ITV commissioning and broader international footprint than Mentorn.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MentornMedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/MentornMedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mentorn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

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 Mentorn Media