Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone’s Sister Group has taken a majority stake in digital-first label After Party Studios.
After Party is the UK-based producer and creative agency specializing in digital-first content and working with streamers, broadcasters, talent and brands. It was founded in 2016 by YouTuber Callux (aka Callum McGinley) and director RVBBERDUCK (aka Ben Doyle), along with Base79 founder Richard Mansell and Joshua Barnett, who serves as Chief Executive.
After Party’s credits include Sky Sports’s SCENES, Channel 4.0’s Don’t Get Catfished, and the Sidemen Charity Match, which sold out Wembley. It also makes supporting content for shows including Netflix’s House of Guinness and Stranger Things.
Upcoming projects include In Search of Peace with Jordan Stephens for MTV UK; Race To The Top, the docuseries following KSI’s takeover of the Dagenham & Redbridge soccer club; and the ongoing social rollout of SNL UK’s digital series Five To Live for Sky.
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“Over the last decade, we’ve built After Party Studios alongside some of the best talent in front of and behind the camera, making work that is creatively ambitious and always striving to push internet culture forward,” said McGinley and Doyle in a joint statement.
They added: “We’ve always cared deeply about storytelling, craft and originality in a space that has historically rewarded the opposite, because we believe the future of entertainment is online. Joining the Sister family feels like a natural next step for us. Their track record of backing bold, distinctive storytelling makes them an ideal partner as we take the company into its next chapter.”
“The After Party Studios team occupy a unique space – a digital-native creative company driven by creator instincts and built on deep relationships with talent, brands and platforms and first-class execution,” said Lucinda Hicks, who was announced as CEO of Sister Group last May. This is the first M&A since the former Banijay and Shine exec joined Sister’s ranks. “Our partnership enables them to continue to do what they do so brilliantly, originating groundbreaking IP, deepening direct relationships with audiences and shaping the next era of digital storytelling,” she said of the deal.
Sister Group comprises UK-based production outfits Sister Pictures, producer of Black Doves, and the Dorothy Street label, as well as UK-based animation label Locksmith. Olivia Colman’s South of the River and Richard Bacon’s unscripted outfit Yes Yes Media are also in the group. Its U.S. interests include podcast studio Campside Media, publishing imprint Zando, Steph Curry’s Unanimous Media and AWA Studios.