News & Press

ITV America and veteran television producer Helga Eike have teamed up to launch Red Bandit Media, a new production company that will develop unscripted programming.

Eike will serve as president of the company. As part of ITV America’s portfolio — which includes the Leftfield Entertainment group of production companies and ITV Entertainment, as well as Thinkfactory Media, High Noon Entertainment, DiGa and Gurney Productions — Red Bandit Media will produce a range of styles and genres.

Eike previously was svp of development at Endemol Shine North America’s Authentic Entertainment, where she spent 10 years overseeing the creation and sale of series including Toddlers & Tiaras, Ace of Cakes, Flipping Out, Best Thing I Ever Ate, Flipping the Block and Knife Fight. Before joining Authentic, Eike spent seven years as a freelance producer, director and writer in unscripted television.

Eike reports to ITV America chief creative officer Adam Sher and to Leftfield Entertainment CEO David George. The deal was brokered by Ed Simpson, executive vp business development and international at ITV America, and packaged by CAA.

“Helga is a prolific producer and executive whose programming abilities transcend nearly every genre, with shows tapping into pop culture in captivating and often surprising ways. We’re extremely excited to have Helga and Red Bandit Media join the ITV America family, and are confident the company will deliver for buyers in today’s competitive and growing marketplace,” Sher and George said Tuesday in a joint statement.

Added Eike: “The challenge for all producers has always been to create content that stands out and breaks through, and to do that we must take risks with innovative new formats — and even question what we define as ‘TV.’ In partnering with ITV America, Red Bandit Media will be able to step outside the box while remaining part of a production group that collectively has banked decades of experience and thousands of hours of programming, exactly the strategy that made Leftfield and ITV such powerhouses in our business. I am just thrilled to be part of this team.”