| Industry | Television |
|---|---|
| Genre | Production company |
| Founded | 3 September 2004 in United Kingdom |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 3 |
| Products | |
| Parent |
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| Website | www |
Love Productions is a UK-based television production company. Its cooking competition series The Great British Bake Off is among the most watched shows in the UK of its era.[2]
Richard McKerrow and Anna Beattie formed Love Productions in 2004.[1] In 2014, Sky acquired a 70% stake in Love Productions.[3] In 2020, Sky bought the remaining shares making the studio a wholly owned subsidiary, seemingly part of a strategy to build a production empire.[4] The acquisition came on the back of increased dividends for Sky 2019 of £22.7 million compared with £3.5 million in 2018; while two directors received £4.6 million in 2019, up from three directors receiving £1.4 million in 2018.[4]
In 2020, the company's key "Bake off" series of productions has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which is likely to result in a loss of income in 2020/21.[4]
Love Productions is also associated with the brands Love West, based in Bristol, and Love Productions USA.[5]
The list of programmes produced by Love Productions include:
| Programme | Genre | Original network | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cirque de Celebrité | Game show | Sky One | 2006 |
| The Baby Borrowers | Reality television | BBC Three | 2007 |
| The Great British Bake Off | Baking | BBC Two (2010–2013) BBC One (2014–2016) Channel 4 (2017–) |
2010 |
| Tower Block of Commons | Documentary | Channel 4 | 2010 |
| Junior Bake Off | Baking | CBBC (2011–2016) Channel 4 (2019–) |
2011 |
| Rich, Famous and in the Slums | Factual | BBC One | 2011 |
| Make Bradford British | Documentary | Channel 4 | 2012 |
| The Great British Sewing Bee | Sewing | BBC Two (2013–2019) BBC One (2020–) |
2013 |
| Benefits Street | Documentary | Channel 4 | 2014 |
| Famous, Rich and Hungry | Factual | BBC One | 2014 |
| The Great Pottery Throw Down | Pottery | BBC Two (2015–2017) More4 (2020) Channel 4 (2021–) |
2015 |
| The Chronicles of Nadiya | Documentary | BBC One | 2016 |
| Battle of Britain: Model Squadron | Structured reality | Channel 4 | 2018 |
| The Biggest Little Railway in the World | Structured reality | Channel 4 | 2018 |
| Westside | Reality television | Netflix | 2018 |
| Singapore Social | Docuseries | Netflix | 2019 |
Love Productions' best earning programme, The Great British Bake Off, had moved network channel from BBC Two to BBC One after three series due to its increasing popularity.[6] Towards the end of series six, Love Productions's profits were decreasing; the company wished to remain on BBC One, however the £75 million asking price for three series was unacceptable to the BBC.[7] Controversy arose as there were concerns the nature of the show would change with the move to Channel 4 and because most of the show's presenters did not make the move for the following series.[7][2]