By MILLIE TAKAKI
Bert Berdis & Company, a longstanding Hollywood-based radio commercial production company, has entered into an association with TV spot director Richard Goldstone. Per the arrangement, Goldstone will help to develop Bert Berdis & Company’s TV commercial and promotional film division.
Goldstone is available to direct TV commercials that have been secured, and that will be written and produced by Bert Berdis & Company staffers. He continues to be repped for other spot assignments as a freelance director via The Directors Network, Studio City, Calif.
Bert Berdis & Company and Goldstone have already collaborated on a TV spot package, wrapping three :30s promoting BIGWORDS.COM, a Web site that sells textbooks for kids. The ads feature MTV comic Tom Green. The director’s relationship with Bert Berdis & Company lends itself to advertisers who want their TV and radio spots done as a unified campaign under one roof. In fact, the TV commercials for BIGWORDS. COM were an extension of the client’s radio campaign conceived by Bert Berdis & Company.
An industry vet, Goldstone has directed TV commercials for such clients as AT&T, Stroh’s beer, McDonald’s, Chevrolet, Continental Airlines, Kelloggs, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Toyota. He is well known for his spotwork in comedy, dialogue and with children.
Bert Berdis, founder/CEO of Bert Berdis & Company, is a noted writer and producer of national and regional radio commercials. He and his company recently celebrated the production of their 20,000th radio spot.
Endeavor Group Sells Professional Bull Riders, On Location and IMG To Parent of WWE and UFC
The parent company of WWE and UFC is buying Professional Bull Riders, On Location, and IMG from Endeavor Group in an all-stock deal valued at $3.25 billion.
The deal is part of Endeavor's efforts to shed some of its assets as it looks to be taken private in a proposed transaction with private equity firm Silver Lake, which was announced in April. Ariel Emanuel, who serves as CEO of Endeavor, is also executive chair and CEO of TKO.
Professional Bull Riders is a bull riding league that has more than 200 annual live events, approximately 1.25 million fans, and reaches more than 285 million households in more than 65 territories. On Location is live event company for more than 1,200 sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup and NCAA Final Four. IMG is a distributor and producer of sports content, packages and sells media rights and brand partnerships, and provides consulting, digital services and event management to clients such as the National Football League and National Hockey League.
Parent company TKO Group said Thursday that the acquisition from Endeavor Group will complement its existing businesses as well as broaden its reach in the premium sports market.
"PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO's portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally," TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro said in a statement. "Within TKO, they will help power the growth of our revenue streams and position us to capture even more upside from some of the most attractive parts of our sports ecosystem: media rights, live events, ticket sales, premium experiences, brand partnerships, and site fees."
As part of the deal, Endeavor will receive about 26.14 million common units of TKO... Read More