John de Mol is expanding his Dutch-based Talpa Media into the German market with the acquisition of 49.9%t of local production company Schwartzkopff TV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Axel Springer SE.
Schwartzkopff TV had been Talpa’s German partner since 2010, holding the exclusive rights to co-produce international Talpa formats in Germany. That includes The Voice Of Germany, The Voice Kids, and the upcoming German version of reality series Utopia.
Schwartzkopff TV was founded in 1993 and has been a subsidiary of Axel Springer SE since 1999. The production company with offices in Berlin and Hamburg produces over 180 hours of programming each year for such TV stations as RTL, ProSieben, Sat.1, Vox and ZDF.
