MRC Chiefs Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu Part Ways With Eldridge, PMRC Joint Venture
MRC leaders Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu and Todd Boehly’s Eldridge holding company have reached a deal to carve up their jointly owned assets into separate business entities.
Wiczyk and Satchu will retain the MRC production entity, home to TV series including Netflix’s “Ozark” and Hulu “The Great,” and MRC’s investments in content shops Civic Center Media and T-Street.
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Eldridge will retain Dick Clark Productions and investments in hot indie studio A24, James Corden and Ben Winston’s Fulwell 73, Michael Sugar’s Sugar 23 and entertainment data and insights company Luminate. Eldridge also holds on toits minority stake in the PMRC joint venture established in 2020 that is the parent company of Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Vibe, The Hollywood Reporter, Music Business Worldwide, the annual Life is Beautiful music festival and an investment in the SXSW festival franchise that is expanding beyond its Austin, Texas roots next year with an edition in Sydney, Australia.
Eldridge will also retain a minority stake in MRC. In a statement, Boehly and the MRC partners characterized the transaction as the next step in what has been a fruitful investment partnership. Last year, MRC’s Dick Clark Productions changed its name to MRC Live & Alternative last year and tapped industry veteran Adam Stotsky to take the reins as president. With the separation, Eldridge will restore the Dick Clark Productions moniker to the unit that produces the Golden Globe Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, American Music Awards and other TV specials and events.
“When we combined forces in 2018 we set out to accompslish and ambitous set of objectives. We are immensely proud of our team’s resulting success,” Wiczyk and Satchu said. “The Live & Alternative group changed the model for awards shows, bringing them into the streaming age. Our Film, Television and Non-Fiction studio businesses have all experienced a quadrupling of their slates. And our minority holdings have enjoyed wonderful periods of growth.”
The shifts for MRC and Eldridge come as changes are afoot for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has long been in business with Dick Clark Productions on the Globes telecast. The HFPA and Globes have been in turmoil for more than 18 months, with revelations about the HFPA’s membership and governance practices forcing NBC to cancel its plans for the 2022 Globes telecast. HFPA and NBC are deep in negotiations to restore the live telecast for the 2023 awards. The HFPA is also undergoing a major expansion and a plan to transform from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity, while maintaining its Globes franchise.
Boehly, who is co-founder, chairman and CEO of Eldridge, said deal between MRC and Eldridge “marks a significant milestone for Eldridge and MRC, representing our commitment to building successful brands in the industry.”
(Pictured: “Ozark”)
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