My Entertainment Is Acquired By Media Content Services; President/Founder Michael Yudin To Remain

Coming off of a company record year fueled by 100-plus-original hours in production during 2021, independent production company MY Entertainment has been acquired by Media Content Services.

The deal was orchestrated by MY Entertainment President/Founder Michael Yudin and Media Content Services CEO Shawn Moffatt and Co-Founder Patrick Bryant. Yudin will retain his position and remain with the company for the next several years.

Collectively, the creative executives see significant value in the acquisition for each of their companies. Yudin explained: “I have been extremely fortunate in my career and my personal life. I began in this industry as an NBC page, arriving in New York for the first time straight out of university from Boston. Went on to work at major ad agencies and then broke into production driven by a love for programming. Having worked for large companies in this industry I knew that if I ever sold MY Entertainment I wanted my team to be a key part of an entrepreneurial company that is technologically savvy.”

He added: “I also enjoy a wonderful family life. Married to Robin my entire adult years, we have two great kids and four wonderful grandkids.  I’d now like to spend some more time with them while remaining active in production and the business. Meeting Shawn and reaching this deal will fortunately allow me to do both with a clear mind.”

Moffatt said: “We were blown away by Michael and his MY Entertainment team and all that they’ve accomplished to date the first time we met them.”  Bryant added: “We’re very excited that our teams will now be part of the same organization and that we’re partnered with Michael. We’re pleased that he will be with the company several years, but personally counting on him remaining with the company a very long time. Partnering together will allow us to offer even more great content to the global marketplace.”

Yudin has experienced several phases of the business throughout his career. He first became acquainted with the entertainment sector – branded content and syndication – while working at such top advertising agencies as The Interpublic Group and Backer & Spielvogel while spearheading major accounts like Coca Cola and Miller Beer.  In doing so he came to realize how much he enjoyed the part of the job that involved programming which led him to take a position with Allan Landsburg Productions.  While at the company he was part of the team that developed and produced the ABC Network hit comedy series Kate & Allie.  Seeing an emerging opportunity, he established a cable TV division at Allan Landsburg which resulted in the production of cable series for such fledging networks as A+E, ESPN, Lifetime and MSG.

The international sector was beginning to ramp up when he joined Reeves Entertainment a division of Thames Television, the U.K.-based ITV company. Next, he was SVP programming for Viacom Entertainment, a role he continued in through Viacom’s transition to Paramount Television.

Following his Viacom stint he joined Telescene Entertainment (a production and development company based in Montreal) to launch its U.S. division and oversee the firm’s international expansion. While at Telescene his production credits included the series Student Bodies, Live Through This and Big Wolf on Campus.

The entrepreneurial spirit beckoned and Yudin launched MY Entertainment in 2000. Under his leadership the company has gained a widely-recognized reputation as an innovator on the global production scene by controlling intellectual property rights by initially selling series overseas or having them partially financed by international partners and the offering them to U.S. networks and streaming platforms.

Today MY Entertainment is best known for Ghost Adventurers, which has aired in the U.S. for 20 seasons and counting, along with the Emmy-nominated Legacy List, Pros vs. Joes, Baggage Battles, Sin City Justice, Manson Bloodlines, Destination Fear and Breaking Borders. MY Entertainment has produced programming for a wide range of partners ranging from A&E, The BBC, Discovery and Discovery+, to MTV, Oxygen, PBS and Travel Channel.

Most recently the company has expanded its efforts into the Pacific Rim via a co-development partnership with Korea’s Something Special. In the region, MY Entertainment also enjoyed a successful international market collaboration with Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) and MTV for the ultimate reality competition show, The Power Game.

According to Moffatt, the acquisition of MY Entertainment is an integral step in the creative evolution of Media Content Services. Looking to become more closely involved with the original content creation end of the business the company launched Brands & Content Studios in January 2021. Before the year was out it had developed and sold its first show to the Magnolia Network. The desire to further solidify its development and production lead to today’s announcement.