Lightworkers Media

LightWorkers Media
Company typeSubsidiary
GenreReligious
FoundedNovember 12, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-11-12) in California, U.S.
Founders
HeadquartersLos Angeles, CA, United States
Products
  • Television series
  • Feature films
ParentUnited Artists Media Group (2014–2015)
MGM Television (2015–2023)
Amazon MGM Studios (2023–present)
Websitelightworkers.com

Lightworkers Media is an American independent Christian media and film production company helmed by President Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett and owned by Amazon MGM Studios.

LightWorkers Media produced the Emmy-nominated The Bible on the History channel as well as A.D. The Bible Continues on NBC, The Dovekeepers on CBS[1] (based on the novel by Alice Hoffman), Women of the Bible on Lifetime, and Answered Prayers on TLC. They also produced the feature films Ben-Hur, Son of God, Little Boy,[1] Woodlawn and On a Wing and a Prayer.

History

Lightworkers Media was formed by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey with a partial stake held by Hearst Corporation, which owned a stake in Burnett's One Three Media.[1] One of its first productions was The Bible for History, premiered in early 2013.[2]

On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a 55% stake in Lightworkers Media and One Three Media and consolidated the two companies into MGM's new TV production unit, United Artists Media Group, with Burnett as CEO.[1] On December 14, 2015, MGM announced that it had acquired the remaining stakes in UAMG in a stock and cash deal, and that Burnett would become the new CEO of MGM Television, replacing the outgoing president Roma Khanna.[3]

With MGM purchasing out of Hearst and Burnett and Downey's shares in UAMG, a channel in the works was still a planned streaming service. However, Hearst and Burnett and Downey retained their stakes in the channel.[4] MGM announced the formation of Light TV on November 16, 2016, with a launch planned for December on thirteen Fox TV stations.[5]

The Bible

Main article: The Bible (TV series)

The series is the first project together from husband and wife producing team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.[6] In addition to Burnett and Downey, executive producers include Richard Bedser and History's Dirk Hoogstra and Julian P. Hobbs.[7] The first episode of the mini-series was seen by 13.1 million viewers, the largest cable television audience of 2013 to date.[8] The finale delivered 11.7 million total viewers.[9]

The Bible shattered sales records in its first week of home video release, selling 525,000 units to become the top-selling TV miniseries of all time.[10] In total, with subsequent airings, 'The Bible' has been seen by more than 95 million viewers.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Busch, Mike Fleming Jr,Anita (September 22, 2014). "MGM Buys 55% Of Roma Downey And Mark Burnett's Empire; Relaunches United Artists". Deadline. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Lowry, Brian (February 28, 2013). "Review: 'The Bible'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "Mark Burnett Named President of MGM Television". Variety. December 14, 2015. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  4. ^ Lieberman, David (December 14, 2015). "MGM Taps Mark Burnett To Run TV Operation After Buying Out JV Partners". Deadline. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  5. ^ Busch, Anita (November 16, 2016). "Roma Downey, Mark Burnett And MGM Launch Light TV With Fox Stations On Board". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 27, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Levin, Gary (May 24, 2011). "Mark Burnett to produce 'The Bible'". USA Today. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  7. ^ Porter, Rick (May 24, 2011). "Mark Burnett producing 'The Bible' miniseries for History Channel". Zap2it. Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  8. ^ Hibberd, James (March 4, 2013). "Mark Burnett's 'The Bible' begets record ratings". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  9. ^ "History's "The Bible" Finale Delivers 11.7 Million Total Viewers". Futon Critic. April 1, 2013. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  10. ^ THR Staff (April 8, 2013). "Mark Burnett's 'The Bible' Becomes Top-Selling Miniseries on Blu-Ray and DVD". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  11. ^ "#1 TV on DVD in the last 5 years". Hollywood Jesus. April 8, 2013.