Lightworkers Media Explained
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 (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, 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
See 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]
Notes and References
- News: Busch. Mike Fleming Jr,Anita. MGM Buys 55% Of Roma Downey And Mark Burnett's Empire; Relaunches United Artists. March 6, 2017. Deadline. Penske Business Media. September 22, 2014. October 21, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141021200446/http://deadline.com/2014/09/mgm-roma-downey-and-mark-burnetts-united-artists-838595/. live.
- News: Lowry. Brian. Review: 'The Bible'. March 6, 2017. Variety. February 28, 2013. September 2, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230902033637/https://variety.com/2013/tv/reviews/the-bible-1200506789/. live.
- Web site: Mark Burnett Named President of MGM Television. Variety. December 14, 2015. December 14, 2015. August 27, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170827040815/http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/mark-burnett-named-president-of-mgm-television-1201661210/. live.
- News: Lieberman. David. MGM Taps Mark Burnett To Run TV Operation After Buying Out JV Partners. March 6, 2017. Deadline. Penske Business Media. December 14, 2015. September 2, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230902033640/https://deadline.com/2015/12/mgm-mark-burnett-run-tv-operation-united-artists-media-group-roma-downey-hearst-1201666743/. live.
- News: Busch. Anita. Roma Downey, Mark Burnett And MGM Launch Light TV With Fox Stations On Board. March 6, 2017. Deadline. November 16, 2016. February 27, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170227055150/http://deadline.com/2016/11/roma-downey-mark-burnett-mgm-light-tv-faith-based-network-fox-1201855425/. live.
- News: Mark Burnett to produce 'The Bible'. May 24, 2011. August 28, 2011. Gary. Levin. USA Today. Gannett Company. September 3, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110903180638/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/05/mark-burnett-to-produce-the-bible/1. live.
- Web site: Mark Burnett producing 'The Bible' miniseries for History Channel. Rick. Porter. May 24, 2011. August 28, 2011. Zap2it. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110828222210/http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2011/05/mark-burnett-producing-the-bible-miniseries-for-history-channel.html. August 28, 2011. mdy-all.
- Web site: Mark Burnett's 'The Bible' begets record ratings . Entertainment Weekly . March 4, 2013 . Hibberd, James . April 2, 2013 . December 15, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141215055713/http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/03/04/bible-ratings/ . live .
- Web site: History's "The Bible" Finale Delivers 11.7 Million Total Viewers . Futon Critic . April 1, 2013 . April 2, 2013 . September 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902033640/http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2013/04/01/historys-the-bible-finale-delivers-117-million-total-viewers-14-percent-increase-vs-last-week-915410/20130401history01/#3vWlgSE1R9QOiR2E.99 . live .
- Web site: Mark Burnett's 'The Bible' Becomes Top-Selling Miniseries on Blu-Ray and DVD . Hollywood Reporter . April 8, 2013 . THR Staff . April 17, 2020 . September 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902033642/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mark-burnetts-bible-becomes-top-434875/ . live .
- Web site: #1 TV on DVD in the last 5 years. Hollywood Jesus . April 8, 2013 .
