Cosgrove Hall Productions/Films

Something I've always wondered, as Cosgrove Hall Productions, since its founding in 1976, started off as a subsidiary of Thames Television and every single production until the early 90's was a production for Thames, outside of their independent film projects like The BFG and The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship.

Starting in the early 90's, the studio started taking commissions from other clients like BBC Worldwide and Channel 4, was this a result of The Broadcasting Act of 1990, Thames losing the Channel 3 London license or Thames' joint venture with BBC Enterprises to create UK Gold?

Presumably they just started to branch out as so many broadcasters and producers did around that time as everything became more open to competition. The first non-Thames production was in 1989 so long before franchises and UK Gold


After Thames went off air a new Cosgrove Hall Films was founded in 1993 as a subsidiary of Anglia TV and latterly Granada/ITV
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/02852812

It's now on it's 3rd incarnation, albeit without Hall who died a few years ago

The original Cosgrove Hall is now a dormant company called Thames Television Animation:
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/00975809 however the relevant filings for the latter aren't available online

Though Avenger Penguins was done through Granada rather than Thames or Anglia. It seems Fremantle own the rights to that one though, rather than ITV who own the rest of their post-1993 CITV programmes. The original broadcasts had a Granada endcap, though the DVD has a "Thames International" one (with the 1990-97 Thames logo).

It was effectively sold to another ITV company after Thames left and ultimately ended up under ITV plc. Who eventually closed it. Effectively an arms-length indie after 1993.

Yes, I've been researching it for the last three years. If I recall correctly, Meridian's owner, MAI , which acquired Anglia only five months after Cosgrove Hall Films was formed and merged with United Newspapers two years later to form United News and Media, also owned the subsidiary until Granada acquired UN&M's assets in 2000.

Noddy's Toyland Adventures is the most interesting case, it was Cosgrove Hall's first series for the BBC and was already in production long before Thames lost the franchise. S2 was produced during the transition from Thames to Anglia, but was credited to Cosgrove Hall Productions, while S3 started production shortly before and after the transition was complete.

'CHF' is the name used for the current incarnation of the company, not to be confused with Cosgrove Hall Films... which is the dormant company owned by ITV

Meridian didn't buy Anglia, its owners did. They were called MAI, which then became United News and Media

On a side note; ITEL, a TV distribution subsidiary originally owned by Time Warner's HBO, was the licensing arm of Cosgrove Hall Films, then UN&M acquired a 50% stake until Granada took full ownership from 2000:

https://variety.com/1993/tv/news/hbo-anglia-form-kidvid-firm-115865/
https://www.licenseglobal.com/stub/way-things-were
https://realscreen.com/1999/11/01/27093-19991101/