Industry

BiggerStage has officially launched a Global Production Hub at Troy Studios in Limerick, marking a multi-million euro investment aimed at establishing Ireland as a centre of excellence for international television production. The initiative, led by Irish independent production company BiggerStage, was formally opened by Minister for Communications, Culture and Sport Patrick O’Donovan T.D. and attended by Irish and international television industry figures.

The launch follows Ireland’s recently introduced unscripted tax credit, the first of its kind in Europe, which has already begun attracting major international productions to the country. Pat Kiely, CEO and Founder of BiggerStage, said: “Thanks to the Irish Government’s introduction of a tax credit for unscripted production, the Global Production Hub at Troy Studios is open for business as a centre of excellence for television production,” he said. “We are in the middle of a really exciting evolution of television across viewing habits, content creation and platform consolidation. Ireland’s creative reputation, world-class infrastructure and highly skilled talent means we are spectacularly positioned to capitalise on this shift. The recently introduced unscripted tax incentive, on top of the wider audio visual incentives already in place, will help Ireland compete with any market in the world to attract international players and drive foreign direct investment in this growing sector.”
Minister Patrick O’Donovan said the project highlights Ireland’s growing role in global production: “The launch of The BiggerStage Global Production Hub at Troy Studios will not only attract major international players to Limerick, it illustrates how Ireland has the infrastructure, talent, creativity and production expertise to lead in this space. Ireland’s creative industry is on a real high; never has there been a better time to expand our global offering and drive more investment into the development of creative IP, jobs, training, development and infrastructure.”

New Initiative
Alongside the hub, BiggerStage announced Format Factory, a new incubator designed to develop and test original television format IP. Based at Troy Studios, the initiative will bring together production expertise, infrastructure and emerging technologies to support the creation of new unscripted entertainment formats for global markets. Kiely added: “At the same time, we are committed to investing in the development of original television format IP. The launch of Format Factory is hugely exciting and a great opportunity to bring Ireland’s producers, broadcasters and content creators together to make Ireland famous for game-changing, compelling and globally attractive television formats. The dividends from these early initiatives are real and already visible. It has resulted in significant job creation nationally, and new local employment opportunities, together with a range of training and development initiatives delivered in partnership with Screen Ireland, Cultural & Creative Industries, Skillnet, Film in Limerick and the National Talent Academies South.”

Since its launch in 2021, BiggerStage has worked to position Ireland as a competitive international production hub, securing inward investment through collaborations with companies including FOX Entertainment, MGM, Studio Ramsay Global, Talpa Studios and ITV Studios. Recent productions at the facility include 99 To Beat with Ken Jeong and Erin Andrews, The Floor with Rob Lowe, and Name That Tune with Jane Krakowski for FOX in the U.S., as well as an upcoming UK version of Name That Tune for ITV1.