CBS Corp. said it acquired a strategic ownership stake in Kapital Entertainment, an independent production company founded by Aaron Kaplan.
Kapital, which produces the comedy Life in Pieces for CBS, will continue to operate as an independent production company, separate from CBS Television Studios and the CBS Television Network, selling programming to all buyers in the TV marketplace.
CBS will provide co-financing for Kapital to invest in future programming. It will also serve as Kapital’s worldwide distributor.
Kaplan, who was head of scripted content at the William Morris agency before starting Kapital, will remain as CEO.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“CBS is a content company, and this new venture immediately establishes another source to create more programming assets for our distribution pipeline,” said CBS CEO Les Moonves. “Aaron is a talented and creative producer, a skilled program packager and a very smart businessperson. We’re excited to build this partnership together.”
Kapital’s current series include Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix, Divorce on HBO, American Housewife on ABC, Secrets and Lies on ABC, The Chi on Showtime and Life in Pieces. For the upcoming television season, the company is producing seven pilots across broadcast and cable networks.
The first joint project is the Dana Klein and Mark Feuerstein pilot 9J, 9K and 9L, which is being co-produced by Kapital with CBS Television Studios for CBS.
“This venture enables Kapital to continue matching a creator’s vision to the broadcast, cable or streaming home best suited for their project. And we will continue to work with all of our valued studio partners in the process,” said Kaplan. “At the same time, I have the support of an incredible media company at CBS Corporation, led by Leslie Moonves, whose creative and business accomplishments are unmatched.”
Dana Honor recently joined Kapital after serving as senior VP, comedy development for 20th Century Fox Television, where she developed The Last Man on Earth for Fox and Speechless, Fresh Off the Boat and Modern Family for ABC.
