Claude Berda Dies: Seminal French TV Exec & Founder Of Mediawan-Acquired AB Groupe Was 78

French producer Claude Berda, whose AB Groupe was one of the founding acquisitions of European media group Mediawan, has died at the age of 78 years old.

Although Berda was little known outside of France, his activities as a TV producer and visionary media exec were seminal at home

He and Jean-Luc Azoulay co-founded AB Productions in 1977, with the pair lending the initials of their respective family names to make up the company name.

Initially created as a record label, the company moved into audiovisual production in the late 1980s, after it forged a deal with TF1 to produce Le Club Dorothée, which took its cue from French children-focused artist Frédérique Hoschedé, who was signed to their record label under the stage name of Dorothée.

The show became one of the most popular children’s shows of the time, with the company also expanding into sitcoms with titles such as Salut les Musclés and Hélène et Les Garcons.

From the mid-1990s, parent company AB Groupe moved into broadcast, launching its first television channel named AB Channel 1.

At the same time, AB Productions began expanding its catalogue and production capacity with the acquisition of Hamster Productions, while a merger The Hamster Group created France’s biggest television production company of the time.

In July 1999, Berda and Azoulay went their separate ways professionally, although they remained friends. Azoulay took most the production capacity, working under the new banner of JLA Holding.

Berda retained the AB Groupe name and focused on the growth of its TV chains, grouped under the Absat umbrella, while also continuing to produce.

The group was acquired by Mediawan in 2017. It was rebranded as Mediawan Thematics and its channels, production companies and international distribution arm became one of the first building blocks of the European content giant, which now gathers 80 production labels.

The Mediawan group put out a statement paying tribute to Berda following news of his death, describing him as “a visionary and passionate entrepreneur”.

“Claude Berda left a lasting mark on the hearts and memories of several generations of television viewers for over 30 years with legendary programs such as Hélène et les Garçons and Le Club Dorothée; through the creation of a portfolio of iconic thematic channels including AB1, RTL9, Action, and many others, and by being among the first to invest in digital terrestrial television (DTT) with NT1 and TMC,” said the group.

“The management of Mediawan extends its sincerest and warmest condolences to his family, loved ones, and all the colleagues who had the privilege of working alongside him. Claude Berda leaves a profound and indelible mark on the history of the Mediawan group and on the history of French broadcasting.”