Candle Media undergoes cost-saving reorganization

Candle Media, the young media company backed by private equity player Blackstone, is undergoing restructuring to save costs.

The company was founded in 2021 by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs and made several splashy acquisitions at the same time – including Reese Witherspoon’s production label Hello Sunshine. Fast forward three years, and buyers of free-spent content have crashed back to earth (along with their individual stock prices).

Variety has confirmed that Mayer and Staggs have combined their production companies into two lines of business: live-action production will now fall under Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden, who will also retain her title at Witherspoon’s shop; and animation will now exist exclusively within Candle’s profitable MoonBug, the label behind the family giant ‘CocoMelon’, which airs on Netflix.

Details on cost savings and possible job cuts were not immediately clear. Mayer and Staggs first announced the new structure at a Semafor event last week. Harden’s new location will be called Candle Studios. Her scope includes Hello Sunshine (producer of “The Morning Show” and “Little Fires Everywhere”) and the Exile, True Stories and Faraway Road (“Fauda”) banners.

The new studio division will share resources such as business affairs, legal affairs, production services, facilities and equipment, as well as a coordinated sales and distribution process, targeting both domestic and international buyers.

“I am excited to take on an expanded role within Candle Media, supporting the growth of these incredible business units and identifying new growth opportunities,” said Harden. “I am so proud of what we have built at Hello Sunshine and I look forward to continuing in my role as CEO.”

The newly consolidated Candle Studios will be in production on more than 30 premium originals this year. Season 2 of ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’, season 4 of ‘The Morning Show’ and ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ are all on deck.

During the Semafor talk, Mayer admitted to unfortunate timing in handing over his $1 billion purse to Blackstone.

“We paid at the top of the market. Did the financial numbers deliver the desired results so that we needed to support the prices we paid? Probably not,” he told the publication, before adding: “Talk to us in two or three years.”