French TV Executives Launch Production Vehicle Taleseed (EXCLUSIVE)

Three French media executives with track records at Canal Plus, TF1 and M6 have joined forces to create the production company Taleseed.

The banner will be developing, producing and distributing internationally driven series, films and documentaries with remake potential, and will aim to work with both broadcasters and streaming platforms. Taleseed is headquartered in Paris and is the first production banner to join Station F, a vast start-up campus in the French capital.

Taleseed’s founders are Valérie Billaut, Stéphane Cadoch and Hugues Laigneau. Billaut, who is CEO of the banner, spent 20 years working at French media companies Canal Plus and M6, as director of broadcasting, co-productions and content acquisitions. Billaut then worked as an advisor on the launch of an SVOD platform in Europe, among other things.

Cadoch, meanwhile, spent 10 years in corporate finance at Arthur Andersen and Crédit Lyonnais New York, and 10 years within the TF1 Group, where he handled strategy and digital. He was then appointed director of TF1 Distribution. He also mentored start-ups in the field of blockchain, SVOD and news.

Laigneau also worked at the TF1 Group, where he headed the revenue management branch of the advertising sales division. He was then appointed marketing director for channels and content, before becoming digital director of the division. Most recently, Laigneau worked with different start-ups.