Renowned showrunner Shane Byrne and Emmy-winning producer Jamie D’Alton, two of Ireland’s leading TV executives, have teamed up to launch Diffusion Media, a new production company aimed at attracting international unscripted productions to Ireland and capitalizing on of the aforementioned Irish tax benefits for the non-scripted sector.
D’Alton, who played a pivotal role in the development of projects including the Netflix documentary ‘The Deepest Breath’ and ‘Conor McGregor: Notorious’, the highest-grossing Irish documentary of all time, is founding Diffusion after almost two decades as co-founder owner and joint managing director of Motive Television. D’Alton has produced and directed some of Ireland’s highest-rated TV shows, including ‘DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland’ and ‘Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week’, as well as IFTA-winning films ‘I Am Immigrant’ and ‘A man with a mission.”
Meanwhile, Byrne, who has a wealth of industry experience in the US, UK and Ireland and has produced formats including ‘Big Brother’, The X Factor’ and ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, is leaving his role as head of entertainment at Bigger . Phase. In his previous role, Byrne managed a host of US unscripted productions filmed in Ireland for Fox Entertainment including; “The Floor,” “Don’t Forget The Lyrics,” “Next Level Chef,” “Beat Shazam,” and “Name That Tune,” of which Byrne served as showrunner for four consecutive seasons.
“The Irish government’s proposed tax incentives could provide tremendous opportunities, with the growth potential for unscripted content produced in Ireland being enormous,” D’Alton said. “This, combined with our individual track records and existing relationships with international broadcasters and streamers, positions Diffusion Media as a market leader in unscripted content.”
Diffusion Media will produce a wide range of content, including a range of entertainment formats, studio shows and documentaries, in addition to offering production services tailored to international entertainment markets. The first title is “To Hell & Back”, a new series for RTE in which A-list celebrities embark on extreme outdoor adventures in some of the most inhospitable and hostile environments in the world.
“In 2021, I was asked to be the showrunner of the first American unscripted network show made in Ireland (“Name That Tune” for Fox). This meant building and cultivating a team of more than 300 talented industry professionals. Three years on and many successful productions later, it is clear that unscripted production in Ireland is world class,” said Byrne.
“The ambition we have for Diffusion Media is not only to develop exciting original content, but also to double down on the production services model that has powered TV show hosts like Rob Lowe, Niecy Nash, Jamie Foxx, Jane Krakowski, Randy Jackson and Gordon Ramsay works closely with domestic production teams on several prime time US shows. We are very excited to launch a new option for international customers to consider.”