UFA – a leading German production company owned by Fremantle – is expanding its activities in Hungary. Previously known as UFA Magyarország, the production subsidiary is now called UFA Produkció and has two new Co-Managing Directors: Emese Ács and Ute Biernat, who will take on the role in addition to her position as Managing Director of UFA Show & Factual in Germany.

UFA Produkció will continue to focus on and further develop the in-house development and production of non-fiction entertainment formats. The company also intends to open up its production hub in Hungary to international partners and cooperations.

Sascha Schwingel, CEO of UFA, says: “Our goal is to grow further with UFA. To this end, we are building on our existing strengths in both creative and production areas. Following the recent foundation of UFA Mitte and the expansion of our activities in the surrounding area, we are now also setting the course for growth in Hungary. I am delighted that Emese Ács, a well-connected and experienced local expert, and Ute Biernat, who most recently played a key role in driving the growth of our Hungarian production subsidiary, will be taking on these new roles together as a strong duo. I wish them both every success in their new or additional roles.”     

Emese Ács, Co-Managing Director of UFA Produkció, says: “Our shows have had a solid foothold in the Hungarian market for many years and we now produce for all the private broadcasters in Hungary. With our new strategic focus on non-fiction formats, we now intend to pay particular attention to developing our own ideas and formats in addition to the Fremantle catalogue.”

Ute Biernat, Co-Managing Director of UFA Produkció and Managing Director of UFA Show & Factual, says: “With UFA Produkció, we are creating a production hub in Hungary for entertainment productions, through which we can offer high-quality and cost-efficient production solutions far beyond the borders of Hungary. The expansion and renaming of the company are the logical continuation of our strategy, based on which we have already been successful in the Hungarian market for nine years.”

UFA Produkció (formerly UFA Magyarország) dates back to 1997, when its first daily series – Barátok közt (Among friends) – was produced for commercial television. The series later became the most successful and longest-running series in Hungary. In 2015, UFA Show & Factual set up a division for non-fiction content. Since then, more than 800 hours and a total of 16 entertainment programmes have been produced in Hungary. In 2024, UFA Produkció produced Az álommeló (The Apprentice), Házasodna a gazda (Farmer Wants a Wife), Kalandra fal! (Adventure Wall!), Álarcos énekes (The Masked Singer) and X-Faktor for RTL Hungary.