Imaginae

Imaginae is the in-house generative AI production label operated by Fremantle, the global TV format and drama production company owned by RTL Group. It represents the build side of Fremantle's dual AI strategy: while Fremantle uses Runway as an external enterprise vendor (confirmed when Runway opened its London headquarters on 1 June 2026), Imaginae is the internal counterpart, developing proprietary generative AI tools specific to Fremantle's production workflows. The simultaneous operation of an in-house label alongside a commercial vendor relationship is the same build-versus-buy hedging visible at Netflix (INKubator alongside Runway) and Disney (internal tooling alongside vendor licences).

Public disclosure about Imaginae's specific capabilities, team size, and product pipeline is limited. The label focuses on content production rather than consumer-facing products, operating inside Fremantle's production infrastructure for formats, drama, and unscripted shows. Its existence positions Fremantle as one of the few independent production companies rather than a broadcaster to have named an in-house generative AI unit, which is notable given that most such units (Netflix INKubator, BBC AI Creative Lab) sit within broadcaster or streamer organisations.

Imaginae's significance within the media-AI pivot is primarily structural: it demonstrates that the AI investment decision is moving down the production chain from commissioners and distributors toward the independent production companies that actually make the content. If Fremantle's in-house capability matures, it could shift the power balance in the producer-broadcaster relationship by giving Fremantle AI-native production tools that reduce its dependency on broadcasters' own AI stacks.