51 Minds Entertainment
51 Minds Entertainment (or Fifty One Minds Entertainment) is a production company specializing in reality TV, known for their "celebreality" programs on VH1. It was created in 2004 as a merger between Cris Abrego's 51 Pictures (formerly Brass Ring Entertainment) and Mark Cronin's Mindless Entertainment. In 2005, the company signed a two-year, seven series production deal with VH1. The company has been credited in helping revive VH1 ratings during this time. In 2008, the company was purchased by Endemol (later Endemol Shine Group, now Banijay).
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Genre | Reality Television |
| Predecessor | 51 Pictures Mindless Entertainment |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founders | Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California , United States |
Key people | Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
| Products | Flavor of Love Below Deck |
| Owner | Banijay |
Number of employees | 200+ (2008) |
| Parent | Endemol Shine North America |
| Website | 51minds |
| Footnotes / references | |
In 2010, the company branched out in Internet distributed programming, producing The Tester for the PlayStation Network. Other popular shows include Below Deck and their franchises on the NBCUniversal network, BravoTV.