BigBrother-World.com - Endemol

Endemol is a television production company based in the Netherlands. It was founded by a merger of television production companies owned by John de Mol and Joop van den Ende, the name deriving from the combination of their surnames. Its biggest success has been the Big Brother "reality television" show, with versions in many countries after the initial Dutch version. They specialise in inexpensive programming that is appealing to television executives in the modern multi-channel world, and other Endemol programmes in this vein include Changing Rooms, Ready Steady Cook, Deal or No Deal, Ground Force, International King of Sports, and Fear Factor.

In France, Endemol is infamous for producing "trash television" and reality shows.

In 2000 the company was sold to the Spanish telecom and media corporation Telefónica for €5.5 billion. In December 2003 it was reported that John de Mol would be leaving the company in May 2004.

Press reports suggest that Telefónica will float the business on the London stock exchange towards the end of 2005.

Endemol also has operations in Argentina, where they produce many reality shows such as the local version of Big Brother (in 2001), and others like Policias en acción (Policemen in action), and E24 (Emergencies 24 hours), showing the works of policemen and doctors in major cities. Their shows air on major TV networks such as Canal 13 and TELEFE.

The company employs 3,300 people (2003 figure).