Dan Baldwin, co-founder of production company Hungry Bear Media, has secured a partnership with the National Football League (NFL), Channel 5 and US media company Paramount to bring live American football — including rights to broadcast the Super Bowl — to UK television, industry sources said. Television insiders described the deal as the "deal of the year" and suggested it could be worth "well over £2 million" to Baldwin and his consortium, a development that observers say reduces immediate financial pressure on his wife, television presenter Holly Willoughby, who has been largely off-screen since 2023.
Willoughby stepped back from regular presenting duties in 2023 after she became the target of a foiled kidnap plot, and in the same period endured a public fallout with former colleague Phillip Schofield. The presenter, whose long-running role on ITV's This Morning reportedly earned her about £600,000 a year and who has taken endorsement work with major brands, has since hosted a Netflix series and seen ITV end its partnership with Dancing on Ice, a programme she fronted from 2006 until its recent conclusion. Representatives for Willoughby did not respond to requests for comment.
The new American football offering will be fronted by Dermot O'Leary alongside former NFL player Osi Umenyiora and former Olympic hockey player-turned-presenter Sam Quek, according to people familiar with the plans. Channel 5, which has repositioned its brand as "5", will form part of the UK broadcast partnership alongside Paramount's distribution capabilities. The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched annual sporting events globally, drawing audiences approaching 200 million worldwide in recent years, a factor cited by executives as attractive to UK broadcasters.
Hungry Bear Media has produced several primetime formats in the UK, including The Wheel and The Big Show for Michael McIntyre, a reboot of Gladiators, Judge Ramesh for the BBC, and Bradley and Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad for ITV. The company is also reported to be working on a Blind Date revival for a streaming platform. Baldwin, 50, began his television career as a researcher on BBC children's shows, later working as a series producer and taking a senior role at MTV before co-founding Hungry Bear in 2014.
Industry sources told reporters that Baldwin was "thrilled" by the agreement and that it removes some urgency for Willoughby to return to mainstream television. "It means the pressure is off Holly to wait for the right job to come up," one source said. "She has been through a lot the past two years. It's great she has some time to decompress. Dan is making sure the money is still coming in while Holly can have some time out."
Willoughby and Baldwin, who met when she was presenting children's television and married in 2007, are parents to three children. The couple have recently moved from a reported £3 million home in southwest London to a newly purchased six-bedroom mansion valued at about £8 million; they are also said to own a property in Portugal worth around £2 million. Sources familiar with the purchase described the new house as "amazing." Financial valuations circulated in media reports place the couple's combined net worth at roughly £15 million, with reporting suggesting a significant portion has been built from Willoughby's earlier earnings.
Asked whether Willoughby might present programmes produced by her husband, a friend said she was unlikely to rely on him for work. "Probably not," the friend said. "Holly likes to do her own thing. She can get her own work." The friend added that Willoughby values being judged on her own merits.
Baldwin's NFL partnership positions Hungry Bear to expand into live sports coverage and to capitalise on growing interest in American football in the UK. Executives and production insiders said the arrangement could strengthen the firm's profile in scheduled live broadcasting and offer new revenue streams distinct from its entertainment formats. Broadcasters and rights holders did not immediately provide financial or contractual details beyond those described by industry sources.