
CMS‘s media team boasts strong transactional and corporate capabilities, assisting major film and TV studios, broadcasters, and talent. Besides its specialist media finance team, the firm also advises on development and production work for producers, carriage negotiations for broadcasting clients, content acquisition, and broadcasting rights deals. The team is additionally well-versed in regulatory issues, TV advertising, sales agency arrangements, M&A, and sensitive investigations. The team is jointly led by Victoria Gaskell and Paul Guite; Gaskell is a commercial media expert, while Guite is a corporate media specialist. Rebekah Hayes is noted for her specialism in media finance, often assisting with co-production funding, production, distribution, and exploitation of audio-visual content. Selina Potter excels at advising on content acquisition and distribution.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The practice stands out for its in-depth understanding of the media industries with best in class practitioners who know the market inside out.'
- 'It is known for its commercial knowledge of deals and market practice, which is invaluable.'
- 'Paul Guite is the best corporate media lawyer in town. Smart, sensible, pragmatic and solution driven and always calm under pressure.'
- 'Victoria Gaskell is best in class commercial media lawyer.'
Key clients
- BBC
- BBC Studios
- ITV
- Fremantle
- All3 Media
- NBCUniversal
- Warner Bros Discovery
- Disney
- Pathé
- Paramount Global
- Elysian Film Group
- Zinc Media Group
Work highlights
Represented the BBC in proceedings in the High Court against the national broadcast infrastructure business, Arqiva.
Advised ITV Studios on the acquisition of a majority stake in Hartswood Films.
Advised Pathé on its acquisition of five major titles from the Celador Films library, closing the sale with Paul Smith CBE, the founder and owner of Celador Films.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head
Victoria Gaskell; Paul Guite
Other key lawyers
Rebekah Hayes; Selina Potter