Fiction
GRB Studios Takes Premium Factual Entertainment to Audiences Around the Globe
MUMBAI: GRB Studios International sales and Operations executive vice president Hud Woodle had announced multiple deals for its top performing factual entertainment programs, with a large volume deal for LatAm with Pluto TV. Deals were also recently completed in Germany, with ProSieben and Discovery; as well as with broadcaster OSN in the Middle East; AETN U.K. took new titles; and a deal was finalized with MNET in Africa. Two territories bought the GRB-produced, real-life medical drama series Untold Stories of the E.R., marking 127 countries that the hit program has been broadcast.
Pluto LatAm acquired a variety of Spanish-language shows. Nature programs include; Full Force Nature; Anatomy of Disaster, Animals Are People Too, Extreme Contact, and Storm Warning. Action programs include: Fugitivos de la Ley; High Seas Rescue and Now See This; real medical drama series Untold Stories of the E.R., as well as Impact Tv a half hour variety program, featuring peculiar stories from around the world.
As mentioned, Germany saw two deals for GRB: ProSieben renewed three seasons of true romantic crime series, Wicked Attraction, and licensed S6 for the first time while Discovery Germany acquired Untold Stories of the E.R, marking the first time the program airs in the country.
AETN acquired S9 of true crime investigative series, On the Case for the U.K. while Middle East channel OSN acquired 6 hours of Top Travel, showcasing luxurious international travel. MNET took three docu-series for Africa: For Peete's Sake; Mind Your Business, and The Book of John Grey.
Woodle stated: “GRB Studios has been answering the global call for premium factual content during these trying times of Covid-19. We are thrilled to partner with Pluto LatAm, offering over 225 hours of Spanish-language programming in a variety of genres. And our own GRB-produced series, Untold Stories of the E.R. just premiered in its 127th country. From GRB’s catalog of over 4,000 hours of audience-favorite programming, we offer something intriguing and entertaining for everyone, everywhere.”
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Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
