Fiction
Applause Entertainment appoints Yogesh Manwani as head of marketing & revenue
MUMBAI: Applause Entertainment today announced the appointment of Yogesh Manwani as head–marketing and revenue. Taking over the reins from Ashok A Cherian, Manwani will be driving the integrated brand and revenue mandate.
Manwani comes with over two decades of expansive experience in content marketing, brand strategy and business management and has held leadership positions at reputed media organisations like Star India, ZEE5 and others. A UCLA Anderson Alumnus, Manwani shouldered responsibilities entailed devising and executing multiple aspects of the Go-to-Market strategy – to grow market share for new and challenger brands.
“Applause Entertainment is definitely the most uniquely positioned content studio in the country today, one that is blazing a new trail in the premium content space. Under the able leadership of Sameer Nair, Applause has created path breaking premium content across genres & languages. I am looking forward to contribute towards the growth and success of Applause Entertainment,” said Manwani.
Promoted by Aditya Birla Group chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla and headed by Sameer Nair, Applause Entertainment is the leading content studio in the country committed to investing and co-investing in the creation of content across shows, movies, unscripted and short-form. Since its inception in 2017, Applause has created 19 marquee shows that include the likes of Hasmukh, Criminal Justice, Hostages, Bhaukaal, Mind the Malhotras, The Office and many more.
“These are difficult times, but we are confident that innovation in content creation and distribution will be a key outcome of this crisis. At a crucial juncture like this, I am delighted to have Yogesh come onboard to lead the marketing and revenue mantle. His repertoire of work is exemplary and exhaustive, and I am confident that he will add immense value to Applause’s journey ahead. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ashok for his invaluable contribution to brand Applause; he has been a very critical part of our success so far and I wish him all the best for his future endeavours,” signed off Nair.
Fiction
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.
