Fiction
Pixel Pictures to produce two fiction shows for Tamil and Telugu markets in 2020
MUMBAI: Pixel Pictures began its journey in 2013 by producing a reality game show in Kannada. In a span of five years, the company has secured international rights to produce content in Kannada and Malayalam languages as well. The company, which started with the production of Takadhimita Dancing Star, which is an adaptation of BBC's Dancing With The Stars, soon brought in shows such as Super Minute (the Kannada adaptation of Endemol Shine’s Minute to Win It), Made For Each Other, Super Talk Time, Family Power, Halli Haida Pyatege Banda and Takadhimita etc.
After strengthening its footprint in unscripted content for Kannada and Malayalam markets, Pixel Pictures is planning to produce fiction content for Tamil and Telugu markets too. The company will be launching two fiction shows in 2020 and will also focus on creating contents for kids in the regional market.
In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com Pixel Pictures founder and CEO Prashanti Malisetti reveals, “Over the years, as the team grew bigger, our hunger for storytelling became stronger, and the need to aggressively venture into fiction has led us to acquire adaptation rights of close to 20 drama series from Asian content creators and authors to produce for TV, OTT and feature film formats.”
She further says, “In 2020, our focus is to create and develop gripping stories, in the fiction/scripted segment that may be adapted into different languages within India. The target is to create and produce two new fiction formats, in the regional languages in addition to our non-fiction business.”
97 per cent of India still owns single TV sets in every household, which shows, co-viewing is high in the country. Despite that, there isn’t enough programming that caters specifically to kids, Pixel Pictures plans to explore that segment in 2020.
“Our current focus is on the under-12 category of kids content. We see immense potential in that space. With the growing popularity of OTT platforms and catch up TV, the need of the day is to create disruptive content that makes appointment viewing exciting for the TV viewer. Owing to our learning during the multiple adaptations of international formats, we are presently working on creating original formats (scripted and unscripted) with international standards for the Indian viewer, with immense faith, that this content will be adapted by other countries in the near future,” Malisetti informs.
Apart from that, the company is also working on non-fiction format which is under development that deals with Psychedelia in a game show. The format is designed to bring out an array of experiences to the contestant, including changes of perception, altered states of awareness variation in thought process etc.
Briefing on her vision for 2025 Malisetti says, “Popular for our expertise in adapting international formats for regional viewers, we have made our mark in Kannada and Malayalam television industry as the preferred production house for non-fiction programming and televised events. The 1000 hours of content production is a good milestone to celebrate the team’s passion towards the growth of Pixel. The vision is 6500 hours of content production by 2025, in multiple regional languages for TV, and OTT platforms.”
Witnessing 25 per cent revenue growth in 2019, the company aims to hire local, region-specific talent and drive them to create disruptive and relevant content in both scripted and unscripted segments, for TV and OTT platforms.
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.
