Fiction
Balaji Motion Pictures ropes in Aman Gill as the new CEO
MUMBAI- Balaji Telefilms Limited has roped in Aman Gill as the CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures. Gill, in his new role, will assume all responsibilities spanning film development ranging from creative, production, marketing, distribution, syndication and will have all division heads report directly to him. He will take up the new position from early December 2015.
Talking about the new appointment, Balaji Telefilms Ltd. group CEO Sameer Nair asserted, “Aman brilliantly balances creativity with commerce and is most deserving of this position and role. He has vast experience in developing, producing, marketing, distributing and syndicating films in the past with various studios and has worked closely with talent in the agency business”.
Aman will be serving out his notice period with Junglee Pictures in the interim, where he was the chief content officer since June 2014. In his tenure the company successfully released two of the most critically and commercially acclaimed films of the year Dil Dhadkane Do and Talvar. Gill has also setup in the past, the film talent and literary business at CAA-KWAN from June 2012 to June 2014. He also headed the acquisition and domestic distribution functions at Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.
Gill started his career with Applause Entertainment, where he was AVP Content. Here he earned his first film credit as an executive producer for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s critically acclaimed film Black.
“Aman is a wonderful addition to the management bandwidth we’re building at Balaji. Several exciting projects are already in the pipeline over the next few months, which are in various stages of production and we also plan to scale up our movie business in the coming years. With several very interesting initiatives underway, I believe Aman is the ideal professional to lead the charge”, said Balaji TelefilmsLimited joint managing director Ekta Kapoor.
Speaking about his new hiring Gill added, “I’m honored that Ekta and Sameer have entrusted me with this responsibility and position. I look forward to work together with a highly talented team to further the formidable brand that Balaji Motion Pictures has built over the years and take it to greater heights.
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.
