Fiction
Balaji style soap opera unwinds at Filmcity
MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms, known to be the biggest production house of the small screen, hit a roadblock when a nasty fight broke out between Balaji crew members and members of the Allied Mazdoor Union (AMU), which represents the interests of labourers like spot boys, lightmen and set technicians.
The incident took place on 12 May night at the Killick Nixon studio in Mumbai’s Andheri east suburb where a majority of the Balaji shows are filmed. The reason. says the AMU, was that Balaji did not change workers even after the end of the 12-hour shift, as mandated by the agreement forged between the producers and workers’ unions.
Said a Balaji source, “They blamed us saying we did not change the workers after the completion of the 12 hour shift. But it isn’t true. Even after saying, we did change workers; they raised a ruckus and did not allow us to shoot following the ugly fight.”
Another source from Balaji added, “It is not for the first time they have attacked us. It’s an everyday routine. They visit our sets and try to upset our daily routine. We need to have a permanent solution.”
After the ruckus, the members of the union showed its might and stalled all shoots at Filmcity on 13 May until late in the evening. The Indian Television Dot Com office got calls from irate creative directors, producers, wondering when a resolution would be found during the day.
Several TV producers faced a problem, including Sudhir Sharma’s Sunshine Productions, Yash Patnaik’s Beyond Dreams, and Vikas Gupta’s Lost Boy Productions – which have units shooting different shows at Filmcity.
AMU general secretary Gangeshwar Shrivastav said, “Workers are allowed to work for 12 hours. We heard that Balaji was making them work for more than 20 hours. When we received a complaint, we went there and they fought. They broke our cars. We filed a police complaint at Powai Police Station and four members of Balaji were arrested.”
Balaji Telefilms raised a protest with the Indian Film & Television Producers’ Council (IFTPC) of which it is a member. The TV division committee members got onto a conference call late in the evening with the AMU office bearers and told them to allow producers to recommence shooting at least for now. The AMU agreed to do so, but they mutually agreed to meet on a suitable date after 20 May to thrash out any misunderstandings.
Following the call, at around 6.30 pm, the cameras started whirring and shouts of “Action” were heard once again on the shooting floors of Filmcity.
(Tellychakkar.com – part of the indiantelevision.com group was the first to report this story.)
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.
