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Balaji Telefilms and Chhayabani announce strategic partnership
MUMBAI: Television and film production company, Balaji Telefilms, has entered into an alliance with Kolkata-based company, Chhayabani, to create distinctive, contemporary, clutter breaking television content.
Chhayabani Balaji Entertainment will be developed as a unique platform that will initially produce television content and gradually scale up to explore other creative opportunities, while also becoming a magnetic hub attracting talented people – technicians and artists, to work together in a collaborative manner.
Chhayabani is highly acknowledged for its glorious heritage in the area of entertainment, in Kolkata. This collaboration brings together two media houses with distinctive strengths to explore new formats of television presentation, create exciting high-end scripted content, while also attracting high quality talent.
Commenting on the development, Balaji Telefilms joint MD Ekta Kapoor said, “Balaji is at a very exciting phase of growth. Within the Indian entertainment space, over time we have created our own unique position across both – the films and the television businesses, which by nature are two completely different disciplines. Our aim is to explore how best we can leverage Balaji’s competitive strengths to create exciting entertainment across media that will propel our growth. We are delighted that Chhayabani emerged as the most preferred partner for Balaji given their cinematic excellence and their tremendous passion to produce quality entertainment products.”
Added Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair, “We have always believed that growth is collaborative, which has also been our operating philosophy in a super-dynamic industry. We are very excited to partner with Chhayabani and as evident, the synergies are extremely strong. This collaboration helps us build a unique and robust platform that allows us to explore a very wide variety of avenues, given our respective creative strengths and the huge libraries of film and television content which we aim to leverage as we move forward.”
Chhayabani director Saugata Nandi said, “It is gratifying to finally see a long cherished idea culminating into a strong association between Balaji and us — with a common vision of drawing the best creative talent available in the region to generate never-before-seen content for a very culturally driven and art-oriented Bengali audience. While Balaji holds the numero uno position in the television and film industry in India, Chhayabani has the distinction of being laced with an enviable reputation of being the torch bearer of the golden era in Bengali television and cinema. Through this platform we look forward to present very distinctive content that talks the universal language of emotions and instantly connects with the viewer.”
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.
