Film Production
Banijay and All3Media in merger talks as TV giants bulk up
PARIS: Banijay Group, owner of the Big Brother franchise, is in talks with the parent of All3Media, producer of hit reality show The Traitors, as old-guard television groups scramble to scale up against the streaming behemoths.
The discussions, first reported by Reuters, centre on a potential combination of Banijay’s entertainment and live business, which also houses MasterChef, with All3Media’s production arm, according to people familiar with the matter.
Banijay confirmed on Tuesday that it had entered into discussions with All3Media’s owner over a possible tie-up, stressing that no decision had been taken and there was no certainty a deal would be struck. All3Media and its owner RedBird IMI declined to comment.
If completed, the merger would create one of Europe’s largest production houses, boasting a catalogue that spans Survivor, Peaky Blinders and Race Across the World.
Talks began late last year after Amsterdam-listed Banijay dropped its pursuit of ITV Studios and have now reached an advanced stage, the sources said. Any deal would likely involve All3Media and RedBird IMI injecting fresh capital into the combined group, reflecting their smaller scale.
In 2024 numbers, the merged entity would generate about €5.7 billion ($6.65 billion) in revenue. Banijay’s market capitalisation stood at €3.42 billion at Monday’s close, according to LSEG.
The negotiations underscore a broader consolidation wave sweeping the media industry as traditional producers seek to counter Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. France’s Mediawan merged with Leonine Studios last year, while Italy’s MFE-MediaForEurope snapped up rival ProSieben.
Banijay and All3Media have both previously explored combinations with ITV Studios. ITV is now in talks to sell its broadcast arm to Comcast-owned Sky, a move that could leave ITV Studios as a standalone production business.
All3Media was bought in 2024 for £1.15 billion ($1.55 billion) by RedBird IMI, led by former CNN executive Jeff Zucker and backed by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. RedBird Capital, its US partner, is also backing Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery.
Banijay founder and chairman Stephane Courbit remains the group’s largest shareholder with a 45 per cent stake, followed by Vivendi with 19.2 per cent.
As audiences fragment and streamers tighten their grip, television’s power players are racing to bulk up. In this battle for scale, size is fast becoming the ultimate format.
Film Production
Arka Mediaworks onboards 88 Pictures as animation studio partner on ‘The Eternal War – Part 1’
Arka Mediaworks announces that 88 Pictures, the acclaimed animation and visual storytelling studio known for its cutting-edge CGI and cinematic artistry, is on board as the animation partner for the highly anticipated Baahubali: The Eternal War, a groundbreaking two-part 3D animated feature film set in the globally beloved Baahubali universe.
Baahubali: The Eternal War represents a bold new chapter in the Baahubali saga envisioned for national and international audiences and crafted with the ambition of delivering one of India’s most ambitious and globally benchmarked animation projects to date.
88 Pictures will execute the animation production, bringing to life the film’s richly detailed worlds, epic battle sequences, and larger-than-life characters with its signature blend of artistic vision, performance-driven animation, and advanced production pipelines. Working closely with the film’s creative leadership and technical partners, the studio aims to set new benchmarks in animation quality, cinematic storytelling, and global scalability.
This animated epic follows the successful re-release of Baahubali: The Epic (the combined theatrical version of the original live-action films) on 31 October 2025 across India and the USA. During the film’s interval, legendary creator and director S.S. Rajamouli (Baahubali 1 & 2, RRR) stunned audiences with a surprise teaser for The Eternal War – Part 1. The video immediately went viral, garnering widespread national and international acclaim across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for its ambitious visual style and scale.
Produced by Arka Mediaworks and led by co-founder and CEO Shobu Yarlagadda – producer of the iconic Baahubali duology, The Eternal War brings together fantastic storytelling and cutting-edge animation.. The film is directed and written by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla (Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Star Wars: Visions – “The Bandits of Golak”) and screenplay by Scott Mosier (The Grinch). Mihira Visual Labs, the studio co-founded by Yarlagadda anchors the film’s animation, visual development, and execution.
The partnership with 88 Pictures brings significant pedigree to the project; the studio is well-regarded for its work on high-profile international titles including DreamWorks’ series Trollhunters, the HBO Max original series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Disney’s animated short An Almost Christmas Story to name a few.
Yarlagadda shared, “We are happy to onboard 88 Pictures as the animation studio partner for our prestigious and most expensive animated film from India. We believe that their expertise and capabilities will allow us to produce a first-of-its-kind, world-class animated feature film from India.”
88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde said, “Baahubali changed the way cinema is perceived and became a defining milestone that turned the tide for Indian live-action filmmaking. Expanding the franchise into an entirely new universe—at a never-seen, never-done scale—through an animated feature created in India for a global audience is set to redefine how the world views Indian animation. We are truly thrilled to be part of this landmark project and to bring it to life under the visionary direction of Ishan Shukla, guided by the experience and leadership of acclaimed producer Shobu Yarlagadda.”
Shukla expressed, “Eternal War requires a level of visual and emotional precision that can only come from teams who truly understand both craft and intent. Working with 88 Pictures, alongside Mihira Visual Labs, has been a deeply collaborative experience. This association brings together technical excellence and creative sensitivity, enabling us to translate an ambitious vision into a compelling cinematic reality.”
Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is scheduled for release in 2027
