Fiction
Banijay Group to launch a new studio in Rome
MUMBAI: Banijay Group is soon going to set up Banijay Studios Italy in Rome, hiring Massimo Del Frate, former head of drama at Endemol Shine Italy, to lead the new venture.
As a new scripted player in the Italian market, Banijay will now develop original IP for local broadcasters, while also looking at opportunities to locally adapt Banijay Group’s global content catalogue. Del Frate will look to generate co-productions with other parts of Banijay Group.
“As a leading and well-respected talent in the Italian scripted market, Del Frate is the perfect partner to establish and drive Banijay Studios Italy,” said Banijay Group COO Peter Langenberg as quoted by Rapid TV News.
Del Frate worked in Endemol Shine Italy, as the head of drama and was responsible for growing the scripted division from 2002 to 2018. Previously, he was responsible for scripted operations at Mediaset’s Canal 5.
The new head feels that Banijay’s mission is to establish Banijay Studios Italy as an independent home and partner for leading Italian drama talent, as well as international authors and directors. Collaborating with the top storytellers in the market, Banijay hopes to generate a healthy scripted slate bursting with brilliant and distinctive drama.
The company has worked with a range of media companies in Italy, including the producer of local versions of x Factor, MasterChef, DRY and Don’t Repeat Yourself. The move to expand Banijay’s content creation capabilities follows the opening of a studio in Germany earlier this year.
Banijay Group has already entered the Asian market in partnership with media veteran Deepak Dhar.
An independent content creation group, Banijay Group produces content for television and multimedia platforms. Spread across entities in seventeen territories, its library includes programmes spanning genres like entertainment, drama, factual entertainment, kids and reality; all licensed internationally by its global distribution arm Banijay Rights. Some notable formats include reality television series Keeping up with the Kardashians, crime drama series Underbelly and ABC’s reality television program Wife Swap.
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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.
