Fiction
Banijay Rights promotes Endemol’s Matt Creasey as EVP sales, co-productions & acquisitions
MUMBAI: Banijay Rights today has appointed Matt Creasey as EVP, Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions for the rest of the world. The announcement follows after Banijay’s recent acquisition of Endemol Shine Group and onward integration of the two global businesses.
Creasey, in his new role, will report to Banijay Rights’ CEO Cathy Payne. He joins the leading sales division from Endemol Shine International, where, until now, he served as EVP, sales and acquisitions. Creasey will continue the company’s operation from Los Angeles, he will be responsible for all sales operations and the team for territories outside EMEA.
Creasey joined Endemol Shine International in 2006 as director of sales and distribution. He has spent his career to date selling and exploiting some of the world’s largest entertainment brands. With an invaluable client base, cross-platform sales experience, unrivaled knowledge of the catalog, and extensive commercial wisdom, he will work closely with Banijay Rights’ newly-appointed leadership team to set the strategy and grow the business across his assigned territories. Exploring opportunities across linear, SVOD and AVOD, he will also handle scripted co-productions in the US and rest of the world, alongside sales and acquisitions.
Prior to his significant stint at Endemol Shine International, Creasey was head of sales at Celador International.
Banijay Rights CEO Cathy Payne said, “Matt has long been a highly-valued senior member of the Endemol Shine team and I could not be more pleased to have him joining me at Banijay Rights. He has an undisputed knowledge of the industry and is sure to thrive in his new position leading the rest of the world across the united catalogues.”
Creasey on his appointment says, “Bringing together an unrivalled catalogue of global hits, a hugely talented team and an impressive sales network, Banijay Rights now stands as one of the world’s biggest distribution leaders, and what better place to call home. I’m looking forward to working with Cathy again and can’t wait to get started on driving maximum value for our treasure trove of IP in the US and beyond.”
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.
