Fiction
Goquest Media Ventures picks up drama content from China, Thailand, Taiwan
MUMBAI: Independent content distributor GoQuest Media Ventures announced a raft of new acquisitions from China, Thailand and Taiwan.
Collaborating with leading Chinese streaming platform iQiyi, GoQuest Media has secured the rights for Vietnam to the epic drama series Tang Dynasty Tour (36 x 45’). The costume drama, an iQiyi Original directed by Zhu Dong-Ning and produced by Gordon Chan revolves around Yun Ye, who one night falls asleep and wakes amid the opulent brickwork of an ancient Tang Dynasty palace. Yun soon meets the troubled Li Anlan, a Tang princess disowned for being born out of wedlock. Spurred to life by survival and his desire to stay at Li’s side, he embarks on a series of adventures ranging from hysterical to heart-wrenching.
Entering the Asian drama space, GoQuest Media is also pleased to announce the acquisition of content through its Vietnam office, headed by Harshad Wadadekar, general manager – distribution business. These include the rights for Vietnam to series such as Blind Date which is the Chinese remake of Dori Media’s hit romantic scripted comedy Ciega A Citas, An Oriental Odyssey, The Lost Swordship, Mr Swimmer, Legend of S. Fire Walker from Media Culture Ltd, Hongkong, The Masked Lover, Behind Your Smile, Swimming Battle, Home Sweet Home, Between from nationwide cable TV network Sanlih E-Television, Taiwan and A Billion Love Game, and Chaoweha from Thailand’s True4U.
Commenting on the acquisitions, GoQuest Media MD Vivek Lath said, “It is a privilege to be offering viewers in Vietnam great content homegrown in Asia and providing the ever-challenging TV market with good quality programming. There is huge potential for Asian content and we strongly believe that shows such as these will be well received.'
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.
