Fiction
Hallmark tracks the progress of the millenium generation
MUMBAI: Hallmark’s latest programme initiative should appeal to anybody who has or who has wanted a child. The broadcaster will air the series Child Of Our Time every Friday at 8 pm from 14 January.
Hailed by UK publication Morning Star as being revealing and thought-provoking the show follows a new British generation as they develop from the womb into adulthood. 25 very different families take part in this unique experiment, which will follow the children’s growth and development over a 20 year period.
The series which is the brainchild of the BBC aims to uncover the truth behind an enormous number of theories, such as whether talking to a baby in the womb or playing music has an impact on the foetus, and how much personality is inherited. It also examines key influences in Western society, such as the difference between being born into a remote farming community, being the child of a single mother in a hostel for the homeless in an inner city or being born to a mother who is disabled.
Each of the children, with their own unalterable genes, will be brought up in an environmental cauldron which shapes them. The way genes work in particular environments is just beginning to be disentangled by science and, thus, the answers to the question, “nature or nurture?” will become clearer.
The project began in 2000 with a large number of families whose babies were born around the millennium. One of the show’s producers Sadie Holland said,” I first came to work on Child of Our Time in 1999. We had just been challenged by BBC One to find 25 children to be born at the dawn of the new millennium whom we could follow for a documentary series as they grew up.
“We knew we had to find families from all walks of life and from every corner of the British Isles. It was bound to be difficult, but in those early days we didn’t realise how very hard it would be – but nor did we realise what wonderful days we had in store for us as we got to know these amazing families.
“We put out some ads, looking for people who were expecting a baby in January 2000, and we also contacted lots of organisations who might be able to help us to find the people we wanted to meet. We spoke to hundreds of families who expected babies at the right time, and were delighted by some of their stories. I still wonder how some of them have got on since 1999.
” After a while we set off on the road, armed with little DV cameras, to meet and record some of the families we were particularly interested in persuading to come on board with us. I’ll never forget the day I went to meet the Baller family in Birmingham, who had me almost crying with laughter at their tale of how they never really meant to have more than two children, were delighted to have had a third, but were astonished to find that the fourth pregnancy was in fact triplets! I seem to remember that I laughed so much that the quality of my camerawork was very poor indeed – and this has happened to me on quite a few occasions with the Ballers since.”.
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.
