Fiction
NBCUniversal restructures leadership to form new television group
MUMBAI: NBCUniversal (NBCU) has announced a significant restructure of its television division, elevating Pearlena Igbokwe and Frances Berwick to lead a newly consolidated television group. This reorganisation integrates NBCU’s television studios, NBC Entertainment, Bravo, and Peacock into a cohesive entity.
Pearlena Igbokwe, previously president of Universal Studio group, has been appointed chairman of television studios, NBC Entertainment, and Peacock scripted content. In her expanded role, she will oversee all aspects of NBC Entertainment, including scripted, unscripted, and live programming, alongside Peacock’s scripted originals. Igbokwe will also continue leading Universal Studio group, which encompasses Universal Television, UCP, Universal International Studios, and Universal Television Alternative Studio.
Frances Berwick, formerly chairman of NBCU Entertainment, has been named chairman of Bravo and Peacock. She will manage first-run syndication and unscripted programming for both networks, which includes documentaries and hit franchises like The Traitors and Love Island.
As part of the restructure, Corie Henson, executive VP of unscripted content for NBCU Entertainment, will leave the company. This decision comes amid a series of changes that follow Comcast’s announcement of its planned spin-off of seven cable channels into a separate publicly traded company, named SpinCo, which will include networks like MSNBC, USA Network, CNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, in addition to digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and SportsEngine.
Additional leadership changes include Liz Jenkins, now overseeing content strategy and business operations across the entertainment and studio groups, and Jenny Storms, who has been promoted to chief marketing officer for NBCU Television & Streaming.
Donna Langley, chairman of NBCU Entertainment & Studios, and Matt Strauss, chairman of NBCU Media Group, expressed confidence in the restructuring, emphasizing the company’s commitment to creativity and innovation in the evolving media landscape.
Mark Lazarus will transition from his role as chairman of NBCU Media Group to become CEO of SpinCo, which is set to launch later this year
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.
