Fiction
Nikhil Mirchandani hops on board Shashi Sumeet Group as CEO
MUMBAI: From broadcast to production. That’s the journey Nikhil Mirchandani is taking. Mirchandani has signed on as CEO of the TV, digital and ad film making production house – the Shashi Sumeet Group.
A media specialist with more than two decades of holistic business experience, Nikhil has extensively worked across the entertainment sector catering to local and global brands. Prior to this, Nikhil has been associated with his entrepreneurial venture HOOP Entertainment, a company founded by him in 2012.
As per the current mandate, Nikhil will be responsible for leading and overseeing the Group’s business operations and expansion plans. Currently, Shashi Sumeet Productions has the long running show Diya aur Baati Hum, and Humdard on Maan TV on air. But it has been behind successful shows such as Zee TV’s Punar Vivah, and Life Ok’s Tumhaari Paakhi.
Nikhil Mirchandani began his career with GE Capital before making a career in the media and entertainment sector, where he has over 20 years of work experience across major networks including Sony Entertainment Television, Turner International, National Geographic Channel and Star India.
He was managing director, south Asia, NGC Network and FOX International Channels for over five years and later joined Star as Executive Vice-President and General Manager, Star One. He then started Hoop Entertainment, an entrepreneurial venture engaged in the business of branded and digital content solutions.
Commenting on the appointment, Shashi Sumeet group founder, director Sumeet Hukamchand Mittal , said, “I am pleased to welcome Nikhil Mirchandani to Shashi Sumeet Group family and am certain that he will come up with outstanding solutions to suit our business model. Keeping up with our brand mantra ‘Imagine, Innovate, Inspire’; I want to give my 100 per cent to my creative interest enabling a win-win situation for both myself and the organization that can benefit from increased creative bandwidth and super-amplified story-telling abilities.”
Mirchandani agreed adding: “Shashi Sumeet Group is a brilliant brand and has done fantastic work; both business and creative. It is a matter of great pride and honour for me that I will be able to leverage my strategic skills and years of learning for a brand of this stature. I am excited to be able to lead the organization in the next stage of evolution”
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.
