Fiction
Production houses plan for return after lockdown
MUMBAI: As lockdown restrictions ease across the country and state governments start handing out approvals to resume shooting, production houses are gearing up to get back on track with requisite precautions and safety measures. Tasks like an SOP plan will be on top of the priority list and this means added costs for production houses.
IFTPC chairman TV wing and Hats Off Production founder J D Majethia is optimistic that Maharashtra will start shooting in June itself. Anticipating that the pandemic will run longer he has bought a temperature check kiosk, sanitisation stand and other necessary equipment rather than rent them. He also mentioned that insurance policies will become a necessity that will cover workers, technicians and artists for the SarsCov2 virus.
“On ground, our focus is crew safety and thereafter following the right protocols. We are preparing to implement SOPs on ground. We want to ensure that the number of people is less. Our focus is not just on what the government has advised but we also want to keep things under control from a safety perspective,” says Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege. However, he says that their shows will commence production only by August.
Even though Endemol is waiting for shoots to resume here, other regional areas have commenced where permissions have been granted such as Tamil Nadu. Going forward, the company will work in a shift system, so that at any given time required crew members are present. Maintaining distance and required people on the set will be the big change. He, too, added that employee health insurance will be imperative.
Currently, Rege is working on only new shows. “We are trying to figure out ways where we don’t compromise on our script and yet deliver good content,” he says.
Famous Studio MD Anant Roongta, who is ecstatic about re-starting his work, thanked his team members for their constant support. Famous Studio re-started studio work from 8 June. During lockdown, his 50 employees were able to work on pending projects remotely because of its previous efforts in upgrading technology. Even artists came up with techniques to work from home.
While mentioning hygiene and sanitisation measures Roongta says, “We have seven action areas, for all the employees and clients who are coming in our studio. We have a self-declaration form that is mandatory to fill before entering the studios. It is a list of 20 to 30 questions which includes their travel history, any possible symptoms, if they live in a containment area and much more.”
Once people fill the form, they go to the sanitisation stand outside the office. Post that, their temperature is checked and it is mandatory to wear a mask. The studio is sanitised and disinfected every morning. Surgical gloves are provided to people who are working on equipment. As people are working on separate wings and rooms, social distancing is also taken care of. Everyone has to enter and exit from one point to avoid overlapping.
The staff follows a dedicated SOP which included appointing housekeeping for deep cleaning before opening up the office. On the insurance front, he says “Most of the people we work with are consultants and not employees, so they are individually responsible for their own insurance policies.”
Creative Eye Limited MD Dheeraj Kumar says that they too resumed work from 8 June. He adds, “I am waiting for broadcasters to give us the green signal to start fresh projects as well as pending ones. But even if we want to shoot, we will need a minimum of 25 days time in our hand to do all the preparation which was lost in three months.”
Their precautionary measures include thermal infra-red guns at the entrance to check the temperature and will be written in a physical register. Whoever enters the premises will have to provide their contact details and home address. After entering the building, people must sanitise their hands with a stand that’s operated by the feet. He is also providing tailor-made in-house masks and gloves. In the past ten days, the entire Creative Eye building and office has been sanitised thrice. About 100 Creative Eye employees have also been covered under an insurance policy.
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.
