Fiction
Siddharth Kumar Tewary features among Asian producers to watch at MIPTV
MUMBAI: Indian TV producers can take heart. One of their ilk will be taking centre stage come 10 April at arguably the world’s largest TV and digital content gathering – MIPTV in Cannes.
The chutzpah that One Life Studios founder & chief creative Siddharth Kumar Tewary has displayed by keeping IP ownership of his on-air Porus on Sony Entertainment, striking innovative distribution deals with productions he does for Indian broadcasters and the massive slate that he has developed in the 10 years since Swastik Productions existence has caught the attention of the Reed Midem team.
And it has featured him in a session that is entitled Asia: New Producers to watch.
And what’s special about Tewary being featured as a top producer is the fact that he is a creative professional who turned entrepreneur. The other folks featuring in the panel are working in networks: SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) global productions producer InSoon Kim and Japan’s Nippon TV producer Hisashi Tsugiya.
InSoon Kim is a producer in the company which has been behind such shows as The Fantastic Duo, Running Man, Spooks love her, I can see your voice, among many others. Tsugiya is the producer of a series called Mother, which has ben adapted in several countries.
Tewary is excited to be able to give his perspective on producing at MIPTV and to be on a panel which has highlighted him not just as an Indian producer but as an Asian one too. Says he: “We at One Life have been producing historical series for sometime. But what many don’t know is that we have a slew of affiliations with other producers who we are partnering under the One Life/Swastik umbrella. Finally, we have also turned distributor and have been representing a clutch of producers in India for international syndication sales. Hence, telling the story from both a creative and business growth perspective will be quite interesting.”
The Asia: New Producers to watch session is to take place at Auditorium A, in the Palais des Festivals on Level 3.
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.
