Fiction
The Crown producer Suzanne Mackie launches own production company
MUMBAI: Suzanne Mackie, one of the executive producers behind the hit Netflix show The Crown, is all set to launch her own production company. Mackie is leaving UK-based Left Bank Pictures to set up Orchid Pictures.
Mackie, a prominent force in British drama, will continue to remain as an EP on the Left Bank-produced The Crown for the period drama’s upcoming final two seasons, shooting for which begins next year.
Orchid Pictures will be based in London and it will work on projects across both TV and film. Sky development co-ordinator Hannah Campbell will also be joining Orchid as part of its initial team, with the company engaged by Netflix to produce a slate of projects from emerging and established talent.
During her tenure in Left Bank Mackie developed and executive produced projects such as Sky1’s Mad Dogs and BBC1’s The Replacement. She is also attached to executive produce on the upcoming Netflix series Behind Her Eyes.
“Having spent 12 very happy and creatively fulfilling years working with Andy Harries and the team at Left Bank Pictures, starting my own company felt like an exciting next chapter in my career. The opportunity of further deepening my collaboration with Netflix presented an immensely exciting opportunity,” said Mackie.
Left Bank Pictures CEO Andy Harries said, “I have enjoyed an amazing journey with Suzanne, from Mad Dogs to Misbehaviour with lots of The Crown on top. She is smart, wise and has great taste. I have no doubt she will create some classy new shows for Netflix as well as riding side-saddle with us on The Crown.”
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.
