Fiction
Fremantlemedia on form with new formats
MUMBAI: Exciting new titles are on their way to MIPTV this year with a range of fresh formats from FremantleMedia. Renowned for enthralling global formats, FremantleMedia are set to provide buyers with even more original and creative ideas for audiences across the world.
Setting pulses racing is the dating show of the future The Love Table, in association with Asahi Broadcasting Corporation. The inventive new show sees the world’s first flat-pack dating machine – a completely interactive, electronic and talking table, that will help singletons to bag themselves a date. With her LED screen the Love Table cheekily reveals more about the girls and guys seated across each other, by hacking into their online profiles and activities. Using the latest technology and social media the Love Table exposes the most intimate details of their lives, helping them to get to know each other and steering them in the right direction in their quest for love. The singletons then push the Love Table’s buttons to highlight the direction of their desires. These electronic arrows of affection are also shown on the Love Table’s screen allowing viewers to see if a match has been made. The Love Table’s fun games and touch screen rounds bring dating shows into a new generation.
Also getting off the blocks is Fittest Family from Animo TV/Kite Entertainment, which sees twelve uber fit and sports mad families compete for the title of the fittest family and a big cash prize. Each episode sees four sporting legends assigned to coach the families and push them to their fitness max. The families compete against one another as they get put through a set of extreme challenges with only the fittest surviving. Currently airing on Irish pubcaster RTÉ One as ‘Ireland’s Fittest Family’, the primetime series is on track, and has become popular viewing as it delivers big numbers in it’s 7.30pm, Saturday slot.
With pens at the ready, a brand new talent show for aspiring writers, Masterpiece, is set to hit the shelves. The series aims to find the next big name in literature and sees contestants compete for the chance to see their first work (whether a novel, a collection of short stories or poetry) printed by a renowned publisher. Contestants are shortlisted through a series of interviews and a critique of previously prepared work, with the chosen few going on to compete in a number of literary challenges that are marked by expert judges. The first episode of Masterpiece on RAI in Italy performed well above the channel average, reaching a 5.14% average share and generated an incredible buzz on social media, with #masterpiece trending overnight.
The medical observational reality format, An Hour to Save Your Life explores in forensic detail the dilemmas and innovations at the frontline of emergency medicine. The moment an emergency call is made, the clock starts ticking – the expert medical attention a patient receives in this first hour is critical, and could mean the difference between life or death. Following specialist clinicians as they respond to the most serious of cases, the series offers a unique insight into the minute-by-minute decisions that are made in the fight for life. Each episode follows the responses to three very different medical emergencies and viewers are able to see the extraordinary drama unfold as critically ill patients are treated with revolutionary new procedures. Exploring the predicaments and advances of emergency care in a way not previously seen on television, An Hour to Save Your Life captures it all.
Finally, it’s never too early to start thinking about Christmas and what better gift than the unique festive competition, The Christmas Light Fight. From the breath-taking to the bonkers, families decorate their homes to the extreme for Christmas in the first competition of its kind for television. Families are chosen based on their previous elaborate Christmas light displays, incredible ornaments and over-the-top designs, as they compete against one another each week to transform their homes for the holidays. The families are whittled down to four finalists, who are then flown to a surprise finale city to compete for a big cash prize.
Rob Clark, Director of Global Entertainment Development, said: “FremantleMedia are constantly striving to find exciting and trendsetting new formats that are accessible worldwide and we are thrilled to bring this great roster of shows to the market. Not only are these formats adaptable but I’m confident that they could be the next big thing! We’re looking forwarding to showcasing them to potential clients in April.”
Visit FremantleMedia at MIPTV 2014 at Stand No. C11.A1 (Croisette 11, Aisle 1), Palais du Festival, 7 – 10 April.
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.
