Fiction
Paramount hires ex-Trump lawyer Rene Augustine as VP of public policy amid Warner bid
Rene Augustine joins amid takeover fight for Warner Bros
CALIFORNIA: Paramount Skydance has hired former Trump administration lawyer Rene Augustine as senior vice president for global public policy, placing a seasoned Washington hand at the wheel as the company pursues a high-stakes takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Augustine will join on February 17 and report to chief legal officer Makan Delrahim, another veteran of the US Justice Department’s antitrust ranks. Her brief is straightforward but weighty: shape policy strategy, handle regulatory hurdles and build diplomatic ties that help Paramount’s global ambitions.
In a memo to staff announcing her appointment, Delrahim said Augustine would be responsible for developing strategic policies “that advance our business objectives and building key diplomatic relationships that are important for advancing those objectives globally”.
The timing is no accident. Paramount Skydance is locked in a heated bidding contest for Warner Bros. Discovery, with Netflix also circling the storied studio. In that context, a policy chief who knows the corridors of power could prove as valuable as any box-office hit.
Augustine served from 2019 to 2021 as deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, where she oversaw international competition policy. She worked directly under Delrahim during that period, making this reunion less a fresh pairing and more a sequel.
Her career spans both Republican administrations of the past two decades. She held senior legal roles in the Trump White House, including special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel, and earlier served as associate counsel to President George W. Bush. She has also worked on Capitol Hill as senior counsel to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Within Paramount Skydance, she will be based in Washington, DC, and work closely with teams across Los Angeles, New York and other international offices. The role involves shaping policies that support the company’s business goals while navigating the regulatory maze that comes with large media deals.
Her appointment follows the recent hiring of veteran lobbyist Ted Lehman as senior vice president and head of US public policy and government affairs, signalling that Paramount is building a deeper bench in Washington as the Warner Bros battle intensifies.
With regulators, rival bidders and global markets all in play, Paramount appears to be arming itself with a policy team that knows the script. In a deal where the legal fine print may matter as much as the creative slate, Augustine’s arrival suggests the studio wants its Washington dialogue delivered with professional polish.
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.
