Peaky Blinders producer Banijay wants the U.S. to know its name.
On stage at MIPCOM today, Banijay Entertainment Executive Chairman Jeff Zucker talked up the huge independent studio’s reputation in other parts of the world and confirmed a U.S. scripted push was likely.
“Scripted is an area we will look to develop in the years ahead. We are well capitalised and ambitious, and we see an opportunity,” he said.
“Banijay does not always get enough credit for the scripted strength it already has,” he added. “It has produced major titles that have topped the charts on Amazon, Netflix and Apple, with more projects coming. Given our combined capabilities and new capitalisation, the U.S. represents a fresh opportunity in scripted.”
His comments come after Banijay Entertainment and the RedBird IMI-owned All3Media merged to create a massive Europe-based production and distribution studio with pro forma revenues of over $8B, making it the largest independent studio in the world.
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The company now houses the likes of The Traitors, Big Brother, Black Mirror, Midsomer Murders, Survivor and Deal or No Deal, and its production companies are making the upcoming Beatles movies, along with formats for the likes of Netflix and Prime Video in various territories.
Chatter in the early stages of MIPCOM have centered around what comes next for companies such as Banijay, Fremantle and ITV Studios, the latter of which is set to become a standalone business if Sky completes its takeover of ITV.
We understand Banijay is serious about its ambitions in the states, with acquisitions an option. Earlier this year, Banijay was linked with a takeover of Hunger Games studio Lionsgate, but Zucker played his cards close to his chest today on stage in Cannes.
“We are not going to be specific, but Banijay does not need anything and is open to great ideas,” he said. “That is the advantage of having shareholders who are well positioned, well capitalised and ambitious. We will continue to be opportunistic and look to grow, but we do not have to do anything. There is no company we feel we must acquire.”
Both Banijay and All3Media had far smaller profiles in the U.S. than in the UK and Europe, despite having extensive production businesses there. Banijay Americas companies make the likes of Below Deck, MasterChef and The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Big Brother and Vanderpump Villa, while All3Media America is behind The Traitors, Gordon Ramsay Uncharted and Undercover Boss.
Marco Bassetti, Banijay Entertainment’s CEO, also indicated a focus on the American scripted market, where Banijay has made few inroads to date. “At the moment, we are primarily in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and India,” he said. “We are not yet deeply involved in the U.S. scripted market, although that may change in the future.
“We have fantastic talent within the group that can continue to create successful scripted shows. Recent examples include the Culpables trilogy, which became Amazon’s most-watched movie franchise, as well as The Responder, Peaky Blinders and many others.
“There is a significant opportunity in scripted. But we need to enter markets with the right people and the right intellectual property, and we need to invest in the institution. Scripted takes much longer to generate a return than some other parts of the business.”
‘Nothing To Be Jealous Of’
Bassetti, who has been CEO of Banijay in various guises since 2013, provided a bullish read of his company’s position in the market following the All3 deal.
“I cannot believe how far we have come, but I believe we have a fantastic future ahead,” said Bassetti. “We can now consider ourselves not only a production company but an entertainment company – we can be compared with some of the biggest European and U.S. studios. We have nothing to be jealous of when it comes to companies such as Sony and the other major studios.”
Zucker and Bassetti had taken to the stage at MIPCOM Cannes today for a keynote talk about the story of Banijay. The session began with an extended VT promoting unity between the Banijay and All3 businesses, with an adapted version of Louis Armstrong’s ‘Cheek to Cheek’ playing underneath a high-tempo video showcasing their content and union.
Early in the session, Zucker provided some background on the dance that led to the merger and revealed that Bassetti had called him a little over a week after RedBird IMI closed its takeover of All3 in 2024.
“The rationale for the call was to float the idea that All3’s English-language expertize and Banijay’s global IP exploitation business could together create a stronger business,” said Zucker.
“All3Media had a strong position in English-language markets, fantastic companies and a very strong digital business, added Bassetti. “What they were missing was our large international footprint. We have people all over the world and the ability to exploit intellectual property across live entertainment, sport, digital and other areas.
“We felt that combining the two companies could create one of the strongest businesses in our landscape. That is why I made the call. We always believed it could be a good combination.
“There was also a broader industry reason. Today, it is important to have a significant footprint and the financial capacity to invest in and retain talent. We have a fantastic creative network, with around 25 people coordinating creativity around the world across scripted and unscripted. Together, we have even more potential.”
Banijay founder and chairman Stephane Courbit later met with Zucker in New York, though full merger talks didn’t begin until the following year, once RedBird IMI had ended talks with ITV over ITV Studios.
RedBird IMI had “fairly lengthy discussions with ITV Studios” of around six to nine months that “ultimately did not go anywhere,” said Zucker.
“By then, we were about a year into our ownership of All3Media,” he added. “Not long after that, we began speaking with Banijay, and those discussions took another six to nine months. Here we are, two years after acquiring All3Media, and we could not be more excited to be here talking about it.”