Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today confirms the appointment of Didier Lahaye as Head of Sport for Endemol France. In this newly-created role, he will manage the creation and development of brand-new division, Endemol France Sport, working alongside French labels Yasuke Production and 4-3-3 Production to grow the business’ sports offering.

Lahaye began his career at TF1 as an editor and director before joining the sports division to oversee the production of Telefoot, Automoto, and events like the Rugby World Cup. In 2008, he launched and produced various sports formats for Canal+ like the Canal Football Club and magazine formats on the French Football League and Formula 1. Lahaye was then promoted to Director of Sport Magazines and later, Deputy Director of Sports, leading all sports-related channels and programmes including football, rugby championships, Formula 1, golf and the Olympic Games.

Jean-Louis Blot, CEO at Endemol France says: “Bringing a wealth of experience, Didier will help spearhead our expansion into the world of sports. Working alongside the talented teams already in place at Yasuke Production and 4-3-3 Production, he will help accelerate the development of innovative and captivating sports formats, and we are confident his expertise and leadership will help us take our sports division to new heights.”

A go-to production company, Endemol France has brought hit formats to France including Star Academy,MasterChef, LEGO Masters and Celebrity Hunted.

The news follows Banijay’s recent launch of Banijay Sports which signalled its ambitions to grow across sportainment, documentary and digital, via new partnerships, content investments and M&A.