Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. Banijay Group is present in 16 territories.
Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. Banijay Group is present in 16 territories.

Tag Archive: Amparo Castellano

  1. Banijay Iberia Appoints Miguel Martín as Managing Director of Zeppelin

    Comments Off on Banijay Iberia Appoints Miguel Martín as Managing Director of Zeppelin

    Banijay Iberia, part of Banijay, today announces the appointment of Miguel Martín as the new Managing Director of its label, Zeppelin.

    Zeppelin, which is hitting its 30-year milestone, is responsible for the introduction of reality in Spain and stands as a pioneer in the development of anime and youth fiction projects, with recent hits including Secret Story, Big Brother, The Bridge and SKAM España.

    Martín began his tenure at Banijay Iberia in 2019 within Banijay Birds, the territory’s creative hub for original streamer IP development, and has also served as executive producer on standout local titles including LOL: Last One Laughing for Amazon Prime Video.

    Martín has directed and produced shows across multiple genres, from documentaries (Hijos del corazón), reality shows (Anonimous, Planeta Finito), and scripted titles (Herederos). He also has extensive experience in the U.S., having served as executive producer on formats for NBC-Telemundo and FOX, and as a development/production consultant in entertainment and scripted for Powwow 360 and Cinemat USA.

    Pilar Blasco, CEO of Banijay Iberia comments: “We are very grateful to Amparo Castellano for her hard-work and professionalism, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours. Since 2019, Banijay Iberia has been fortunate to have Miguel Martín among its ranks, a born leader who has shown unbounded creativity. His commitment to innovation has led to original projects told from unique perspectives. All this, together with his excellent ability to manage large productions with outstanding results, makes him the ideal person to lead Zeppelin.”

    Miguel Martín, Managing Director of Zeppelin adds: “I am honoured to be at the head of a team that, in its 30th year, has produced such a range of high-quality formats. Zeppelin has achieved what few audio-visual companies do. It constantly re-invents and innovates, making programmes which captivate the country, creating great original formats, and co-producing with key international players. I am proud to take on this challenge and continue Zeppelin’s creative growth and development.”

    Martín’s appointment follows previous Managing Director Amparo Castellano’s decision to depart after eight years with the company.

  2. Cupid’s arrow flies transcontinental in new Channel 4 dating series The Language of Love (w/t)

    Comments Off on Cupid’s arrow flies transcontinental in new Channel 4 dating series The Language of Love (w/t)

    Channel 4 has commissioned a new international dating series from 2LE Media, Motion Content Group and Zeppelin, a Banijay Iberia company. The Language of Love (w/t) will see a group of Brits and a group of Spaniards pairing up at a dreamy Spanish country estate to see if they can find romance… despite not speaking each other’s language.

    Set in a stunning finca in Andalusia, the eight-part series for Channel 4 will be hosted by Davina McCall alongside Spanish TV host, actor and singer Ricky Merino, who will be on hand to interpret how the couples’ relationships are developing.

    A group of Brits seeking romance will travel to Spain where they’ll meet their potential partners – a group of Spanish speakers also looking for their own historia de amor – to test whether love is deeper than just words. Can sparks fly even with a language barrier to overcome? The newly-formed couples will take part in challenges and tasks to help them test their connection as well as learning more about each other’s countries, their culture and their languages. At the end of the series, will they choose amor or adiós? The international lovers will face a big dilemma: to call it quits, stay together long distance, or perhaps move country to be with their new found love.

    The Language of Love (w/t) is commissioned for Channel 4 by Phil Harris, Head of Entertainment and Events, and Genna Gibson, Commissioning Editor, Entertainment. The 8 x 60’ series is produced by 2LE Media, Motion Content Group and Zeppelin, a Banijay Iberia company. Sophie Alcock is Series Producer and Executive producers are Michael Livingstone, Tom Thostrup and Georgina Hinds for 2LE Media, Martin Oxley for Motion Content Group, with Amparo Castellano and Salva Romero from Zeppelin. Banijay is the exclusive distributor, holding global format and distribution rights.

    Channel 4’s Phil Harris, Head of Entertainment and Events, comments: “This is a truly fresh and entertaining dating experiment that throws up surprising cultural exchanges, hilarious linguistic mishaps and red-hot holiday romances all overseen by the original queen of reality, Davina, and her wonderful Spanish counterpart, Ricky.”

    Tom Thostrup, co-founder of 2LE Media adds: “In this series we want to give our international singles the ultimate holiday romance and see if they can hurdle the language barrier to build a potential life-changing relationship, with Davina and Ricky willing them to succeed all the way.”

    Martin Oxley, Executive Producer for Motion Content Group says “After a few years off from foreign travel, most of us have probably forgotten how to ask the way to the beach in Spanish. Motion couldn’t be more delighted to brush up its language skills with Davina & Ricky, 2LE, Banijay and Channel 4 with this clever and truly laugh out loud new series.”.

    Amparo Castellano, General Director of Zeppelin, a Banijay Iberia company adds: “We all know how powerful love and attraction is, and this new format takes the dating genre to the next level, truly exploring whether singletons can communicate when speaking different languages. It’s been a highly entertaining concept to develop and co-produce with 2LE and Motion, and we’re sure our international colleagues at Banijay will have success bringing this format to other markets around the world.”

    The Language of Love (w/t) will TX next year on Channel 4.

  3. Banijay Iberia Appoints New Managing Director for Zeppelin

    Comments Off on Banijay Iberia Appoints New Managing Director for Zeppelin

    Banijay today announces the appointment of a new Managing Director at Zeppelin, a Banijay Iberia company.

     

    Shifting from within Banijay’s exisiting Spanish footprint, Amparo Castellano will lead Zeppelin, with a remit to further build the business’ portfolio of hits for the local and global market, reporting to Banijay Iberia CEO, Pilar Blasco.

     

    Her responsibilities include the creation of new international IP, such as The Bridge, which was adapted this year in the UK for Channel 4 following two successful runs on Movistar’s #0.  Zeppelin is a pioneer in anime and youth scripted productions with The Idhun Chronicles (Netflix), Virtual Hero (Movistar+) and the Spanish version of SKAM. The company is also behind the local version of Big Brother, which has aired in Spain for two decades.

     

    Amparo Castellano joins from Banijay Iberia’s DLO/ Magnolia where she has been Managing Director of Entertainment since 2014. Castellano began her career at Banijay Iberia label, Gestmusic, spending 15 years producing successful formats including Operación Triunfo: Los Castings and Your Big Day (Tu Si que Vales).

     

    As part of the move, non-scripted series from DLO/ Magnolia will become part of the Zeppelin portfolio. Award-winning current affairs series, Radio Gaga, documentary series such as Pioneras and entertainment show such as Pop Up Chef and Sing on!, along with other non-scripted shows will now come under the Zeppelin umbrella.

     

    DLO/ Magnolia’s scripted projects will continue to run within the label, under the direction of José Manuel Lorenzo.

     

    Pilar Blasco, Chief Executive Officer of Banijay Iberia comments; “Amparo is uniquely skilled in recognising and creating original ideas and driving innovative productions. Her commitment to creativity, along with a flair for leadership and management make her ideally placed to oversee Zeppelin, a company with exceptional professional talent.”

     

    Amparo Castellano, Managing Director of Zeppelin comments; “Zeppelin has a long-held position at the forefront of television, with a fantastic team in place who is well-known for creating programmes that become social phenomenons and captivate audiences. This is set to be an exciting new phase of my career, leading a company that pushes the boundaries to explore exciting new genres, with a team developing original IP for global and local audiences which is true to the essence that make us unique. It’s great to be making the move across.”

  4. Dlo/Magnolia Set to Produce Seventh Series of Cero en Historia

    Comments Off on Dlo/Magnolia Set to Produce Seventh Series of Cero en Historia

    Dlo/Magnolia, a Banijay Group Company, confirms Cero en Historia (And the Rest is History) returned to #0 for a seventh season on Wednesday 5th February at 10 pm.

     

    Continuing as ringmaster, Joaquín Reyes brings all the wisdom and humour the audience have come to expect; with Patricia Conde, Raúl Cimas and JJ Vaquero once more accompanying him on the sofa. However, they will have to squeeze up, as popular comedian and reporter, Susi Caramelo, is stepping up to the stage for this season.

     

    In each episode of Cero en Historia, the contestants and judges will do their best to show that history is exciting, surprising and entertaining. As usual, comedian Javier Cansado is the first to take on the role of judge and Nieves Concostrina will return as historical advisor for this season. Throughout the series, the audience can expect to see many well-known faces such as Dafne Fernández, Javier Botet, María Escoté, Javier Coronas and América Valenzuela step up as judges to cast their opinions on each story.

     

    In addition to the five games played in previous series, viewers will be introduced to ‘Del Dicho al Trecho’; the objective of which will be to discover the origin of well-known sayings such as, ‘to smell a rat’ or ‘pull out all the stops’.

     

    Amparo Castellano, Head of Non-Scripted at Dlo/Magnolia comments: “The success of this format is down to the way it continues to educate us in an entertaining, light and witty manner. With universal appeal, the show never fails to raise the roof with laughs, and we can’t wait to welcome Susi Caramelo to this season’s sofa – she’ll be a great fit.”

     

    Cero en Historia is an original Movistar+ production in collaboration with Dlo/Magnolia.