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: Banijay Group

  1. Banijay Rights’ Hit Formats Set to Entertain Audiences in Southeast Asia

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    Banijay Rights, the leading distribution arm of Banijay Group, has today confirmed that its long-running format,Don’t Forget the Lyrics!, has been picked up in Myanmar by Forever Group, for broadcast on leading entertainment channel, MRTV-4; and thatThe Secret Life of 4 Year Olds has been adapted by Houghton Street Media for Tencent Video in China.

    Don’t Forget the Lyrics!, a modern entertainment classic and proven ratings winner regardless of territory or timeslot, will now be adapted for a Burmese audience by Forever Group, with an order of 240 episodes for broadcast in 2020 on free-to-air channel, MRTV-4. More than 2,000 episodes have been produced since the show’s launch in the US, and the format is broadcaster France 2’s number 1 hit show.

    Elsewhere in Asia, the critically acclaimed award-winning series, The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds, a compelling insight into a child’s world, filled with tears, laughter, drama, politics, power struggles and larger-than-life characters, will be brought to Chinese audiences via broadcaster, Tencent Video, China’s largest video streaming platform.

    Originally produced by RDF Television for Channel 4, The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds has been adapted in China, with an 8 x 45’ series produced by Houghton Street Media, an award-winning Chinese production company.  The popular reality-entertainment format has already been adapted in 14 territories, with more to come in 2020.

    Samia Moktar, Sales Manager at Banijay Rights commented, “We’re so excited to see these blockbuster entertainment formats travel to the other side of the world.  I’m confident that the local adaptations of Don’t Forget the Lyrics! and The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds will delight audiences in Myanmar and China, just as much as they have done in Europe and America.  These modern classics use all the right ingredients to create perfect family entertainment, and that is always universal in its appeal.”

    In Don’t Forget the Lyrics!, contestants have to sing hit songs and complete the missing lyrics. First, they must choose from different genres and decades; from established hits to fresh new releases. They then take to the stage and sing along with the studio band, as the lyrics are displayed on the game board. With stacks of cash at stake, can they keep singing when the music stops, and the words disappear?

    The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds takes us into one of the most sensitive and carefully protected environments on earth, a world that has never before been subject to the scrutiny of the camera lens. We watch as 10 four-year-old children meet for the first time at nursery and interact in unprecedented, intimate detail. Thought-provoking, entertaining and genuinely surprising, this is an utterly compelling look into a young child’s behaviour.

  2. High-Octane Shift Set for India and Southeast Asia

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    Two of Banijay Group’s JVs, The Natural Studios and Banijay Asia, today announce they are partnering to bring high-octane content to the Indian and Southeast Asian market. The collaboration will see the businesses come together to create long and short-form content in this space across both local and global platforms.

     

    The Group partnership is the first for The Natural Studios, a JV launched with Bear Grylls and Delbert Shoopman in October 2019. Combining Grylls and Shoopman’s expertise in the adventure space with Deepak Dhar-led Banijay Asia’s extensive territory knowledge, the united operation will create and build the high-octane genre in the subcontinent. With work already underway on a development slate of projects in India and Southeast Asia, they hope to announce their first green-lit title in the coming weeks.

     

    Delbert Shoopman,  CO-CEO, The Natural Studios comments: “Conversations with Deepak followed almost immediately after launching the JV. Together we all could see the potential of venturing into a new space in India and Banijay Asia’s knowledge and contacts have been invaluable in making it a reality. Already, the response from the market has been positive and we are all looking forward to working together to establish a new genre and original IP.”

     

    “In 20 months, we have made Banijay Asia into a credible and creative content driver, which delivers high-quality content to clients across the board. The partnership with The Natural Studios came at the perfect time, as we look to create and bring new genres into the country and the region.  Adrenaline-fuelled projects have been relatively unexplored with huge potential on the horizon, and with Bear and Delbert, we are confident we have what it takes to turn this genre into a must-have for buyers in Asia and around the world” says Deepak Dhar, CEO & Founder of Banijay Asia.

     

    The latest activity further bolsters Banijay Group’s position as the “Home of Adventure” globally.

  3. Banijay Rights’ Welsh Noir Series BANG Makes Explosive Return in 2020

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    Banijay Rights, the leading distribution arm of Banijay Group, confirmed today that the award-winning Welsh crime series, Bang, will return for a second season, this time with leading actors Alexander Vlahos (Versailles) and David Hayman (Taboo) onboard.

    Produced by Joio, the BAFTA-Cymru and Celtic Media Festival award-winning drama, Bang (6 x 60’), a bi-lingual crime drama created in both English and Welsh, is currently shooting in Port Talbot and will premiere on S4C in February next year.

    The much-awaited second series will follow Detective Sergeant Gina Jenkins (played by Catrin Stewart), as she attempts to solve a series of killings apparently connected to an historic rape allegation. Alexander Vlahos will play Dai, one of the suspects in the original rape investigation while David Hayman takes on the role of Jeff Campbell, a local businessman and hard man who will use violence where necessary to protect his own.

    Bang sees director Philip John (Iron Fist & Downton Abbey) return to the helm with Norwegian Director of Photography, Bjørn Ståle Bratberg, behind the camera. Catrin Lewis Defis (Broadchurch) returns as producer.

    Written by BAFTA award-winning Roger Williams, the first series of Bang was shortlisted for the prestigious Writers’ Guild Award and is notable for its ground-breaking use of two languages and striking location. As well as attracting critical-acclaim, the series also became the first S4C drama to be acquired by the BBC in its original form and sold internationally into territories such as North America and Sweden.

    Creator, Writer and Executive Producer, Roger Williams says, “At the heart of this second series is a compelling story about revenge and the desire to reveal the truth about an historic crime. Bang delivers the story in an individual and unique style by harnessing two languages, strong performances and the stunning industrial landscape of the steel town of Port Talbot.”

    Amanda Rees, S4C Director of Content, said: “S4C is thrilled to see the return of Bang in 2020. The pioneering drama is hailed as one of S4C’s Originals, and the award-winning crime thriller, set in the heart of one of Wales’ industrial capitals, has raised the profile of Welsh drama across the world.”

    Chris Stewart, Commercial Director – Banijay Rights, comments, “The first series of Bang made an incredible impact when it first premiered on S4C in 2017, and subsequently became a multi award-winning title. We could not be happier to represent the second run, which is set to be just as original and compelling as the critically-acclaimed season that went before.”

    This second series of Bang dissects the theme of power; the power certain men wield over women, the individuals who enable this behaviour to go unchecked, and the victims’ search for justice.

    The story begins with the murder of a 30-year old man in unusual circumstances on the waterfront of the steel town of Port Talbot. Little do detectives Gina and Luke realise that the murder victim is just the first victim in a series of murders that will go on to be connected to a historic rape accusation.

    It transpires there’s a serial killer on the loose targeting the men who were named by local woman Marissa Clarke in a rape case 10-years previously. The case against the men fell apart before it went to trial and they were never brought to justice…

    Bang is made possible with support from the Welsh Government.

  4. Kody Kapow Keeps on Kicking for Zodiak Kids

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    Banijay Group’s Zodiak Kids today announces further global sales for its animated pre-school show, Kody Kapow.

     

    Produced by Zodiak Kids Studios, Kody Kapow has been picked up in Europe by French media group, Lagardere, for its multi-territory dedicated kids’ channel, Tiji. Other European sales include: Sony Pictures Television, which has acquired the UK rights for free-to-air channel, POP TV Kids; Turner, which has acquired the rights in Italy for its free-to-air channel, Cartoonito; MTVA in Hungary; VTM (Medialaan) in Belgium, and Dreamia Servicos de Televisao for Canal Panda Portugal.

     

    Further afield, a deal struck with Fox sees Kody Kapow go to Nat Geo Kids in Latin America, National Geographic Partners’ multiplatform entertainment destination; DHX Television in Canada; and HDTV in Russia. Across Asia, the show has been picked up by  Viet Content JSC in Vietnam; CJ ENM’s English Gem in South Korea; Mediacorp and Viu OTT Video Service in Singapore; and Mango TV in China. Additionally, there has been pickup by MBC Middle East and Israeli channel, Hop.

     

    The 52 x 11’ pre-school series commissioned for the NBCUniversal cable network, Universal Kids, launched as a top-performer with kids 2-5 on the channel in summer 2017.

     

    Previous sales announcements include: Discovery for its children’s channel, DKids (Middle East and North Africa), SVT (Sweden), DeAgostini for DeAJunior (Italy), Super3 (Spain) and AMC Networks International Iberia for its Spanish channel, Canal Panda, amongst others.

     

    Kody Kapow is about an aspiring martial arts-style superhero named Kody who spends the summer with his extended family in a small village in China.  His grandfather, a martial arts master, teaches Kody ancient lessons of mindfulness, patience and perseverance, which Kody employs as he and his super-spy cousin, Mei, set off on adventures in the village together with their tiger friend Goji, voiced by Jason Alexander in the U.S.

     

    Zodiak Kids owns all international distribution rights to Kody Kapow.

  5. UKTV Acquires High-End Drama Thriller, The Gulf, From Banijay Rights

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    Banijay Rights, the leading distribution arm of Banijay Group, has sold premium drama title, The Gulf to UKTV for its local audiences. The series will air on the broadcaster’s crime drama channel, Alibi.

    The deal, which will see the 3 x 90’ series launching on Alibi in early Spring 2020, was brokered by Chris Stewart, Commercial Director – Scripted at Banijay Rights, and Daniel Thomas, Acquisitions Manager at UKTV.

    Daniel Thomas, Acquisitions Manager at UKTV comments, “We are really pleased to have acquired this exciting new thriller for Alibi as we continue to include the very best of international crime drama in our schedule. Our viewers are extremely discerning and The Gulf, with its unique take on a crime story set against the incredible backdrop of New Zealand, will have wide appeal.”

    Chris Stewart, Commercial Director – Scripted, Banijay Rights adds, “We are delighted that UKTV will be bringing this absorbing and original antipodean series to a UK audience where I’m sure it will engage a new legion of drama fans looking for their next crime fix. The Gulf, co-produced by Banijay Group’s Screentime New Zealand, has launched in New Zealand and in Germany to much acclaim and is proving to be a very desirable drama property for us with further sales already in the pipeline.”

    Elsewhere in Europe The Gulf will also travel to Poland, after being acquired by Canal+ for its channel, Ale Kino+.

    This follows hot on the heels of the previously announced U.S. pick up of the drama, where AMC Networks’ streaming service Sundance Now will feature the exclusive U.S. premiere of The Gulf beginning Wednesday, 4th December 2019.

    Domestically, the series was a ratings winner for New Zealand broadcaster TV3 and is the top performing mini-series of 2019 to date. The drama pulled in a launch audience 40% above the channel average. Meanwhile, in Germany The Gulf consistently outperformed the slot average by more than 10%.

    Recently launched at MIPCOM, German-New Zealand thriller The Gulf, (6 x 60’) centres around the moral disintegration of Detective Jess Savage, who finds herself caught between upholding the legal justice system and morality, as she investigates crimes on her home patch of Waiheke Island, New Zealand. The Gulf is an international co-production from Banijay Group’s Screentime New Zealand, Lippy Pictures, German fiction specialist Letterbox Filmproduktion, a member company of the Studio Hamburg Production Group, and broadcasters ZDF and TV3.

  6. DryMedia and Magnolia TV Merge to Create Banijay Italia

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    Banijay Group Italy today announces the merge of two of its production businesses – DryMedia and Magnolia SPA. Under the supervision of Paolo Bassetti, Chief Executive Officer of Italy, the companies will come together to form new brand, Banijay Italia.

     

    Combining the vast experience and history of Magnolia, with the creativity and energy at DryMedia, Banijay Italia will become an unscripted powerhouse with its own unique DNA.

     

    Leading Banijay Italia will be Chief Executive Officer, Fabrizio Ievolella, who will be supported by Chief Production Officer, Danila Battiglini, Chief Creative Officer, Francesco Lauber, and Head of Programmes, Leopoldo Gasparotto. Together, the team will focus on maintaining the high-quality production of the company’s existing shows, as well as developing new IP for local and global audiences.

     

    Through the union of Magnolia SPA and DryMedia, Banijay Italia will instantly play home to a rich slate of returning titles which include reality favourites: L’Isola dei Famosi, Il Collegio and Pechino Express; game shows: L’Eredità, Guess my age and the new Conto alla Rovescia, leading cooking shows: 4 Ristoranti, Pizza Hero and Cuochi d’Italia, and popular talent shows: La Corrida and the comedy Cops – Una banda di poliziotti.

     

    Banijay Italia will sit as part of Banijay Group’s Italian portfolio of companies led by Paolo Bassetti, Country Manager, which includes: Banijay Studios Italy, Nonpanic, Aurora TV, Atlantis Film and ITV Movie.

  7. Banijay Hires Group Corporate Business Affairs & France Business Development Director

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    Banijay today announces the appointment of Edouard Minc as Group Corporate Business Affairs & France Business Development Director. Based in Paris, the newly devised role will see him take responsibility for all corporate business affairs matters related to the Group, as well as working with Banijay France on its business development strategy and activities.

     

    Edouard Minc joins the business from Lagardère Group, where he was Director of Prospective and Investments. First joining the business back in 2001 as Senior Researcher, he went on to hold a number of roles across the business’s portfolio of publications and was most recently responsible for supporting all divisions of the Group with innovation and transformation projects.

     

    Working between Banijay Group and Banijay France, Minc will report to both EVP Strategy, Marie Schweitzer, and Banijay France CEO, François de Brugada.

     

    Marie Schweitzer comments: “Edouard brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Banijay Group and we all agree he will be a fantastic addition to the team. As we continue to grow the business and evolve our strategy, there is no doubt his expertise will prove invaluable.”

     

    François de Brugada adds: “We are looking for new ways to capitalize on our talents and assets. With Edouard, I am confident that we can build a stronger path for the business in years to come, boosting our 360 activities and developing our corporate business.”

     

    Edouard Minc adds: “It is a great pride to join Banijay, a French champion who has become one of the world leaders in content production. I will do everything to put my media experience, my respect for brands and my appetite for content to support the growth of its activities”.

  8. RDF’s How to Spend it Well at Christmas to Return For Third Series and Holiday Spin-off on ITV

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    RDF, a Banijay Group Company, today announces ITV has commissioned a new prime-time series How to Spend It Well On Holiday With Phillip Schofield, due to air next year. The show is an extension of the How To Spend It Well brand, with the successful factual consumer format How To Spend It Well At Christmas With Phillip Schofield also being commissioned for a third 3×60’ series, airing in the run up to Christmas this year.

     

    How To Spend It Well On Holiday With Phillip Schofield will be aiming to help families make the most of their money on holiday next year, revealing the inside tips and secrets on how to get the best deals, avoid paying over the odds and getting the best holidays for your budget from staycations at home to family holidays in the Mediterranean, exotic long haul  beach getaways and sunshine cruises.

     

    How To Spend It Well At Christmas With Phillip Schofield will return, aiming to be an indispensable guide to what is on offer in the shops and online, to help the nation save money and make savvy choices as it gears up for Christmas 2019. For the first time on How To Spend It, Phillip and the team investigate that big date in the calendar – Black Friday – to find out what the hype is all about, and where viewers might find the genuine deals on the day.

     

    In each programme, Phillip enlists the help of some famous faces, his wife Steph, and members of the public to test and rate this year’s Christmas offerings, and advise consumers where they should spend their cash, at one of the most expensive times of the year. The series will cover the latest ‘must-have’ toys, to see if they are worth the sometimes-huge price tags? Food and drink will be taste-tested, and gifts and gadgets will be tried out to see if they are gifts for life, or a novelty just for Christmas. At the end of each episode, Phillip will reveal the top three picks he thinks should take pride of place under your Christmas tree.

     

    Dan Barraclough, Executive Producer, RDF said: “We are really excited to be extending this successful and well-loved brand into holidays with the ever-talented Phillip Schofield. Our holidays are now more precious to us all than ever and we are faced with a myriad of choices and decisions when we book them, so who better to guide us through the maze and to help us have the best holidays we can afford than Phillip and the Spend It Well team?”

     

    Priya Singh, Commissioning Editor, Factual for ITV said: “Holidays and Christmas are two of the nation’s favourite, yet  most expensive times of the year and we’re pleased to be on hand to help empower viewers get the very best for their money on both thanks to Phillip Schofield and the team. “

     

    How To Spend It Well At Christmas With Phillip Schofield and How To Spend It Well On Holiday With Phillip Schofield were commissioned by Priya Singh at ITV and are Executive Produced by Dan Barraclough at RDF and Mark Hill at RDF West. RDF is part of the Banijay Group and all worldwide rights to both series are owned by Banijay Rights.

  9. Banijay Group to Acquire Endemol Shine Group

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    Banijay Group announces today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the equity of Endemol Shine Group, which is co-owned by The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO). The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances and consultation with the relevant employee representative bodies, will encompass Endemol Shine’s 120 production labels with an estimated 66,000 hours of scripted and non-scripted programming together with over 4,300 registered formats.

    The addition of these assets will position Banijay Group at the forefront of content production and distribution and as a premier home for the industry’s leading on- and off-screen talent. Upon completion of the acquisition, Banijay Group will own almost 200 production companies in 23 territories and the rights for close to 100,000 hours of content. Total pro-forma revenue of the combined group is expected to be approximately €3 billion for the year ending December 31st 2019.

    Boosting Banijay Group’s scripted credentials and further building its reputation as a go-to provider of high-quality unscripted IP, the combined catalogue is expected to include some of the world’s best known brands and formats such as Black Mirror, Versailles, The Millennium Trilogy, Peaky Blinders, Big Brother, MasterChef, Survivor, Temptation Island, Wife Swap and The Island. Furthermore, with a significantly broader brand portfolio, and larger creative platform, the combined group will be in an even stronger position to create, nurture and drive fresh IP for both linear broadcasters and new players.

    The acquisition will be financed through a capital increase of Banijay Group and committed debt financing, which includes a committed full refinancing of Banijay and Endemol Shine’s existing financial debt, supported by Deutsche Bank, Natixis and Société Générale. Postclosing, the combined group will be held by LDH (67.1%) and Vivendi (32.9%).

    LDH is a holding company controlled by Financière LOV (52%), Stéphane Courbit’s investment arm. LDH has the following other shareholders: the Italian Group De Agostini with 36% of the capital, and Fimalac, the investment company of Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, which will own 12% of the capital through a reserved capital increase dedicated to the financing of the Endemol Shine acquisition. In addition to a direct investment in LDH, Fimalac will reinforce its long-term partnership with Financière LOV by increasing its stake in Financière LOV from 5.75% to 8.4%.

    Marco Bassetti, Chief Executive Officer at Banijay, said: “Endemol Shine brings an incredible array of industry-leading talent, globally-renowned brands and high-quality creative content. Combining the resources of these two companies will instantly strengthen our position in the global market, and our capabilities across genres will further define us as a go-to provider of first class IP worldwide. Welcoming the Endemol Shine brands and talents to our existing business will signal enhanced opportunities in the marketplace, and we are all excited by what the future holds for the combined entity.”

    Sophie Turner Laing, Endemol Shine Group Chief Executive Officer, added: “At Endemol Shine, we have continually inspired and entertained audiences around the world, a testament to every single person across the Group. This deal takes us into a whole new and exciting chapter and into a new enhanced global content house with many opportunities ahead.”

    Rothschild and PJ Solomon (a Natixis affiliate) are acting as financial advisorsto Banijay Group. Société Générale is acting as financial advisor to Financière LOV. Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier and Kirkland & Ellis LLP are advising Banijay Group in connection with the transaction. Deutsche Bank, Natixis and Société Générale have underwritten the financial debt required for this acquisition, and were advised by Latham & Watkins LLP.

    LionTree Advisors is acting as financial advisor to Endemol Shine Group, including The Walt Disney Company and the Apollo funds, in connection with the transaction. Deutsche Bank is acting as financial advisor to Endemol Shine Group in connection with the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is advising the Apollo funds and Endemol Shine Group in connection with the transaction. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is advising The Walt Disney Company in connection with the transaction. Hogan Lovells International LLP is advising Endemol Shine Group in connection with the transaction.

  10. Banijay Rights and Arcadia Content Seal History and Science Development Pact

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    Banijay Rights, the leading distribution arm of Banijay Group, has today confirmed a co-development agreement with award-winning, Canadian indie, Arcadia Content. The deal will see both parties co-develop new factual projects, together seeking financing based on pre-sales.

    Halifax-based Arcadia Content specialises in history and science programming and boasts more than 500 hours of premium factual programming including the highly successful If We Built It Today, which currently airs on Science.

    Banijay Rights and Arcadia Content have already begun discussions on a slate of innovative new projects including Disaster: If It Happened Today and CGI history dive series, Wreck Raisers.

    Andreas Lemos, Commercial Director – Factual at Banijay Rights said, “Arcadia Content is a real trailblazer in the factual world, producing entertaining and illuminating documentary films and series for leading broadcasters around the globe. We are delighted to be working closely together to co-develop and co-fund new projects, enabling them to create even more intriguing science and history programming for eager viewers.”

    John Wesley Chisholm, Creative Director at Arcadia said, “Working with Banijay connects us as regional producers in a global market. The new paradigm in producer/distributor developed projects positions us to think beyond our home markets; to develop and finance ideas that give our local broadcast customers the right shows, at the right time and right price, while also creating shows of broad global appeal and long shelflife.”

    Banijay Rights has recently entered into a number of successful co-development deals such as Touchdown Films and First Look TV. As a result of pre-sales secured by the distributor, projects such as Touchdown’s Artist to Icon and First Look’s Inside The Mind of a Serial Killer have been greenlit with broadcasters Ovation and Reelz coming on board.

  11. Guinness World Records Inks Biggest Ever Option Deal With Banijay Group

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    Guinness World Records (GWR) has announced it will partner with Banijay Group in an international sales drive for its primetime family entertainment show format.  The year-long deal marks the world-famous brand’s biggest option deal to date and will span 15 key markets including UK/Eire, USA, Australia and Germany.  The format has already been produced by Banijay Group’s Magnolia in Italy as five-part series, La Notte Dei Record, which premiered on TV8 in 2018, achieving impressive audience figures 26% above the slot average.

     

    The adrenaline-fuelled studio format features record-breaking in all its forms with hopefuls going head-to-head in record challenges as well as established record-holders vying to break their own world bests, all under the watchful eye of the official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS ™ adjudicator.

     

    Karen Gilchrist, Guinness World Records’ Director of Visual Content commented: “Just like our book, record-breaking has broad family appeal, making it perfect appointment-to-view entertainment.  Banijay’s contemporary approach to programme making and their in-depth market knowledge makes them the perfect partner for this project and we’re really looking forward to working together”

     

    Carlotta Rossi Spencer, SVP, Format Acquisitions, Banijay Group add: “The partnership with TGWR was a no brainer. With a brand that resonates worldwide, a format that is both scalable and hugely versatile, and an incredibly well-established audience and fan-base, the potential for a collaboration was obvious. Already we’ve seen the show perform well in Italy and are now looking forward to travelling it further across our footprint.”

     

    Celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2020, Guinness World Records has built up a massive global audience with over 16 million followers on Facebook, and over 5 million subscribers on YouTube.  It is also the third biggest brand in the world on TikTok with over 3 million followers. The world-famous book remains a perennial bestseller too with over 143 million copies sold to date.

     

    The 15 territories covered by the deal with Banijay Group are: UK/Eire; USA; Australia; New Zealand; Germany; France; Spain; Denmark; Norway; Sweden; Finland; Russia; Belgium; Netherlands and India.

  12. Banijay Group Embarks on Adventure with Bear Grylls and Delbert Shoopman

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    Banijay Group, the world’s leading independent content producer and distributor, today announces the launch of new production label, The Natural Studios, from Bear Grylls and Delbert Shoopman. As the premiere home of adventure, the new prodco will be a global go-to adventure TV / Film production studio across all platforms, further bolstering the Group’s position in this space.

     

    The Natural Studios, which is “now open for business”, is led by Grylls and Shoopman as co-CEOs.  Backed and funded by Banijay Group, which serves as production and distribution partner, the deal will see the pair build the business into the ultimate ‘Home of Adventure’, where they will develop original IP with mass global appeal and nurture the next generation of adrenaline-fueled TV stars worldwide.

     

    While Grylls and Shoopman benefit from direct access to Banijay Group’s global production and distribution network, they will maintain full strategic control with the view to building an international production powerhouse responsible for serving traditional and digital platforms worldwide with both non-scripted and scripted content.

     

    The latest launch further cements Banijay Group’s position as a global leader in the adventure space, having built a strong reputation to date with brands including Survivor, 71 Degrees North, Fort Boyard, The Crystal Maze, SAS: Who Dares Wins and Stars on the Rocks.

     

    Collectively, Grylls and Shoopman’s shows have been watched by over 2 billion people worldwide, with an aggregated audience of 120 million for Running Wild(US). And most recently, 3.6 billion online impressions were secured when Grylls embarked on an adventure with Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

     

    Bear Grylls comments: “It has been such a journey for Delbert and I to get to the stage where we can build out our adventure shows under our own Studio. We stand on the shoulders of many giants. The ACF Investment Bank team have been incredible guides through the process – at its heart this is about building the ultimate home of adventure programming worldwide.

     

    The Natural Studios will be providing a home for the best adventure talent to help them create shows with us that inspire and move people to go for it in their lives and to never give up.”

     

    Marco Bassetti, CEO, Banijay Group comments: “In a crowded marketplace, with many new players, only strong talents can cut through and as the face of adventure globally, Bear does just this. Both he and Del bring an incredibly strong portfolio and track record in this space and fit harmoniously with our existing catalogue of world-class adventure entertainment brands.

     

    Further bolstering our strong expertise in the adventure field, and instantly building our audiences worldwide, The Natural Studios was the perfect fit for us and supports our organic growth strategy internationally. Already open for business, we are confident the new label has a strong path ahead and we look forward to collaborating on building an even bigger following for their brands across the globe.”

     

    The deal was brokered by ACF Investment Bank, as advisors to Grylls and Shoopman.