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

Tag Archive: Banijay Launch

  1. Banijay Entertainment, Everywoman Studios, and The Geena Davis Institute Expose Gender Disparity in Reality TV In Groundbreaking Study

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    Banijay Entertainment, Everywoman Studios, and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI) unveil pioneering study – Behind the Scenes: Women’s Representation in Unscripted Television in the US, UK, Brazil, and France. Commissioned by content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment, in partnership with Everywoman Studios, the landmark report investigates gender parity in decision-making roles in reality television. The results were unveiled this evening at a prestigious reception in Los Angeles hosted by Geena Davis.

    At the event Banijay Entertainment also announced the pick-up of a second cycle of its wildly successful global women’s accelerator program, Banijay Launch, which saw over 500 applications from women creators across more than 30 territories in its first year. The entry portal for the second cycle will go live at MIPCOM 2024.

    The revelatory Behind the Scenes study conducted by GDI, a leading authority on the underrepresentation of women on screen and the portrayal of women across entertainment and media, spanned four territories (United States, United Kingdom, France, Brazil) over three years (2021 to 2023) and starkly illustrates the historic under-representation of women in unscripted creative leadership roles. Summarizing change in gender dynamics as “slow and inconsistent” across the board, the report concluded intervention is necessary to shift the dial and foster greater inclusion behind-the-scenes, particularly with respect to creators.

    The key findings were as follows (click here for full report):• Gender imbalance in key roles: Overall, men outnumber women in reality television production, making up 58.4% of executive producers, supervising producers, and creators, compared to 41.5% of women.

    • Male dominance in creation: Three in four reality TV creators are men (73.7% compared with 25.7% female) across all countries and all years, with the gender difference most pronounced in the U.S. (80.6% male compared with 16.1% female).

    • Progress for executive producers: Across all countries, the percentage of female executive producers has increased nearly ten percent from 2021 to 2023 — from 36.6% to 46.0%.

    • Balance in supervising producers: Near-gender parity among supervising producers (50.9% male and 49.1% female), across all countries and all years.

    Madeline Di Nonno, President & CEO, Geena Davis Institute comments: “We are heartened by Banjiay’s leadership in not only identifying gender gaps within the industry, but also in their commitment to improve advancement opportunities in the company itself. We know that if women are in the drivers seat as decision makers then it will provide more diverse roles onscreen as well as behind-the-camera.”

    Sharon Levy, CEO, Endemol Shine North America comments: “We hope this report will be a spark that ignites conversations about getting more women in leadership roles for unscripted television and inspires the industry to come up with some actionable ideas to make that happen! Banijay Launch itself proves that we, as a major player, can do more, and we are, but the whole entertainment industry needs to step up and make it easier for women to reach these top spots. It’s time to tackle this massive gender gap head-on!”

    Abby Greensfelder, Founder & CEO, Everywoman Studios comments: “To see the numbers in the GDI Report reflect how the tides are turning, however inconsistently and slowly, only heightens my drive to see accelerators like Banijay Launch continue. This study confirms that without intervention, we are far away from seeing the equity in the industry we all are striving for.”

    During this evening’s dedicated event, Hollywood’s leading unscripted executives – Sahara Bushue (Director, Unscripted Series, Netflix), Tiffany Faigus (SVP, Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, ABC Entertainment and Walt Disney Television), and Sharon Levy (CEO, Endemol Shine North America). – took to the stage to discuss the report findings and their views on how to drive meaningful shifts to address widespread gender imbalance in reality television. The session was chaired by Hyphenate Media Group’s Chief Strategy Officer, Karla Pita Loor.

    Behind the Scenes: Women’s Representation in Unscripted Television in the US, UK, Brazil, and France was commissioned to coincide with Banijay Launch – a brand-new global accelerator program designed to exclusively support women creators with promising unscripted formats. Geared towards discovering and incubating untapped talent to support the next generation of global franchise makers, its first cycle, which saw over 500 applications across more than 30 territories, culminated with winning pitches from two creators, Amber Kane (Australia) and Emily Wilson (United Kingdom), who are now in supported development on their format concepts. The initiative was initiated by Levy, and co-led by James Townley, Banijay Entertainment’s Chief Content Officer, Development. It was inspired by the Propelle program, a female-focused accelerator initiative created and developed by Greensfelder, in partnership with Realscreen, in 2020. GDI is an authority on the underrepresentation of women on screen, leveraging data and insights to measure the presence and portrayal of women across entertainment and media.

  2. Banijay Launch Winners Unveiled

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    Coinciding with International Women’s Day, media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today confirms Amber Kane and Emily Wilson as joint winners of its inaugural Banijay Launch program. Kane, a freelancer from Australia, scooped the prize for her high-octane variety talent concept, Double Act; and Wilson, for her original psychological dating format, Can’t Buy My Love. Selecting two owing to the fierce competition amongst the four finalists, the judges commended both entries as “fantastic ideas with significant international appeal.”

    Designed to exclusively support women creators with promising unscripted formats, Banijay Launch was unveiled at MIPCOM 2023 and received an extraordinary 500+ applications from 30+ territories. Spanning Australia (Amber Kane), UK (Emily Wilson), France (Yasmina Salmandjee), and Denmark (Lisbet Winther), the respective finalists assembled in London on Tuesday 6 March for the grand finale, where they pitched their ideas to an esteemed jury comprising Endemol Shine North America CEO, Sharon Levy; Banijay Chief Content Officer, Development, James Townley; Banijay Chief Business Officer, Fred Balmary; Banijay Iberia CEO, Pilar Blasco; and Founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios, Abby Greensfelder. But there could only be… two winners!

    Kane’s idea was credited by the judges for its brilliant reality elements, highly-clipable offering, and the way in which it taps into the zeitgeist of the “mash-up” in a spectacular way to create a new competition show. Elsewhere, Wilson’s was enjoyed by judges for its twist and turns, strong format pillars, brandable moments, and original “gifting” concept everyone can identify with.

    Sharon Levy, CEO, Endemol Shine North America comments: “Banijay Launch was envisioned as a bridge for women to gain access to our industry, and based on the sheer volume and quality of pitches we received, its time was long overdue. Mirroring the global reach of Banijay, we heard from applicants far and wide, and I hope the result illustrates just how strong the four finalists were. The two fantastic women who share the ‘winner’ title had unbelievably competitive ideas that were well-pitched, original, and highly sellable. The ambassadors and Banijay at-large feel fortunate to continue collaborating with them to bring their amazing concepts to life. We are all so proud to have played a role in opening the door to the next generation of talent, and with the study results from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media imminent, we hope to keep doing more to foster a wider community of women in non-scripted.”

    Amber Kane says: “I still can’t quite believe it. I had been working on Double Act for six years and it always felt taking it to screen may be impossible given the continued challenges for women in the content industry. However, Banijay Launch truly opened the door for me. Working with the talented Amelia Fisk, I have not only strengthened my idea but also my confidence in pitching, and I look forward to continuing to partner with her, and Banijay’s Creative Networks, in hopefully landing my idea on-screen. I am hugely thankful for the opportunity and feel inspired to keep going with creating great formats for the world to enjoy.”

    Emily Wilson says: “As a huge reality TV fan, it was always my dream to create my very own unscripted format that could transcend audiences across the globe. In Can’t Buy My Love I feel I have crafted an original show that I truly believe has all the elements for success, and with the help of Banijay, and my brilliant mentor Claire O’Donohoe, could tap into the buyer demand for social experiments everywhere. I’m hugely grateful for this life-changing experience and look forward to seeing where this opportunity can take me in a career capacity.”

    Addressing gender equality by discovering and incubating untapped women talent, Banijay Launch was initiated by Levy, co-led by Townley, and supported by the group’s network of creative ambassadors who nurtured the finalists in developing their bold new formats from concept to pitch, with the aim of the winning ideas eventually landing on screen. It was inspired by the Propelle program, a female-focused accelerator initiative created and developed in 2020 by Everywoman Studios’ CEO, Abby Greensfelder. Both Kane and Wilson will now work with their ambassadors and Banijay’s Creative Networks to develop their ideas further, and the group hopes to unveil both ideas fully at launch.

    Coinciding with the program, Banijay Americas announced the commission of a first-of-its-kind study with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in partnership with Everywoman Studios. The findings of the ground-breaking study, which investigates women’s inclusion in creative leadership roles in unscripted production across Brazil, U.K., U.S., and France, will be unveiled at an event in Los Angeles in May. Further news will follow in the coming weeks.

  3. Banijay Unveils Global Accelerator Program Banijay Launch to Support Emerging Women Unscripted Creators

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    Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today launches a brand-new global accelerator program, designed to exclusively support women creators with promising unscripted formats. Unveiled at a prestigious breakfast in Cannes for MIPCOM 2023, Banijay Launch is geared towards discovering and incubating untapped talent, to support the next generation of global franchise makers.

    Initiated by Sharon Levy, Chief Executive Officer, Endemol Shine North America, and co-led by James Townley, Chief Content Officer, Development at Banijay, Banijay Launch will provide a selected women mentorship by Banijay’s global collective of creatives to aid them in developing bold new formats from concept to pitch to sale, thereby supercharging the group’s burgeoning pipeline.

    Conceived as an enterprise-level strategy to address gender inequity and fuel creativity, Banijay Launch will seek out undiscovered formats with international appeal, from an incredible pool of undiscovered women across the globe, providing a new opportunity for Banijay to further diversify both its talent and IP worldwide.

    Banijay Launch was inspired by the Propelle program, a female-focused accelerator initiative created and developed in 2020 by Everywoman Studios’ CEO, Abby Greensfelder. With Levy and Endemol Shine North America partnering for two consecutive years with Everywoman Studios and Realscreen on the program, the pair have established a long-standing working relationship. Greensfelder consulted on the creation of Banijay Launch and will join the judging panel for the initiative’s inaugural year.

    To support the program, Banijay Americas has commissioned a first-of-its-kind study with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in partnership with Everywoman Studios. The institute is the only global data-driven, non-profit that researches diversity, equity, and inclusion onscreen in media and entertainment to mitigate unconscious bias, while fostering inclusion, and systematically reducing negative stereotyping. The ground-breaking study will investigate women’s inclusion in creative leadership roles in unscripted production across four distinct territories: Brazil, the U.K. and U.S., and one EU territory to be determined.

    Entries are now OPEN at www.banijaylaunch.com.

    How it works? Banijay will first select the top three to five finalists who will be mentored by a local creative (names disclosed in notes to editors) to develop their formats, with the aim of nurturing them to screen. The competition will culminate with a live pitch presentation before a judging panel led by Levy and Townley. Fellow judges include Marco Bassetti, Chief Executive Officer, Banijay; Pilar Blasco, Chief Executive Officer, Banijay Iberia; and Abby Greensfelder, Founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios. A winner will be crowned during London Screenings 2024.

    Sharon Levy, CEO, Endemol Shine North America comments: “As a group, Banijay is constantly exploring new ways to support the broader content community, diversify its pipeline and ultimately, sharpen its creative edge. With an undisputed track record of travelling IP, expansive cross-territory network of first-class producers, and industry-leading unscripted infrastructure led by Creative Networks, the business is primed to open its doors to yet-to-be-discovered creative minds. Through Banijay Launch, and the partnership with the Geena Davis Institute, we hope to welcome women creators who may be struggling to have their voices heard, setting a new narrative for the industry, and fostering the next generation of break-out unscripted formats.”

     

    Marco Bassetti, CEO, Banijay comments: “We are proud at Banijay to have over 50% of our managerial positions globally filled by women. However, we recognise the landscape has not always supported this demographic of creators in breaking through. With Banijay Launch, we are vested in spearheading a raft of new unscripted format ideas, ideated by women, and in doing so, we hope to bring new voices and talent to the market, with the potential of creating the next Survivor, MasterChef, or Big Brother…”

    The initiative will capitalise on the infrastructure and expertise of Creative Networks, Banijay’s central unscripted content department co-led by Townley and Lucas Green, Chief Content Officer, Operations.