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 Sports

  1. Banijay Entertainment and SimpelZodiak Kick Off Football Island at London TV Screenings

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    Content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment today unveils Football Island, a groundbreaking format blending sports, survival and competition reality. Created by SimpelZodiak (part of Banijay Benelux), the premium title is set to be a highlight in the exclusive London TV Screenings line-up for Banijay @ BAFTA 195 Piccadilly. Football Island will be the first co-production between SimpelZodiak and Banijay Benelux label Southfields, the largest sports production company in the Netherlands.

    Making its global debut in the Netherlands, Football Island drops 13 legendary footballers in a remote tropical location, stripping them of stadiums, status and comfort. Battling the elements they fight for the basics, and victory, in high-stakes, football-inspired challenges. With friendships tested, rivalries reignited, and legacies on the line, this raw and unscripted adventure brings the beautiful game into the brutal wild. 

    Justine Huffmeijer, Managing Director at SimpelZodiak says: “Football Island is a one-of-a-kind concept bringing legendary footballers back into the heat of fierce competition. This is more than just a game – it’s also a test of strategy, and endurance. Watching football icons relive past clashes and push their unceasing competitive spirit in a high-stake survival environment is set to be a thrilling spectacle for audiences to enjoy.” 

    James Townley, Chief Content Officer, Development, Banijay Entertainment: “Football Island’ electrifying fusion of genres will appeal to sports and entertainment fans alike, offering an intense, character-driven reality format to meet the needs of our many clients around the world. With an outstanding track-record producing high-profile global formats like Survivor and Hunted, SimpelZodiak has raised the bar, pushing survival and reality to the next level, where strategy, resilience and football collide.”

    Banijay Benelux label, SimpelZodiak, specialises in adventure reality and factual entertainment for linear and VOD platforms. The company is behind local versions of global hits including Survivor, Special Forces and Hunted. Other credits include Good Luck Guys, Shaolin Heroes, and Banged Up.

    Additional titles within Banijay Entertainment’s format line-up for London TV Screenings include Against All Odds (Meter/Jarowskij), Mission Unknown: Atlantic (Banijay Productions Germany), The Rest of Your Life (Pineapple Entertainment), AI Love You (Nordisk Film TV) and 30 Days and 30 Dates (Cuarzo Producciones).

    This new title taps into Banijay Entertainment’s growing efforts in sport following its launch of Banijay Sports.

  2. Deepak Dhar’s BANIJAY ASIA and Ravi Shastri’s SPORTING BEYOND Announce Strategic Partnership to Redefine CRICKETAINMENT

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    Deepak Dhar’s Banijay Asia (a joint venture between him and Banijay), and Ravi Shastri’s Sporting Beyond (founded by Ravi Shastri and Jaiveer Panwar), today announced a strategic partnership aimed at redefining the landscape of cricket entertainment through content and live events. This collaboration is set to explore innovative ways of merging cricket and entertainment (Cricketainment), creating engaging content that resonates across diverse platforms.

    Announcing the development, Deepak Dhar, Founder & Group CEO of Banijay Asia and EndemolShine India, commented, “This partnership is a pivotal step in reinforcing our newly established sports and live events vertical. Our ambition to dominate the sports content entertainment space has never been clearer. By merging Ravi’s extensive cricket expertise with our innovative content creation capabilities, we aim to deliver unparalleled cricket entertainment experiences. This collaboration with Sporting Beyond will craft a new and unique narrative in cricket entertainment in India, and across the globe.”

    Commenting on the partnership, Ravi Shastri, Founder & Director – Sporting Beyond, added, “My journey in sports and my passion for cricket has always been about pushing the boundaries. Partnering with Banijay Asia is a thrilling new chapter that allows us to blend cricket with entertainment in unique and exciting ways. We are excited to bring our experience to the table and together, aim to captivate the audiences like never before.”

    This partnership is in line with Banijay Asia’s commitment to innovation in the entertainment sector and aligns seamlessly with Ravi Shastri’s extensive expertise and respected standing in the cricket world. Together, they aim to set new benchmarks and deliver premium and tailored content for millions of cricket enthusiasts, across the globe. The collaboration further syncs in with Banijay’s recent launch of Banijay Sports, underscoring its ambition to expand across the sportainment, documentary, and digital sectors through strategic partnerships, content investments, and M&A activities.

  3. Scenery Announces Formula 1 Docu-Series Max Verstappen – Off the Beaten Track

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    Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today announces Scenery, a joint venture with Banijay Benelux, will produce Max Verstappen – Off the Beaten Track for Viaplay. The series, a collaboration between Scenery, Viaplay and Verstappen, offers unique glimpses into the life of the three-time Formula 1 world champion, and comes off the success of last year’s acclaimed documentary, Max Verstappen- Anatomy of a Champion.

    Max Verstappen – Off the Beaten Track presents a unique opportunity for viewers to explore Verstappen’s passions beyond the F1 circuit, providing intimate insights into his character and race craft. Through three 30-minute episodes, director Nick Hoedeman unveils a hidden side of Verstappen not captured by other cameras ever before. Each episode highlights a different aspect of Verstappen’s passion beyond the F1 track, and in this more intimate setting, the series gains a deeper understanding of this global superstar and his love for racing.

    Max Verstappen: “This series shows a side that often remains unseen during the moments on the Formula 1 circuit. ‘Off the Beaten Track’ gives a glimpse of my life, my love for different forms of motorsport and the people who inspire me. I’m proud to collaborate with Viaplay in bringing this unique series to viewers.”

    Isidoor Roebers, Scenery Founder and Producer comments: “We reflect with immense pride on the remarkable journey of creating this series for Viaplay and Max Verstappen. Together with director Nick Hoedeman, our dedicated team crafted a truly distinctive series, filmed on location in Monaco, Las Vegas, Austria, Italy, and Amsterdam. Through this captivating documentary, it has been an honour to delve into the life of Max, a perspective that few have had the privilege to witness.”

    Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group EVP and Chief Sports & Business Development Officer says: “Our collaboration with Max Verstappen on Off the Beaten Track is a testament to our commitment to delivering exclusive and captivating content. In this series, we’ve opened the doors to a side of Max that goes beyond the fast-paced world of Formula 1. This isn’t just about racing; it’s about uncovering the essence of a global superstar. We are thrilled to offer viewers an intimate look into Max’s passions and pursuits outside the circuit, highlighting the depth of his character, and the fervour that fuels his success. We’re proud to present this unique and compelling series that adds another dimension to Max Verstappen”.

    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.

  4. Endemol France Appoints Didier Lahaye as Head of Sport

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    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.

  5. Banijay CEO Confirms Global Sports Drive

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    Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, has today confirmed its intentions to trigger a significant push into the world of sport under the banner of new division, “Banijay Sports”. Building on the group’s existing capabilities, the business will now look to broaden its efforts in sportainment, documentary and digital, via new partnerships, content investments and M&A. The move, which will not venture into broadcast and streaming rights, was announced by CEO, Marco Bassetti, in a dedicated keynote at Content London 2023.

    With the sports industry rapidly growing, spearheaded by the monumental increase in the value of rights in this area (set to break $60bn in 2024), Bassetti cited the complementary nature of this genre to its content and distribution business, and the notable demand from clients, in the decision to launch the new department. The latest push will ramp up the existing efforts already in-play worldwide specifically with documentaries: That Peter Crouch Film (Workerbee for Amazon Prime Video), Human Playground (Scenery and Workerbee for Netflix), Tyson Bruno (Workerbee in association with Sky Studios for Sky), two seasons of La Leyenda de Sergio Ramos (Endemol Shine Iberia for Amazon Prime Studio), Warnie (Endemol Shine Australia, in association with VicScreen for Nine Network), Daum (Doc.Banijay, part of Banijay Productions Germany for Sky) and upcoming Four Kings (Workerbee for Amazon Prime Video).

    Elsewhere, Banijay Benelux plays home to leading Dutch sports player, Southfields, which delivers coverage, talk shows, documentaries and more, with highlights including All-in team Jumbo Visma for Amazon Prime Video. And, just this year, Banijay Iberia struck a deal to launch LaLiga Studios, a new sports-related content production company led by Chalo Bonifacino Cooke; and Endemol France acquired Puzzle Media, which is credited for long-running Riding Zone(14 years on France Télévisions). The latter follows additional label launches with sports stars Teddy Reiner, and Blaise Matuidi et Charles Villeneuve.

    Banijay CEO, Marco Bassetti, adds to his comments on-stage: “While we’ve already made some considerate moves in sport across our global footprint of talented producers, we wanted to concentrate our efforts in building value in this space. In having a centralised division, we have further capacity to deliver on partnerships, carve greater volume, mobilise digital opportunities, and ultimately, fulfil our ongoing goals to scale the group.”

    The news follows Banijay’s recent move into live events via Balich Wonder Studio, which specialises in institutional ceremonies, brand, and destination experiences. The ambition is Banijay Sports will also partner with the former to explore alternative content opportunities that capitalise on its expansive relationships linked to institutional ceremonies and large-scale sporting events.

    As Banijay ramps up its efforts in direct-to-consumer digital activity, sports will also give the business a direct route to significant fan bases and youth-skewing demographics.