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: Canada

  1. Banijay Rights Takes Rogue Heroes Worldwide

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    Banijay Rights today announces landmark acquisitions of major new six-part limited series Rogue Heroes, as this week’s London TV Screenings showcase event gets under way.

     

    In deals negotiated across the Banijay Rights global sales team, Rogue Heroes has been picked up by HBO Max in Europe, Prime Video in Canada and SBS in Australia.

     

    The agreements follow premium network EPIX’s acquisition of the drama for the US in November last year – the first international deal for the series.

     

    Produced by Kudos and Nebulastar for the BBC – and entitled SAS Rogue Heroes in the UK market – the series is a dramatized account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

     

    Cathy Payne, CEO, Banijay Rights, said: “As this week’s London TV Screenings event gets under way, it’s an absolute delight to be able to announce these huge global deals for Rogue Heroes. From the get-go, Steven Knight and Kudos’ tour de force World War Two drama has created ripples of excitement from international buyers, and we are excited to expand this series’ global footprint even further.”

    Martin Haines, Joint MD, Kudos, added: “Steven has created a truly brilliant series, and we are thrilled that audiences around the globe will have the opportunity to watch what will be unmissable TV.”

     

    Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, Rogue Heroes centres on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong.

    Convinced that traditional commando units don’t work, Stirling creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare. He fights for permission to recruit the toughest, boldest, and brightest soldiers for a small undercover unit that will create mayhem behind enemy lines. More rebels than soldiers, Stirling’s team is every bit as complicated, flawed, and reckless as it is brave and heroic.

     

    Rogue Heroes is developed for television and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol) and will be directed by Tom Shankland (The Serpent, The Missing), with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. The series is executive produced by Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos, and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC.

     

    Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Vigil) will play David Stirling, with Jack O’Connell (Skins, The North Water) as Paddy Mayne, Alfie Allen (Jojo Rabbit, Game of Thrones) as Jock Lewes, Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk, The King) as SAS Founding member Mike Sadler, and Sofia Boutella (Modern Love, Atomic Blonde) as Eve. Dominic West (The Wire, Appropriate Adult) will play Lieutenant Colonel Wrangel Clarke.

    Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

  2. Noovo, Banijay Rights Strike Deal to Launch Survivor in French-Speaking Canada

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    Noovo today announces it has acquired the rights to adapt the world-famous Banijay reality competition Survivor for French Canada.

    Produced in 48 territories since its launch in 1997, the show is one of the biggest television phenomena of the past 25 years. This year is the format’s most successful to-date with 24 productions confirmed.

     The Noovo deal was negotiated by Jane Rimer, SVP of Canada, at Banijay Rights. ”Survivor has been a global success story for the last three decades and we are proud to be working with Bell Media to bring this tour-de-force format to French Canadian viewers for the first time,” said Rimer.

    “Noovo remains committed to providing audiences with high-quality content, large-scale deployment where Quebecers can identify themselves and take part at the event” said Suzane Landry, Vice-President, Content Development, Programming and News, Bell Media. “With the acquisition of Survivor, we’re once again reaffirming our commitment and enhancing our already rich entertainment line-up.”

     Survivor features participants trying to survive in remote nature settings. They must get their own food, start a fire for comfort and build safe shelters. All while competing in endurance, skill and mental challenges or solve riddles. Every week one survivor will be voted off until a winner is crowned by exiled contestants.

    Bell Media is working with ToRoS productions on a local version of this successful TV show in order to create a programme that resonates with Quebec viewers. Banijay distributed the format globally.

    Noovo has had a streak of successful reality TV shows over the years placing it far above its competitors. From “Occupation Double,” to “Big Brother Célébrités” and “L’amour est dans le pré,” the channel has skillfully exploited its niche. “Big Brother Célébrités,” which aired last winter, was the #1 reality TV series in its market in Q2. “Occupation Double dans l’Ouest” generated an all-time high of over 20 million views on Noovo.ca and was a huge on-air success with a 29% market share among adults 25-54 years olds every week.

    More details will be shared soon.

  3. Big Brother Canada to Return for Milestone 10th Season

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    Banijay Rights today announces a landmark tenth season of Big Brother Canada for Corus Entertainment’s Global Channel in Canada.

     

    The greenlight for a new local adaptation comes after an epic Season 9 that delivered its most diverse cast ever, with Tychon Carter-Newman making history as the first Black winner of Big Brother Canada.

     

    Produced by Insight Productions (a Boat Rocker company) in association with Corus Entertainment and Banijay, Big Brother Canada Season 10 will debut on Global in Spring 2022. The deal was agreed by Banijay Rights.

     

    Jane Rimer, SVP Canada, Banijay Rights, comments: “We are delighted to have struck this historic deal for a tenth season of Big Brother Canada and are thrilled to continue our longstanding partnership with Corus on this brand. This is a landmark moment for an incredibly successful format, which continues to have an enduring appeal for audiences worldwide.”

     

    The Big Brother format and finished programs are represented internationally by Banijay, with over 60 adaptations and broadcast in more than 80 countries.

     

    Big Brother Canada hand-picks a group of strangers from all walks of life, sequesters them from the outside world, and places them inside a house outfitted wall-to-wall with cameras and microphones that capture their every move. Competing for a grand cash prize, each week the houseguests battle in a series of challenges that give them power or punishment, voting each other out until the fate of the final two are decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.

  4. Banijay Rights New Sales Structure in LATAM, Canada and German-Speaking Territories

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    Global distributor Banijay Rights, today announces its new sales structure in LATAM, Canada and German-speaking territories under the overarching leadership of CEO, Cathy Payne.

     

    In Latin America, Michelle Wasserman will be leading the charge in selling both finished tape and formats across the continent as SVP Latam, Brazil and US Hispanic. Long integral to the company’s formats business, she has orchestrated format sales for MasterChef into 13 countriesand 14 of My Name Is across the region, alongside managing over 40 format productions per year. Her remit will now expand to finish tape sales.

     

    Joining her in the Miami office is new hire, Ivania Zamora, who takes up the role of VP, Latam.

     

    Having handled the Latam and US Hispanic finished tape sales for the past ten years, Veronique Verges is joining the EMEA team as SVP German-speaking territories, Poland & Hungary. Now based in London, she will report to Tim Mutimer EVP, EMEA. Before transitioning out of her role in Latin America last month, Verges closed several high-value package deals with the likes of, Amazon, Turner and Discovery, surpassing 1600 hours.

     

    Elsewhere, Jane Rimer is officially announced as SVP, Canada. Since joining late last year, she has already completed significant deals including sealing the first iteration of Celebrity Big Brother in French Canada.

     

    Both Jane and Michelle, will report directly into Matt Creasey EVP Sales, Acquisitions and Coproductions – World (excluding EMEA).

     

    With a catalogue of 95,000 hours of multi-genre content, the Banijay Rights team has a wealth of top-quality programming available for audiences around the world. New series highlights for 2021 include crime drama Viewpoint, and gripping new action-drama RFDS: Royal Flying Doctors Service. Singing entrainment formats Fame Maker and A Star in the Star and popular factual returning hits Temptation Island, Lego Masters, and Wipeout.

     

  5. Banijay Rights Strikes Deal to Launch Celebrity Big Brother in French Speaking Canada

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    One month before its debut, BIG BROTHER CÉLÉBRITÉS, is already causing a stir! The new reality show will arrive on Noovo and Noovo.ca on Sunday January 10 at 7 p.m. 15 Quebec personalities from all walks of life will enter the Big Brother house, a sumptuous manor on Île-Bizard. Living together around the clock, under the watchful eye of the cameras, the celebrities will be completely cut off from the outside world.

     

    They will try to form alliances and overcome various challenges to make it to the finale, 13 weeks later. Claude Bégin, Jean Pascal, Rita Baga, Lysandre Nadeau and Geneviève Borne are the first five celebrities to be unveiled for the series. As is the tradition of Big Brother, further contestants will be revealed during the big premiere, hosted by Marie-Mai on January 10 on Noovo and Noovo.ca. This is not to be missed!

     

    After being adapted in 60 markets, broadcast in 80 countries, with more than 470 seasons and nearly 30,000 episodes, the Quebec adaptation of BIG BROTHER CÉLÉBRITÉS, will undoubtedly be a staple on TV and on the web this winter! This version of Banijay format Celebrity Big Brother is produced in Quebec by Entourage Television, in collaboration with Bell Media. This deal was agreed by Banijay Rights.

     

    This is a multi-platform production that viewers can find on:

     

    ○ Sunday at 7 p.m. on Noovo, see elimination night. It is during this evening that the candidates will make contact with Marie-Mai, their only external contact, and vote to eliminate one of the celebrities.

     

    ○ Also on Noovo, Monday to Thursday, at 6.30 p.m., the show will air daily during which different stages and challenges of the competition will take place.

     

    ○ Monday through Sunday at 10 p.m., this time on Vrak, see BIG BROTHER 7/7. Original content, original discussions, moments of life, etc. This 60 minutes a day will please fans of the show who won’t want to miss out on life in the house!

     

    ○ All of this content will be available on Noovo.ca, along with a ton of exclusives, capsules, never-before-seen moments. MENTION OF PODCAST TO ADD

     

    In order to stay in the competition and win top honors, celebrities will have to use strategies, win various events and build trusting relationships with other players since each week, their roommates will vote to oust one. of theirs. All their skills will be challenged! After 13 weeks of isolation, only one celebrity will be voted the big winner by the participants eliminated during the season. In addition to the honourable title, the winner will also pick-up prizes consisting of a Cadillac Model car, $ 25,000 in cash and another $ 25,000 donated to the cause or charity of their choice.

  6. Banijay Rights Sells We Got This To Sundance Now

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    Banijay Rights, the leading distribution arm of Banijay Group, today announces idiosyncratic crime thriller, We Got This, has been picked up by AMC Networks in the US, Canada and UK, for its streaming service Sundance Now.

     

    The 6 x 45’ scripted series, due to air this autumn, sees George English, an American living in Sweden, try to solve his financial woes with an unlikely solution – a 50 million Swedish Crown reward for solving the 30-year-old murder of the former prime minister, Olof Palme. English, played by Schiaffino Musarra, is grieving from the recent death of his father, and is then hit by the collapse of his career, when he receives an unsurmountable tax bill. Naturally, he begins to imagine that cracking the Palme case could be the simple answer to all his problems.

     

    Together with his closest friend, a not-so-intrepid journalist, who wants nothing to do with the case, a whacky conspiracy theorist and a former police officer, they follow the case into a web of twisted theories. After a major discovery, George finds himself on a head-on collision course with history, as their investigation goes from a laughing stock to a very real and closely-watched operation by the media, politicians, titans of industry and organisations that stretch far beyond the Swedish borders that, for a variety of reasons, would rather this case remain forever unsolved.

     

    Winner of the Series Mania 2018 co-pitch, We Got This is produced by Banijay Group’s Jarowskij and Film I Väst for public broadcaster SVT and Viaplay. Besides playing the lead role, Schiaffino Musarra is also the series creator and head writer. The drama finished airing in Sweden just days ahead of the announcement by the Chief Prosecutor, despite no new evidence, to close the Palme murder investigation, which had remained open since 1986.

     

    Sundance Now will feature its US and Canadian premiere in September 2020 with its UK date to-be-determined.

     

    Andreas Lemos, VP of Sales – North America, Banijay Rights comments,“We are thrilled to have a prestigious partner like Sundance Now on board for We Got This. North American and UK audiences will soon be able to enjoy this entertaining dark comedy born out of the unique mind of star and creator Musarra but built around the true-life mystery surrounding the assassination of Swedish PM Olof Palme.”

     

    Shannon Cooper, VP of Programming, Sundance Now, adds, “Sundance Now subscribers love to stream stories based on true crimes so this fascinating and funny approach to a real event makes for an extremely enjoyable series. We’re excited to partner with our friends at Banijay Rights to bring this true-life mystery to viewers in the US and UK.”

     

    Streaming service Sundance Now offers a rich selection of original and exclusive series from engrossing true crime to heart-stopping dramas, and fiercely intelligent thrillers from around the world; all streaming commercial-free.

     

  7. 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.

  8. CBC Picks up Two Series from Banijay Rights

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    Banijay Rights, the leading distribution arm of Banijay Group, today announces that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada’s national public broadcaster, has picked up two of its series, The Operatives and Saving Lives at Sea, for documentary Channel.

     

    The deal, which was confirmed today at MIPTV in Cannes, will see AMO Media’s The Operatives, 10 x 60’, and Blast! Film’s Saving Lives at Sea, 12 x 60’, travel to Canada on documentary Channel, where the broadcaster has secured Pay TV and Video on Demand (excluding TVOD) rights to the titles.

     

    Andreas Lemos, VP Acquisitions, Co-Productions & North America Sales Banijay Rights, said,

    “We’re thrilled that a broadcaster as prestigious as the CBC will be our Canadian partner on these two fantastic factual series. Both shows combine great educational take-out with fantastic entertainment and a worthy message celebrating all-important environmental and life-saving work.”

     

    Sandra Kleinfeld, Senior Director, Documentary, CBC, added, “We’re pleased to be working with Banijay Rights and look forward to sharing these titles with viewers across Canada on  documentary Channel. With their topical subject matter, The Operatives and Saving Lives at Sea will make great additions to documentary Channel’s lineup of fascinating and thought-provoking titles from Canada and around the world.”

     

    Saving Lives at Sea was produced by Blast! Films in the UK for BBC2. This series reveals how an army of ordinary people give up their own free time to staff more than 200 Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat stations right across the UK. 24 hours a day, whatever the weather, the volunteers are ready to launch their boats and race to the rescue within minutes of a cry for help coming.

     

    The series has been picked up by Top TV’s Choice Channel in New Zealand, TV2 in Denmark, RTE in Ireland and Canalife in Portugal, for its S+ Channel.

     

    The Operatives features an elite team of former military commandos who travel the world bringing poachers and environmental criminals to justice. The team braves environments from shark-infested waters to jungle airstrips, risking imprisonment and injury in order to gather video evidence to take down people who harm endangered wildlife.

     

    Produced by AMO Media, The Operatives was first broadcast in the US on Pivot TV and has been sold to; Top TV’s Choice Channel in New Zealand, Globosat in Brazil, AMC in Portugal and Spain, Discovery Corporate Services in Middle East, Northern Africa and Poland, Sony Pictures Television in CEE, Outside Television in the US and Lensmedia in China.

     

    This latest announcement follows on from CBC’s recent acquisition of series 1 and 2 of The Detectives, 7x 60’ in total from Banijay Rights. Produced by Minnow Films for BBC Two, the factual title was renamed The Manchester Detectives, for CBC’s documentary Channel, when it aired earlier this year.