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: Frédéric Balmary

  1. 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.

  2. Banijay Elevates Frédéric Balmary to Chief Business Officer

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    Content powerhouse Banijay today announces Frédéric Balmary will take on the newly devised role of Chief Business Officer. The move sees him step from Chief of Staff to a more business-oriented strategic position as the global group continues to deliver against its growth ambitions. The news follows the organisation’s recent disclosure of its 2022 results – €3.2bn revenues, €472m EBITDA (+9% on 2022).

    Reporting directly to Banijay’s Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti, Balmary will continue to partner closely with him and the group’s core executive team to steer the business’ long-term strategic plan, broaden innovation and growth opportunities, while remaining a core business development partner to the central scripted team, soon to be led by Christian Wikander.

    Balmary commenced his tenure in 2011 as Banijay’s Group Financial Controller, later growing to Deputy CFO before taking on his latest position, Chief of Staff. Previously he was COO of Banijay Studios International and Banijay Studios France, charged with leading the operations for the scripted production activity in France, while also supporting all international development projects in unison with Banijay Rights. Prior to working for the content powerhouse, he held posts in restructuring at both Ernst & Young and Deloitte.

    Marco Bassetti, CEO, Banijay comments: “In light of our recent and rapid expansion, this key supporting role has never been more vital. As a group, we continue to strive when it comes to innovation and organic growth, and with Frédéric, I have a close partner who can support in further developing our organisation and activities around the world, while also driving best practice across our mounting scripted offering.”

    Frédéric Balmary comments: “Over the course of my ten years with Banijay, the business has gone from strength-to-strength – growing, evolving and cementing a resilient footing in the global content ecosystem. I am proud to be expanding my remit with it and look forward to continuing the work with Marco and our stakeholders on further building on the group’s long-term success trajectory.”