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: South Africa

  1. Banijay’s Still Got It with Cutting-Edge South African Partnership

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    Banijay, the world’s largest independent home to the best creative talent and IP, today announces it has acquired the exclusive format rights to an original new factual entertainment series from Rebelintown.

    Created by Jimmy Muteba at the South African based production company, Still Got It! sees older people aged 60- 80 competing in a series of fun and unexpected challenges with the help of the Gen Z crowd, to see which of them has Still Got It!. From modelling, songwriting, dancing, gaming, cooking, art and adventure sports, the vibrant older people are put to the test by their younger counterparts. A cash prize is up for grabs by the person who impresses a panel of influential young judges.

     Known locally in South Africa as The Coolest OGs, the series made its worldwide debut in June last year on free-to-air channel SABC and was licensed to SVOD platform Showmax in September. Rebelintown retains the rights to distribute the format in Africa, working in partnership with Banijay on a non-exclusive basis in North Africa, and with Banijay exclusively responsible for deals across the rest of the world.

    Carlotta Rossi Spencer, Head of Format Acquisitions at Banijay says: “With a burgeoning creative industry in South Africa, it’s an exciting time to bring Rebelintown’s Still Got It! to the international market. Here at Banijay, we are constantly looking for new innovative partners, and fresh creative IP, and we see great potential in this positive, intergenerational show. We are impressed with the unscripted content created by the team at Rebelintown and look forward to bringing an original show from South Africa to the international market.”

    Jimmy Muteba, CEO of Rebelintown says: “There is a growing movement which sees African creativity having its moment in the spotlight. This format cuts across generations and with its universal nature, Still Got It! holds great potential to be adapted across the globe. Banijay is a company that has long inspired me creatively with local versions of big, noisy formats such as MasterChef, Survivor and Big Brother so popular here in South Africa, and we are incredibly pleased to be heading to the world stage and joining their premium quality slate.”

    Other credits for Rebelintown include TRACE Music Star, the world’s first music talent search competition where the public could enter simply by recording their song on a phone call. The show was licensed to TRACE, and rolled out across fourteen African countries, over three seasons, and also sold to France. High-profile judges included

    Wyclef Jean, Akon, Keri Hilson and Dawala.

    Still Got It! will join Banijay’s catalogue of over 4000 formats, beside flagship brands Survivor, Hunted, MasterChef, LEGO Masters and Big Brother, as well as the company’s portfolio of fresh new IP Starstruck, Limitless Win, The Courtship and more.

  2. Banijay Rights Confirms Big Brother Return in South Africa

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    Banijay Rights today confirms the return of Big Brother to Mzansi Magic in South Africa following a seven-year hiatus.

     

    Produced by Red Pepper Pictures, Big Brother Mzansi has started casting for a new season to launch on MultiChoice-owned Mzansi Magic in 2022, having last aired on the channel in 2015.

     

    Robin Pollok, VP Sales, Africa, Middle East, Greece & Israel, Banijay Rights, said: “Seven years have passed since Big Brother Mzansi last graced South African viewers’ screens and we couldn’t be happier to work with MultiChoice and Red Pepper Pictures to revive this global phenomenon, which continues to have an enduring appeal worldwide.”

     

    Nomsa Philiso, Executive Head of Programming, M-Net, added: “This year marks 20 years since the very first Big Brother on MultiChoice’s M-Net and we are excited to celebrate this milestone by commissioning a new Big Brother season, which will be housed under our Mzansi Magic stable. This is a show that has always delivered top ratings and entertainment value and our viewer and advertising partners can look forward to a stellar season of Big Brother.”

     

    Big Brother Mzansi 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, voting each other out until the fate of the final two are decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.

     

    The Big Brother format and finished programmes are represented internationally by Banijay Rights. In 2021, 31 productions of Big Brother aired in 21 markets, with nine VIP productions launching, including a first series run in French Canada and a high-profile comeback for Celebrity Big Brother in Australia. This year, Big Brotherlaunched for the first time in Mongolia, and seven regional productions of the format aired in India.

  3. Banijay Rights rekindles MasterChef South Africa

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    Banijay Rights today confirms the return of global cookery hit, MasterChef, to M-Net in South Africa following a seven-year hiatus.

     

    Produced by Homebrew Films, MasterChef South Africa has started casting for a new season that will launch on M-Net in February 2022, having last aired on the channel in 2015.

     

    MasterChef South Africa returns to inspire and shape the next generation of food stars. Season four will be filmed at the foot of Table Mountain, in a dynamic new location that celebrates both the heritage and the most innovative of South Africa’s diverse culinary offering. Here, 20 amateur cooks will be pushed beyond the boundaries of their skill set in a transformative journey, encouraged and guided by three accomplished judges and guest chefs that have all left their mark on the culinary landscape of this unique country at the tip of the African continent.

     

    Robin Pollok, VP Sales, Africa, Middle East, Greece & Israel, Banijay Rights, said: “It will be seven years off air by the time MasterChef South Africa season four airs next February, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with M-Net and Homebrew Films to bring this global phenomenon back to South African audiences. This is yet another example of the ever-lasting appeal of the MasterChef format that continues to deliver creativity and culinary excellence to viewers worldwide.”

     

    Jan du Plessis, Director of M-Net Channels, said: “Within the current landscape of the COVID-19 virus, we wanted to give our audience something familiar and comforting that felt like home. MasterChef SA was the perfect choice as both the local and International versions have proven that the format is a firm favourite with our viewers. It’s heart-warming and welcoming content.”

     

    MasterChef is the world’s most successful cookery television format, produced across 64 markets. The life-changing show has broadcast more than 10,000 episodes to-date and recently aired its milestone 500th season globally since its reboot in 2005. Created by Franc Roddam, the show is a super brand known and enjoyed around the world.

    The MasterChef format and finished programmes are represented internationally by Banijay Rights.

    The recommission of MasterChef South Africa comes off the back of another cookery re-boot, with My Kitchen Rules South Africa returning for a third season in September 2021 after three years off air.

  4. Temptation Island Travels to South Africa

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    Banijay Rights today announces African streaming service Showmax has acquired social experiment relationship format, Temptation Island, for adaptation in South Africa.

     

    Temptation Island South Africa will be produced by Afrokaans Film & Television, with an order of 12 episodes set to launch later this year. This is the first international reality TV series format, to be licensed by the SVOD service owned by the MultiChoice Group. Afrokaans also produces the South African version of Banijay’s adventure reality format, Survivor, which is due to air its eighth season this summer.

     

    Robin Pollok, VP of Sales, Banijay Rights, comments: “We are excited to collaborate with Showmax and Afrokaans to develop a local adaptation of Temptation Island for South African viewers. The format has already captivated international audiences, as it centres on the universal theme of being at a crossroads in profound relationships, bringing them on an emotional journey with the ups and downs of any love relationship.”

     

    “Temptation Island South Africa is going to be must-watch and must-tweet TV,” says Candice Fangueiro, Showmax’s Head of Content. “South Africans love reality TV; our audience has already devoured the first two seasons of Temptation Island USA so we’re confident there’s an appetite for more, especially when we add some uniquely South African spice.”

     

    With 25 local adaptations to date, including Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands, the highly anticipated Temptation Island USA series 3 premieres 16th February 2021 on USA Network. Presented by Mark Wahlberg, four new couples are packing up their emotional baggage and heading to Maui, Hawaii, for the ultimate test of their relationship. Joined by 24 sexy single men and women looking to find everlasting love, these couples must decide whether to commit to a lifetime together – or if they will ultimately give in to the temptation from the singles looking to find “the one.”  The US version of Temptation Island is executive produced by Banijay Studios North America’s David Goldberg, Dan Morando and Trifari Williams.

    Banijay Rights handles international distribution for both format and finished tape sales. For more information, please visit www.banijayrights.com.