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: Spain

  1. Banijay Iberia Appoints New Managing Director for Zeppelin

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    Banijay today announces the appointment of a new Managing Director at Zeppelin, a Banijay Iberia company.

     

    Shifting from within Banijay’s exisiting Spanish footprint, Amparo Castellano will lead Zeppelin, with a remit to further build the business’ portfolio of hits for the local and global market, reporting to Banijay Iberia CEO, Pilar Blasco.

     

    Her responsibilities include the creation of new international IP, such as The Bridge, which was adapted this year in the UK for Channel 4 following two successful runs on Movistar’s #0.  Zeppelin is a pioneer in anime and youth scripted productions with The Idhun Chronicles (Netflix), Virtual Hero (Movistar+) and the Spanish version of SKAM. The company is also behind the local version of Big Brother, which has aired in Spain for two decades.

     

    Amparo Castellano joins from Banijay Iberia’s DLO/ Magnolia where she has been Managing Director of Entertainment since 2014. Castellano began her career at Banijay Iberia label, Gestmusic, spending 15 years producing successful formats including Operación Triunfo: Los Castings and Your Big Day (Tu Si que Vales).

     

    As part of the move, non-scripted series from DLO/ Magnolia will become part of the Zeppelin portfolio. Award-winning current affairs series, Radio Gaga, documentary series such as Pioneras and entertainment show such as Pop Up Chef and Sing on!, along with other non-scripted shows will now come under the Zeppelin umbrella.

     

    DLO/ Magnolia’s scripted projects will continue to run within the label, under the direction of José Manuel Lorenzo.

     

    Pilar Blasco, Chief Executive Officer of Banijay Iberia comments; “Amparo is uniquely skilled in recognising and creating original ideas and driving innovative productions. Her commitment to creativity, along with a flair for leadership and management make her ideally placed to oversee Zeppelin, a company with exceptional professional talent.”

     

    Amparo Castellano, Managing Director of Zeppelin comments; “Zeppelin has a long-held position at the forefront of television, with a fantastic team in place who is well-known for creating programmes that become social phenomenons and captivate audiences. This is set to be an exciting new phase of my career, leading a company that pushes the boundaries to explore exciting new genres, with a team developing original IP for global and local audiences which is true to the essence that make us unique. It’s great to be making the move across.”

  2. Banijay Lifts Lid on Leadership for Iberia & Italy

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    Banijay today reveals it has tapped Chief Executive Officer, Pilar Blasco, to lead all operations for Banijay Iberia, while Paolo Bassetti remains in post for Banijay Italy. Both will spearhead their respective regions’ leading collective of production labels and creative talent, with Iberia’s main activities spanning Madrid, Barcelona, Galicia, Vitoria and Lisbon and Italy’s through Milan and Rome.

     

    Across Iberia, Blasco’s footprint will include eight labels. Incorporating Gestmusic, Diagonal, Shine Iberia, Cuarzo Producciones, Zeppelin Television, DLO Magnolia, Endemol Portugal and Tuiwok, it will be the group behind the best entertainment brands – MasterChef, Radio Gaga,  Tu Cara Me Suena, La Isla De Las Tentaciones, Big Brother – and original scripted titles – Hierro, Amar Es Para Siempre and The Idhun Chronicles. Comprising ten production entities including Banijay Italia, Endemol Shine Italy and Banijay Studios Italy, Banijay Italy will be the home of some of the country’s top brands including Grande Fratello(Big Brother), MasterChef Italia, Temptation Island, L’Isola dei Famosi(Celebrity Survivor), El legado, Identity, Che tempo che fa, Il paradiso delle signore and Bake Off Italia.

     

    Marco Bassetti comments: “In Pilar and Paolo we have two exceptional leaders. Well-versed in driving innovation, encouraging out-of-the box creativity and navigating the new world of content creation, they are best set to capitalise on the opportunities presented by our recent acquisition. In the months to come, they will work to combine the footprint in the regions they control, while strengthening client relationships and putting Banijay’s operations in pole position for the future.”

     

    Pilar Blasco comments: “I am very grateful for the opportunity to lead Banijay in Iberia; teaming up with the most talented Spanish and Portuguese producers. This is the right place to be for innovation and for developing the amazing creativity of our teams. I am looking forward to working closely with everyone in the Banijay family.”

     

    Paolo Bassetti comments: “I am honoured to work in a group like Banijay; a dynamic and creative environment, where I have both extraordinary management and colleagues. I hope the business will continue on its successful path worldwide and in Italy, we will do all we can to further our unique creative capabilities and high production capacity. Having known the team at Endemol for many years, I am very happy to meet them again and wish Pilar all the luck – she is certainly the best guide Banijay can have in Spain.”

     

    Blasco, former CEO of EndemolShine Iberia, has led the group there for five years. Building a multi-genre and multi-platform business, she is credited with driving the roll-out of Your Face Sounds Familiar, which first launched in 2011 and has since been sold to 40 territories, including the U.S., U.K. and China, and across Europe, Latin America and Asia. Between 2011 and 2015, she was managing director of Endemol Spain, having also led the company’s Madrid-based arm, Zeppelin TV.

     

    Bassetti has been CEO of Banijay Italy for two years. Previously, he served as CEO and Chairman of Endemol Shine Group’s Italian arm and was a member of the International Board. During these years he brought successful shows such as Grande Fratello(Big Brother), La prova del cuoco(Ready Steady Cook), Caduta Libera(Still Standing), Avanti un altro(Next One), Affari Tuoi (Deal or no Deal), I Soliti Ignoti (Identity), Tale e Quale show(Your Face Sounds Familiar) and scripted titles Vivere,Centro Vetrineand L’Allieva.

  3. Radio Gaga Heads Off on the Road Again

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    Radio Gaga, an original Movistar+ production in collaboration with Dlo/Magnolia, a Banijay company, will arrive on #0 next autumn. Manuel Burque and Quique Peinado have begun filming the fifth series which will be made up of eight episodes.

     

    Madrid, Barcelona, Galicia… once more they will travel across Spain in their caravan searching for stories from very large personalities. Burque and Peinado will demonstrate the chemistry they have when it comes to conversing with people who come to their small local radio studio to tell their story in exchange for a song. The guests’ stories will address themes often ignored but important to everyday life.

     

    Three years after they began hosting Radio Gaga together, Burque and Peinado continue to approach each account with the humour and empathy that has made Radio Gaga one of the most-loved programmes on television.

     

    The previous four seasons of the award-winning show are available on demand to watch in full.

  4. Temptation Island to Return to Finland This Autumn

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    Nelonen and Banijay Finland, a Banijay Group company, today announce Temptation Island is set to return for an eighth season this autumn. The latest 22×60’ Finnish run emerges as Covid-19 restrictions begin to ease in the territory.

     

    The local version, based on the Banijay-owned hit reality format, will follow the journey of unmarried couples at a crossroads in their relationship. Together, they will travel to a secluded location in Finland, where they separate and join a group of eligible singletons. Will they embrace the ‘single life’? Address some difficult realisations about themselves and their relationship? Or will it reinforce their feelings for one another?

     

    Temptation Island, which has already enjoyed stellar ratings in previous seasons, offers escapism, entertainment and familiarity in a time of great uncertainty. With safety remaining of utmost importance to Banijay Finland, production will be executed in line with all current restrictions, legal and governmental guidelines.

     

    Tatu Ferchen, CEO of Banijay Finland commented:“We are incredibly proud to be in a position to get productions up and running again in Finland. While a number of restrictions remain in place, we will take all the necessary measures to provide a safe environment for our cast and crew. Temptation Island provides the perfect balance of escapism, drama and entertainment and as a proven staple of schedules worldwide, could be the distraction audiences need at the end of these dark few months.”

     

    This latest commission follows a raft of successful global adaptations of the format including Spain, where the first season on Cuatro and Telecinco closed with 3.6 million viewers.  To date, the show, which is distributed by Banijay Rights, has enjoyed 19 versions globally.

  5. RTVE and Dlo/Magnolia Produce Ruralitas, an Insight into Life in Rural Spain

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    RTVE and Dlo/Magnolia, a Banijay Group company, confirm the launch of a new series for La 2. Ruralitas will hear from those that have chosen to live in the most remote areas of the country.

     

    Ruralitas tours Spain connecting the inhabitants of the sparsely-populated areas with the rest of the country. Locals offer first-hand accounts of living in rural communities and their motivations for doing so; from a cheesemaker in La Rioja, agents from the Alicante Civil Guard, to the mayor of a small town in Almería.

     

    In the first episode, Ruralitas travels to the mountainous inland area of Lugo and the remote village of Pena da Nogueira. This village has only six inhabitants, one of which is Alberto. He shares how he returned to Pena da Nogueira to install his ancestors’ hives and make his passion for bees a way of life.

     

    The episode will also accompany a couple of travelling veterinarians, Verónica and Benito, who, on board their mobile surgical unit, attend to the animals of those living in San Millán de Juarros, southeast of the province of Burgos.

     

    Ruralitas is an original RTVE production in collaboration with Dlo/Magnolia.

  6. Dlo/Magnolia and Movistar+ Original Wrap New Drama, Dime quién soy

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    Dlo/Magnolia, a Banijay Group company, announces filming has closed on Dime quién soy, the Beta film sold as Tell Me Who I Am, with a Movistar+ air date set for later this year. The original 9×50’ Dlo/Magnolia and Movistar+ collaboration will combine one year’s worth of footage, five different languages and a cast of 185 actors from across the world.

    Based on the bestselling novel by Julia Navarro, Dime quién soy begins with Javier receiving a novel based on the life of freedom fighter, Amelia Garayoa, and her involvement in key twentieth century historical events. From the Francoist uprising to Berlin’s liberation, the timeline of her life is explored by the key relationships she had with four men; her husband Santiago, Pierre, Albert and Max. Despite these connections, with one eye on the past and another on the future, she is constantly looking to discover who she is. Garayoa will be played by Irene Escolar.

    Irene Escolar comments, “This has been a rigorous, intelligent and quality project, and I can’t wait to share the story with viewers across the country.”

    José Manuel Lorenzo, Showrunner and CEO of Dlo/Magnolia said, “Since discovering Navarro’s novel, I wanted to bring it to screen and after a lot of hard work from both cast and crew, I am excited for the audience to finally see this powerful story brought to life.”

    Dime quién soy is directed by Eduard Cortés and José Manuel Lorenzo acts as showrunner and producer.

  7. Dlo/Magnolia Set to Produce Seventh Series of Cero en Historia

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    Dlo/Magnolia, a Banijay Group Company, confirms Cero en Historia (And the Rest is History) returned to #0 for a seventh season on Wednesday 5th February at 10 pm.

     

    Continuing as ringmaster, Joaquín Reyes brings all the wisdom and humour the audience have come to expect; with Patricia Conde, Raúl Cimas and JJ Vaquero once more accompanying him on the sofa. However, they will have to squeeze up, as popular comedian and reporter, Susi Caramelo, is stepping up to the stage for this season.

     

    In each episode of Cero en Historia, the contestants and judges will do their best to show that history is exciting, surprising and entertaining. As usual, comedian Javier Cansado is the first to take on the role of judge and Nieves Concostrina will return as historical advisor for this season. Throughout the series, the audience can expect to see many well-known faces such as Dafne Fernández, Javier Botet, María Escoté, Javier Coronas and América Valenzuela step up as judges to cast their opinions on each story.

     

    In addition to the five games played in previous series, viewers will be introduced to ‘Del Dicho al Trecho’; the objective of which will be to discover the origin of well-known sayings such as, ‘to smell a rat’ or ‘pull out all the stops’.

     

    Amparo Castellano, Head of Non-Scripted at Dlo/Magnolia comments: “The success of this format is down to the way it continues to educate us in an entertaining, light and witty manner. With universal appeal, the show never fails to raise the roof with laughs, and we can’t wait to welcome Susi Caramelo to this season’s sofa – she’ll be a great fit.”

     

    Cero en Historia is an original Movistar+ production in collaboration with Dlo/Magnolia.

  8. Spain Continues to Love La Isla de las Tentaciones

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    Banijay Group’s Cuarzo Producciones’ first season of La Isla de las Tentaciones has got everyone talking! The local adaption of the hit format Temptation Island, distributed globally by Banijay Rights, has launched with great ratings, securing 3 million viewers across Telecinco and Cuatro on its first outing on 9 January. Airing on both channels, the show has repeatedly attracted high audience numbers, as well as breaking records for its companion show.

     

    Beyond the ratings, the series also scored high across social media. The first episode received 186,543 messages during its broadcast and four hashtags were trending with the recent bonfire clip featuring Christofer going viral. Elsewhere, @islatentaciones gained 30,000 followers in a day on Instagram and more than 3 million profile visits over the course of a week. News regarding one of the contestants on Instagram Live has also become one of the most visited pages on Mediaset’s website.

     

    The series continues on Telecinco and Cuatro this week.

  9. La Caza. Monteperdido returns for second season on RTVE

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    DLO / Magnolia, a Banijay Group company, has confirmed a second season of La Caza. Monteperdido for RTVE. Filming will commence in March 2020, with the original creator and writer, Augustin Martinez, onboard.

     

    The new series, La Caza. Tramuntana sees Sergeant Sara Campos (Megan Montaner) and Corporal Victor Gamero (Alain Hernandez) return to take on a new case. Set in Mallorca, season two of the psychological thriller moves from the Pyrenees to the main mountain range of the Baleraric Islands: The Sierra de Tramuntana.

     

    The announcement follows the success of La Caza. Monteperdido which is set to receive a FesTVal Award at the 2019 Vitoria Television Festival’s closing gala. The jury honoured La Caza. Monteperdido on account of it being, “a disturbing psychological thriller shot in splendid natural settings, whose magic and nature become one more character in the story.” The series has also been nominated in four categories at the Iris Awards of the Television Academy: Best Fiction, Best Actress (Megan Montaner), Best Actor (Alain Hernández) and Best Production.

     

    The recommission follows an impressive first season, which secured a 14% share of audience and over two million viewers, making it one of this year’s highest rating scripted shows.  La Caza. Monteperdido also served as the most-watched primetime show, and the second most viewed in its global slot following the release of each new episode.

  10. Cuarzo Producciones Lifts Lid on ¿Te Lo Vas a Comer? Season 2

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    Cuarzo Producciones, a Banijay Group company, today confirms the second season of ¿Te lo vas a Comer? (Are You Going to Eat It?) is set to return to Spain’s La Sexta.

     

    ¿Te lo vas a Comer? Is a factual entertainment show in which popular chef Alberto Chicote (Top Chef, Kitchen Nightmares) investigates criticisms from members of the public regarding the food quality and hygiene and safety standards exhibition by food services across Spain.

    The recommission follows a healthy first season, which averaged 1.9 million viewers and served as La Sexta’s best launch in four years, with a slot average increase of 75%.  In season two, Chicote will explore the culinary worlds of disabled centres, universities, the military, schools and elite sport centres amongst others.

     

    ¿Te Lo Vas a Comer? was commissioned by La Sexta. The series is executive produced by Cuarzo Producciones’ Juan Ramón Gonzalo and Margarita Luis, and distributed by Banijay Rights.

     

    Juan Ramón Gonzalo comments: “¿Te lo vas a Comer? had a fantastic performance in its first series. Breaking recent network records, it captured the attention of our food-loving nation and season two promises to bring further surprises as we lift the lid on the food standards and quality at a host of other institutions.”

  11. Temptation Island Travels to Spain

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    Cuarzo TV, a Banijay Group company, and Mediaset España, today announce the first Spanish remake of Temptation Island – La Isla de las Tentaciones, based on the Banijay Rights-owned format.

     

    La Isla de las Tentaciones is the ultimate test of faithfulness, following dating couples at a pivotal time in their relationship, where they must mutually decide if they are ready to commit to one another for the rest of their lives — or should go their separate ways. Together, the couples travel to an island, where they join 20 eligible men and women. There, they live the “single life,” in a test that is meant to help answer their most difficult questions about their relationship.

     

    Juan Ramón Gonzalo comments: “Temptation Island has long been a key format in the Banijay catalogue, and we have no doubt it will resonate with our audiences here in Spain. With love and drama at the heart of the show, it has all the elements of a primetime hit.”

     

    La Isla de las Tentaciones will be executive produced by Cuarzo TV’s Juan Ramón Gonzalo and directed by Hugo Tomás.

     

    The Spanish commission follows a raft of significant global sales that have now been secured for the format.  In New Zealand, national broadcaster TVNZ has commissioned Screentime New Zealand to produce a local version for its VOD platform, while in the Netherlands, RTL Nederland has picked up the finished tape version of the show for its VOD service Videoland.

     

    Moving to Germany, Banijay Productions Germany will produce the hotly anticipated remake, jointly commissioned by RTL and TV NOW, for Mediengruppe RTL’s VOD service.  With the local production of Temptation Island already in its fifth season on Nelonen, the Finnish commercial channel has also acquired the US finished tape.

     

    Meanwhile, a Canadian sale for the US reboot of the series was announced at the beginning of the year. Sold to Canada’s number one content creation company, Bell Media, the series aired on the business’ top-rated channels, including E! Entertainment, where it premiered, CTV’s network, and the leading Canadian SVOD service, Crave. The sales follow the recent success of Banijay Studios North America’s Temptation Island on USA Network, where it was revived, revamped and relaunched to 1.36 million viewers.