Banijay Entertainment eyes US scripted move

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Marco Bassetti and Jeff Zucker talk up opportunity of investing in American drama market

Banijay Entertainment is looking to ramp up its scripted activities in the US, following its merger with All3Media.

Jeff Zucker, Banijay Entertainment chairman and chief exec of its co-owner RedBird IMI, told Mipcom delegates during a half-hour keynote that the enlarged company will look to build on its scripted footprint across Europe and the popularity of shows such as Peaky Blinders in the US.

“It is something we will look to in the years ahead – we are incredibly well capitalised, we’re ambitious and we see [scripted in the US] as an opportunity for us,” he said. 

As part of the deal to create Banijay Entertainment, All3 owner RedBird IMI paid the French firm €625m, providing the newly enlarged company with the firepower to invest in the pricey US scripted market if it should wish.

Banijay’s scripted business accounts for around 25% of its total output and recently passed the $1bn annual revenue mark.

The company has dipped its toe in the US scripted market with Ripley, which was produced by Endemol Shine North America and Showtime in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights, but the biggest non-US studio group has no dedicated Stateside scripted label.

Zucker suggested that would change and said Banijay does not get the credit it deserves for its drama output. 

But he was bullish about future prospects, adding: ”Our scripted strength is there and given our new ability together plus the capitalisation of the company, the US is a new opportunity for us in the scripted space.”

Banijay Entertainment’s chief exec Marco Bassetti said scripted growth in Europe was also being targeted, but pointed to “some companies” that had pushed into the US drama space only to have to exit.

“They’ve gone there and not been too successful and had to come out again, so we need to go there with the right people and the right IP.”

During the half-our Mipcom keynote, Bassetti also pointed to the evolution of Banijay from being a production company to an entertainment firm.

“We are definitely now an entertainment company and not just a producer, that is our strength and our strategy,” he said. 

Zucker added that Banijay’s various divisions including sports – which Broadcast International revealed today has evolved with Workerbee’s Rick Murray spearheading the efforts – and live would help the company leverage its scale, allowing IP to be monetised in multiple ways.