Banijay Targets U.S. Scripted After $8 Billion All3Media Merger

Banijay Entertainment is weighing an expansion into U.S. scripted production, just two months after completing its $8 billion merger with RedBird IMI's All3Media. CEO Marco Bassetti and chair Jeff Zucker laid out the ambition on stage at Mipcom Cannes in a conversation with Variety's co-editor-in-chief.

"We are pretty much in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, India and Israel. Let's see what the future holds in the U.S. as well, because we have never touched this business," Bassetti said. "We saw some of our competitors go there, not really succeed, and then go back."

The merged company, which boasts over 265,000 hours of content, already produces scripted titles including "Hamnet" and "Peaky Blinders." All3Media CEO Jane Turton became deputy CEO of the combined group when the deal closed. All3Media is headquartered in London.

Why enter the U.S. now?

Zucker pointed to the group's strengthened balance sheet and current market performance as the foundation for the move.

"It's something we will look at in the years ahead. We are incredibly well-capitalized now," Zucker said. "We have the number one movie on Amazon, number one shows on Netflix and Apple, and new titles coming. I think the scripted strength is already there. And given our new ability together, our new capitalization, I think the U.S. is a new opportunity for us in the scripted space."

Bassetti stressed that the U.S. market demands a different approach from Europe. "We need to go there with the right people, the right IP, and we need to invest in the U.S. It's quite different from the scripted business in Europe," he said.

What does scale bring to streamers?

Bassetti argued that the group's size is itself a selling point for platforms commissioning content.

"For the platforms, having a solid company behind a production means knowing that we can deliver the quality on screen that we're promising," Bassetti said. "Sometimes, for small and medium-sized companies, that's difficult. We can go further and do more to make a project successful."

The company is best known for unscripted franchises including "The Traitors," "Big Brother" and "MasterChef." Bassetti said the merger creates new value from rolling out such formats across the group's 25 operating countries.

"If we'd been together before, we would have had the opportunity to produce 'The Traitors' in all our territories and create much more value for that IP within the group," he said.

The group also produces local versions of streaming formats, including:

• Amazon's "LOL" in around 13 territories
• Netflix's "Physical: 100" in five territories
• Netflix's "Love Is Blind" in seven or eight territories

Producing shows for hire is not Banijay's core business, Bassetti said, but the group wants to develop that area further.

Are U.S. acquisitions on the table?

Asked about potential M&A in the U.S., Zucker said "Banijay doesn't need anything and is open to any great ideas."

"That's the beauty of having shareholders who are so well positioned, so well capitalized and so ambitious. We'll look to be opportunistic and we'll look to continue to grow," Zucker said. "But the reality is that we also don't have to do anything, and there's no one out there that we feel we have to have."

Banijay was recently mentioned as one of the European companies eyeing Lionsgate. Neither executive addressed those rumors.

Zucker also raised the prospect of closer ties between Banijay and other businesses in RedBird IMI's portfolio, which continue to operate separately.

"We have a lot of companies within our portfolio that are very complementary to what Banijay does. I think you'll see opportunities for us to work together and come together in different ways over the next few years," he said. Asked whether that could involve acquisitions, Zucker said: "Certainly collaboration is easy. And whether there are other opportunities in M&A, everything will be on the table."

What comes next?

Beyond scripted, the executives plan to build Banijay into a broader entertainment group with investments in live entertainment, digital and sports.

"Our core business will remain the same: creating new IP and investing in our talent and IP. But we also want to invest in live, digital and sports," Bassetti said. "That's our strategy, and we want to keep going in that direction."

Bassetti said the group's resources now allow it to compete with Hollywood's major players.

"I believe that now we can consider ourselves not just a production company, but an entertainment company," he said. "And I think we can be compared with some of the big European and U.S. studios. Not just companies like Fremantle or Mediawan anymore. I think we have nothing to envy Sony, Lionsgate and the others. And that's our ambition."