Banijay rebrands following Endemol Shine Group acquisition

Survivor

Banijay has unveiled a new-look following its $2.2bn acquisition of Endemol Shine Group, adding that the majority of its production labels will retain their original identities – including those carrying Endemol Shine in their name.

The production giant, which now comprises more than 120 production labels across 22 territories and over 88,000 hours of catalogue content, said the “new and contemporary brand identity” had been introduced “in line with its recently-elevated portfolio.”

Banijay formally completed its deal for ESG on Friday and confirmed the exit of the latter’s CEO Sophie Turner Laing, who will exit the company 10 July.

The deal makes the company – which will remain known as Banijay – the largest content producer and distributor outside of the US studios, with pro-forma revenue in 2019 for the combined group standing at €2.7bn ($3bn). Shows and formats ranging from Survivor, Big Brother and Temptation Island to MasterChef, Wallander, Peaky Blinders and Black Mirror are all on the company’s slate.

Marco Bassetti, Banijay’s CEO, said: “The acquisition of Endemol Shine Group marks a major gear shift for our business and that had to be represented in our branding. We now have unrivalled global reach, an abundance of high-quality, multi-genre titles, and some of the best creative entrepreneurs in the world.”

Banijay said that to reflect its “ethos of ‘storymaking set free'”, the majority of prodco labels would “retain their original identities with a nod to the B, including those carrying Endemol Shine in their name.” Banijay Rights continues to lead distribution activities, while all territory-level holding companies will switch to Banijay.

On Friday, Bassetti admitted that the first financial target for Banijay is to “deleverage” itself, adding that the Endemol Shine acquisition would create a “resilient” outfit as the industry attempts to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.