Screentime


Australia and NZ take a seat at the drama table

Producers in Australia and New Zealand are creating a new wave of international-friendly scripted series for their distribution partners to take to market, but the popularity and lower cost of formats and reality shows poses a threat to the sector, report Dan Barrett and Stewart Clarke. Expectation. Its shadow carries considerable weight across Australia and […]

Nine preps Underbelly spin-off

Australia’s Network Nine is working on Fat Tony and Co, a spin-off of its crime drama franchise Underbelly. The nine-part miniseries will feature a number of original Underbelly cast members and tell the story of real life Australian crime lord Tony Mokbel, who eventually arrested in an Athens café after fleeing to Greece. Banijay-owned Screentime […]

Screentime targets digital growth

Banijay-owned producer Screentime has launched a new digital division that will aim to develop apps and create online brand extensions. Australia-based Screentime has tapped Silver Wolf Productions founder Nigel Miller to launch Screentime Digital. The division will be a joint venture between Screentime and Silver Wolf, and will aimed at developing self-commissioned and third party […]

French network orders Popstars

  Canal+’s French digital network D8 has ordered a local version of the Popstars singing competition format. The format was created by Screentime, which is part of the Banijay group and Banijay’s distribution arm cut the deal with D8. The French Popstars will launch later this year on the digital terrestrial network. The new French […]

Banijay wins Popstars format dispute with Talpa

A court in the Netherlands has ruled that Talpa cannot launch ‘The Next Popstar’ format under that name because it is too similar to ‘Popstars‘, the format ultimately owned by Banijay. The District Court of The Hague issued a ruling yesterday that the title of the upcoming Talpa talent show was too similar to that […]

DRG wins back Underbelly rights

DRG has picked up international rights to the latest two seasons of popular Australian crime drama Underbelly. The distributor sold the first three seasons of the scripted series before ITV Studios stepped in and took the rights to the fourth season, Underbelly: Razor. DRG will now sell Underbelly 5: Badness and Underbelly 6: Squizzy. The […]

Banijay acquires Underbelly producer Screentime

International producer and distributor Banijay Group has acquired Australian producer Screentime, the company behind hit crime drama Underbelly, as it looks to move into the scripted world. Banijay has acquired a majority stake in the production company, which was founded by Des Monaghan and Bob Campbell, and marks the first time that Banijay has moved […]