Banijay Acquires Bunim-Murray

PARIS/LOS ANGELES: Bunim-Murray Productions (BMP), the U.S. independent behind MTV’s long-running hit The Real World, is to become part of the Banijay Entertainment portfolio of companies.

Jonathan Murray, the company’s chairman, will stay on at the company, overseeing creative development, and Gil Goldschein will remain as CEO. It will continue to operate as Bunim-Murray Productions out of its offices in Los Angeles.

“Bunim-Murray is one of the few companies with a proven history of delivering high volumes of entertaining and quality programming that strikes a chord with viewers and are continually renewed by networks season after season,” said Stéphane Courbit, the chairman of Banijay. “This acquisition reaffirms Banijay’s strategy to integrate in our group the best and most creative international television producers."

Murray added: "By joining Banijay, BMP will be able to continue its past success as well as access international formats and distribute its series and formats to the international marketplace. I’ve spent the last year and a half getting to know Stéphane Courbit and his Banijay team and am convinced they are not only good people but the best people to help BMP reach its goals.”

Guillaume de Vergès, Banijay’s vice-chairman, referred to the acquisition as "a milestone for our company. Banijay is now established as a world leader in content creation and distribution.”

Under the Banijay International banner, several Bunim-Murray productions will be available at MIPTV, including Oxygen’s new dating series Love Games: Bad Girls Need Love Too."

Banijay’s portfolio of companies includes Air Productions, ALJ Production, Depeche Prod and Jesprod in France, Cuarzo Producciones in Spain, Intelegencia in Russia, Brainpool in Germany, Nordisk TV, Zig Zag in the U.S. and Angel City Factory in the U.S.