Banijay Group Leadership Talk Fostering Creativity, Importance of Scale

Banijay Group Chairman Stéphane Courbit, CEO Marco Bassetti and Banijay France CEO François de Brugada took part in a MIPTV keynote session today moderated by World Screen’s Anna Carugati.

Courbit talked about the creation of Banijay in 2008 after he left his post at Endemol France. “We considered the fact that the market was very fragmented. We wanted to bring something with a creative and entrepreneurial spirit. We decided to consolidate the market in different territories and create the group.”

Bassetti weighed in on the advantages of being a producer before taking leadership of the Banijay Group. “You know what producers need. To be a producer today is even tougher than it was in the past. [In the past] there were just a few channels, there was not so much competition. Today is much more difficult. Our mantra was always people and formats. In order to know what [producers need], it’s very important to talk the same language. From the top, we are all producers. We believe that we have created a platform where the producer can have autonomy; we don’t have a lot of bureaucracy. We try to be as much as we can in the service of the people who work in the field.”

De Brugada talked about the success at Banijay France, which is making more than 2,000 hours of content every year across all genres, from factual to game shows, talk shows, current affairs, documentaries, scripted and kids. “We are a people company,” he said. “It’s not one single entity. Each has its own culture, its field of expertise. We can adjust, be agile, listen to the market, understand our clients’ needs. That’s how we succeed.” De Brugada noted that 35 million French people watch at least one Banijay show a week.

Bassetti said that Banijay’s growth strategy is multifaceted, going well beyond M&A. “Last year, three top creative producers joined us: Deepak Dhar in India, Marcus Walter in Germany and Paolo Bassetti in Italy. That’s one strategy. We can grow by buying IP, like we did with Castaway. Before we were producing Survivor in four countries. Now we are producing it in nine countries. We merged with Zodiak. We created several JVs. We’ve tried to grow in digital, and we bought a company in France called Shauna Events. So there are many different ways to grow. To go into the market and just buy the first company is not our strategy. We try to use all the ways possible in order to give a good return to our investor.”

On territorial expansion, English-speaking markets “are the most attractive to us. The U.K. is a market where we want to be bigger. There is space for growth in the U.S. The other countries where we have room to grow are Spain and Germany. And sometimes to stay as a leader in a county with so much competition is more difficult. Another area that is mature for Western content is Southeast Asia.”

In terms of genre, scripted is a key area on the heels of 30-percent growth in that area this year. “Our goal is to grow more. There is an appetite. We don’t know for how long there will be this bidding war with the FAANGs, but we are very cautious.”

The conversation then moved on to formats, with the company boasting a slew of long-running, successful shows. “Keeping your big brands as successful as they were in the past and making them progress is a tough job,” de Brugada said. “You need teams that are able to polish your diamonds daily. From one season to the next, each of these shows has been transformed.”

Bassetti used the session to announce some key deal news, with ABC picking up Don’t, a new original game show created by Banijay Studios North America with Ryan Reynolds on board as executive producer. “Our goal is to create formats. That is the base of our business model—creating formats that can be successful in other countries and distributed and produced in other countries.”

On working with streaming companies, Bassetti said, “It’s an opportunity for us. The business model is changing, and for us being a producer there are a couple of issues that are fundamental, like the retention if IP.” The bidding war with the FAANGs for talent is an opportunity, Bassetti added.

Asked about scale, Bassetti responded, “Scale is always good. If scale means you create more bureaucracy, as we’ve seen before, more control and less autonomy, that’s not good. We don’t have that. Having scale today is important. The more you have scale, the more leverage you have, the more opportunity you have to generate value, to deficit your own shows, and you can keep IP. Scale also attracts talent. You need to be lean and mean. To be medium-sized company will become difficult in the coming years.”

Courbit agreed with Bassetti, stressing that at the core of the company are people and IP. “If you can be bigger, you have to do it.”

As the session came to a close, Carugati asked the Banijay execs about speculation that the company is looking to acquire Endemol Shine Group. “No comment,” Bassetti said.