Cathy Payne Confirmed to Lead Banijay’s Enlarged Distribution Business

Cathy Payne, who joined Banijay Rights earlier this year, is set to oversee the company’s enlarged distribution slate, leading the integration of the Endemol Shine Group catalog.

Payne will now execute the integration of the two offerings and guide all exploitation across the portfolio of commercial finished tape. Her remit will span the 88,000-plus hour catalog, which includes Survivor, MasterChef, Temptation Island, Mr Bean, Peaky Blinders and Big Brother, among many others.

Continuing to report to Banijay’s CEO, Marco Bassetti, Payne is already underway on bringing the two catalogs under one roof, with a new website and app planned for rollout in September. The ambition is also to have the teams combined by the fall, with the integration process starting this month.

Bassetti said: “Cathy is, without doubt, one of the industry’s strongest commercial champions and just what we need in the ‘new world’ of content. Consistently driving value and opportunity, she is the prime voice to have at the helm of the business as we start the combined roll-out and exploitation of all 88,000 hours of catalog.”

Payne commented: “In an increasingly integrated production and exploitation business environment, it is critical that we have all finished tape efforts under a combined strategy. Banijay Rights has a tremendous offering for our clients and plenty of valuable opportunities for prospective brand partners worldwide.”