Viacom Backs New U.K. Indie Banjo Television

Banjo Television, a new independent production company founded by former BBC Studios executive Mike Smith and presenter David Olusoga, is set to launch in October with support from Channel 5’s in-house production division, Elephant House Studios.

Based in dedicated office space within the Elephant House Studios building in Camden, Banjo will target commissions from across the U.K. broadcast industry and internationally. It will specialize in high-end history programming. Olusoga will be presenting and producing and Smith executive producing, including ideas based on future books authored by Olusoga under his recently signed deal with Pan MacMillan. Banjo Television will also focus on religion, travel and adventure programming.

Smith commented: “We are delighted to be the first U.K. indie to be backed by Viacom. They have gone the extra mile to back our shared vision and the culture we want to create. The team at Elephant House have the business and production expertise to give us the infrastructure to hit the ground running.”

Olusoga said: “I’m energized by the prospect of building on our joint track-record for on-screen innovation. We want to make programs that infuse specialist factual TV with greater emotion and authenticity and create formats that are immersive and inclusive but also rooted in the here and now.”

Joe McLusky, VP of Elephant House Studios, commented: “Our ambition is to create a center of excellence across a wide range of genres within Elephant House. We’re delighted to partner with two such highly respected talents; we’ll work closely with David and Mike, offering them the creative platform, capital support and resources to successfully nurture and grow their business. While Banjo is open for business across the industry, Elephant House Studios’ immediate creative focus remains delivering returnable series for Channel 5.”