Banijay Kids & Family’s Benoît di Sabatino Outlines 360-Degree Approach

Commissioners and buyers have been leaning into shows based on known IP in today’s challenged children’s content market. Banijay Kids & Family, with its seven production labels, boasts several such series, including Totally Spies! and Mr Bean. It also recently acquired the company Procidis and its long-running show Hello Maestro. CEO Benoît di Sabatino tells TV Kids Weekly about his plans to broaden the reach of brands, whether iconic or new. His strategy makes full use of the company’s 360-degree approach to the business, which includes digital distribution, marketing, branding and licensing.

TV KIDS: How did the Procidis acquisition come about, and what does the company add to your portfolio?
DI SABATINO: Procidis was a bit of a dream for me. As a kid, I remember watching Maestro talking about the human body and history and all sorts of topics. This past summer, when I had the opportunity to acquire Procidis, I felt like a kid again! The acquisition went very well. Hélène Barillé is still in the company, and I am overseeing the production and management so she can focus on the artistic side.

Projects are moving very quickly, and we will soon have some news to share on Hello Maestro, a unique IP in the edutainment genre. There are other series and producers working in that area, but this brand has existed for more than 40 years, and from the discussions I have had recently with broadcasters, the authenticity and credibility of this property are still intact. The work of Albert and Hélène Barillé has been validated by doctors and experts. So, as a parent, you have the guarantee that everything on the show, whether it’s about human beings or other topics, will be accurate, which is crucial to creating a secure information environment.

Alongside the likes of Totally Spies! and Mr Bean, Hello Maestro is the perfect fit for our portfolio. Totally Spies! is pop culture. Mr Bean is like the Eiffel Tower but in London! It’s iconic; you don’t need to explain Mr Bean! And Hello Maestro is the brand that was missing for us.

TV KIDS: How do you view the children’s content market today?
DI SABATINO: Some of my friends, producers and a lot of colleagues are struggling in this market. Budgets are decreasing. It’s not only the production sector that is struggling, but the broadcasters are as well. But there is a paradox because 2023 was a record-breaking year for production for us. We had 16 productions, which is huge. How do I explain that? I believe belonging to a group like Banijay Entertainment is important. It’s not only the skill of our producers, it’s also being part of a strong group, which is considered important by the broadcasters.

Banijay Kids & Family is an umbrella for seven production labels and a home to brands and talent. I’m one of the seven producers, but the six other producers are really talented and creative, and it’s why we can propose and produce shows even if the times are not so easy. Together, we can offer solutions to help our other producers get financing. So, it’s really important to have this organization. All our labels are based in countries—France, the U.K. and Italy—where the free-to-air broadcasters are still strong, which, for me, is the most important thing when everybody wants to work with the streamers. I think the streamers are good partners to work with, but from the start, when I was appointed CEO of Banijay Kids & Family, I said to the producers, If you want to go to the streamers, go to the streamers, but on the local side, in all countries, broadcasters are strong, they need us, and we need them. We are keeping this relationship as strong as it was in the past, and after six years, we’re seeing that protecting this relationship was the right strategy. Of course, we also have some series with streamers, but that’s not our main business model.

TV KIDS: What are you hearing from buyers and commissioners? What are they willing to invest in?
DI SABATINO: If you know, tell me! [Laughs] I joke because a lot of them are changing their minds. But brands are important, and we are lucky to have titles like Totally Spies!, Mr Bean and now Hello Maestro, to name a few.

I used to be a producer making productions. Now I remove the words producer and productions and say we are brand entertainers creating experiences.

What does that mean? I am not only producing, which involves financing, developing, drafting, etc. Now, I feel like I am ten meters above a brand, overseeing all possibilities, and production is a part of the strategy. Take Hello Maestro as an example. We have some amazing projects around this brand that go from live events to merchandising and digital. When I speak to broadcasters, I tell them I have this amazing brand, and they will be part of our strategy. I’m not saying, We’ll make a series, and if it goes well, then maybe in two years, we will have some success.

With this approach, we can create an event before the launch of the series, and the broadcaster can feel they are a part of a wider strategy. And because we are a part of Banijay Entertainment, the broadcaster believes it can happen. It’s an alternative way of looking at the business, and it comes from realizing the market is changing a lot. It is as important to be on free-to-air broadcasters as it is to be on social media or part of a live event. This 360-degree strategy is important, and even the broadcasters are reassured that the series they finance will be well-exposed and they will reap the benefits. It’s a game I feel ready to play, thanks to our amazing brands.

TV KIDS: With this strategy, you are giving them more than just a program.
DI SABATINO: Yes, more than just a program, and it’s interesting to see that sometimes these kinds of discussions with broadcasters give them some ideas. They say, We will finance the show, but can we be your partner for this live event? Do you think we can have access to the live event and use it on our platform? So, it becomes a partnership.

TV KIDS: Given the market, what advantage does known IP have?
DI SABATINO: Known IP is an advantage when you have good brands. It’s exactly like talking about tennis or talking about [Rafael] Nadal. We can speak about tennis, and after ten minutes, it will be the end of the discussion. If we speak about Nadal, we can stay together, have a drink and talk for a long time!

We are lucky to have such strong brands, and the reason we acquired Procidis is because it is unique in the edutainment area. It fits in our portfolio. With Totally Spies!, we have volume; we are in season seven and producing season eight. We are also producing volume with Mr Bean, which is in season four, and Hello Maestro is in season eight.

We have announced our partnership with Amazon MGM Studios to make a Totally Spies! live-action adaptation for young adults. I get so excited! I will be an executive producer along with Will Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum and their company, Gloria Sanchez Productions. Amazon MGM Studios is financing the show. We are working closely together to start the creative process and will announce a few things soon.

In addition, because we have talent and creators at Banijay Kids & Family, of the 16 series I was speaking of, some are returning series and some are new. It’s more difficult to create new brands or series from scratch, but we have a new season of Hello Kitty. We also have Super Happy Magic Forest, which we are doing with BBC, CANAL+, Rai, ZDF and ABC Australia. Tom Beattie, the managing director at Tiger Aspect Kids & Family, is overseeing the production—he’s a top producer! The new series are Chimera Keepers: Adventures with Incredible Creatures from Monello Productions and Miniheroes of the Forest from Movimenti in Italy, all created by top producers as well!

TV KIDS: As important as your broadcasters are, when you expose a brand, do you need to be on multiple platforms, or does that additional exposure occur after a show has been on the air for a while?
DI SABATINO: It used to be like that, and now I want to change the game. I want exposure while we are producing the series. A few brands allow us to do that before the launch of the series.

TV KIDS: Because children are everywhere, aren’t they?
DI SABATINO: Yes, they are, and at Banijay Kids & Family, we have a very talented team that handles digital distribution. We have more than 180 digital channels across the likes of YouTube, Amazon and FAST, and they provide very important exposure to our brands and series. We also have marketing, branding and licensing teams, so we can guarantee we will be everywhere children are in one way or another for broadcasters.