Banijay Entertainment and All3Media are combining to form a global powerhouse — is ITV Studios next
With the merger of two vast catalogues of popular shows, the newly merged organisation looks hungry for even more. This is the second big deal we’re covering, and less heavily stage-managed than the Paramount / Warner Bros takeover.
What do we know about the Banijay merger
The official statement is clear — there are cost savings (predicted €50m of cost synergies), accounting niceties and details of the new organisation. The revenue suggestion is around €4.4bn (estimates had the new arrangement been in place for 2024). This now pushes group revenues to around €7.4bn. All very good.
In terms of strategy (we’ll get to the interesting stuff soon), we have various strategic corporate speak options, including:
— Bolster scale in the global entertainment industry [ie get bigger to compete easier]
— Attracting and retaining world class talent
— Grounded in IP ownership across a deep and diverse content portfolio, bringing together world-class IP under one roof and creating the industry’s leading content catalogue of more than 260,000 hours of multi-genre content, including ~45 formats produced in more than 3 territories in 2025 [see below]
— Strengthen positioning with global streaming platforms through the combination of Banijay Entertainment, the most diversified content production platform, and All3Media, with its strong presence across key English-speaking geographies, including a stronger footprint in the UK and the US [and what might this mean?]
What shows are we talking about, and what might be next
Here’s a taster — The Traitors, Big Brother, Survivor, Peaky Blinders, Gogglebox, Grantchester, House of Guinness, The Assassin and Oscar-nominated Hamnet. It’s not a bad list, and just a few of the shows in scope.
In terms of what’s next, there’s been a long-standing interest in purchasing ITV Studios. The Hollywood reporter has mention of this in a call François Riahi (CEO of the overall group) had following announcement of the merger. He rules nothing out and also referenced the Paramount deal as the market trend for consolidation, which we’ve long followed.