GlobalData analysis: Banijay H1 in the spotlight

• In H1 2024, FL Entertainment reports revenues of €2,093m, up 8.6% from H1 2023.
• The production division saw revenues fall 6.9% year-on-year, with the company attributing this to seasonality and anticipating an uptake in the second half of the year following the launch of major scripted events including Marie-Antoinette for Canal+ and Carême for Apple TV+.
• Live experiences double in revenue and grow to €150.7m due to the consolidation of Balich Wonder Studio and continued expansion in live events production of major events including the UEFA Champions League Final, UEFA Euro 2024 opening ceremony, and the Vogue World Show in Paris.
• Banijay adds a further 10,000 hours of content to their catalogue bringing it to a total of 195,000 hours.

Banijay parent company, FL Entertainment, reports revenues of €2,093 for H1 2024

• EBITDA for the group was recorded at €367.5m, which is a strong 12.3% growth YoY.
• The entertainment business division is further split into production, distribution, and live experiences, which reported revenues of €1,097.5m, €147.6m, and €150.7m respectively.

Production revenue makes up 52% of total earnings

• The group operates over 130 labels across 20 markets and scales each year through an aggressive M&A strategy.
• Their most recent acquisition was Caryn Mandaback Productions in June 2024, an independent company specialising in scripted content that produced critically acclaimed drama productions such as Peaky Blinders. As part of the agreement, Banijay now owns 100% of the rights for the IP.

Upcoming projects

• Totally Spies! Live action series in collaboration with Amazon MGM for Amazon Prime. The original French cartoon is commissioning an eighth season, is already sold in more than 220 territories and attracts a social media following of 3 million.
• Peaky Blinders movie adaptation for Netflix, following the acquisition of Caryn Mandaback Productions.
• Full Moon for Amazon Prime, a feature by NL Film to be released in Dutch cinemas as well as the streamer.
• Building the Band, an exclusive music competition format for Netflix.
• The Fifty (s2) for Amazon Prime Germany, Headliners for ABC Australia, Bergerac on UKTV and Nothing can erase you for TF1 in France

Production highlights

Some of the highlights Banijay references for 2024 so far include:

• Ripley for Netflix, ranked in the platform’s global English top 10 for two weeks and gained 13 Emmy nominations.
• Raising Voices for Netflix Spain, ranked as the number one global non-English series and was number one in 42 different territories one week after release.
• Three are the Champions for RTL Germany, which was renewed for a second season and ranked number one for the key commercial demo.
• Operación Triunfo for Amazon Prime Spain, ranked as the number one Spanish premiere for the platform and generating 5bn views on TikTok.
• Love is Blind for Netflix Sweden, the most popular non-scripted series in the territory.
• Celebrity Big Brother (UK), the highest rated show in the slot for young adults on ITV1 with 25 million impressions on X.
• Hunted into the Wild VIP (Netherlands), the top-performing programme for NPO1 for young adults.
• MasterChef (Italy), delivering the best season since 2017 for Sky Uno.

Banijay adds +10,000 hours to their distribution catalogue, naming MasterChef, Home and Away, and Survivor as the top 3 top-selling programmes of 2023

• Banijay’s portfolio now carries more than 195,000 hours of TV content and, in April, was awarded ‘Distributor of the Year’ by K7 Media.
• Speaking to Broadcast, Banijay mentioned Mexico, Turkey and Colombia as current high-priority territories for their distribution strategy.
• In 2023, the group delivered 145 new format launches, accounting for 29% of the industry’s total new unscripted launches. Identified by the company to be in high-demand, dating, adventure, gameshows, and reality formats are key areas of focus.
• Banijay points to the success of MasterChef, the world’s most successful cooking TV format, Deal or No Deal, now commissioned in 84 territories and Survivor which was the top reality show on Paramount+ in the US.

Banijay’s Q4 2024 drama slate set to strengthen the second half of the year

• In the second half of the year, Banijay expects a strong pipeline of content adding to their scripted slate with new seasons of premium drama Marie-Antoinette for Canal+, Carême for Apple TV+, The Rig for Amazon Prime Video, and SAS Rogue Heroes for BBC One in the UK.

 Talking to Screen International, Banijay executives summarised their ambitions for the rest of 2024 as follows

• Continue building scale both organically and through M&A.
• Diversify their business through digital, live events and branded entertainment, demonstrated by the acquisition of live experience company Balich Wonder Studio and the launch of Banijay Events division.
• Grow and retain talent, as signalled by strategic investment in Hyphenate Media Group with Cris Abrego and Eva Longoria.
• Continue evolving their mainstream, premium scripted offering.
• Maximise brand exploitation of their IP portfolio via distribution, partnerships with clients, commercial and digital opportunities. The company currently operates 22 FAST channels across multiple genre solely curated either around IP, genre or brand.