Paris-based multinational production powerhouse Banijay Entertainment – which is only getting larger with the combination of All3Media – was on stage at StreamTV Europe in Lisbon on Wednesday, discussing a diversified entertainment strategy for the future.
That includes a pivot to expand from its business-to-business operation model into more of a business-to-consumer player.
“The entrepreneurial spirit sits at the core of our DNA, and like all entrepreneurs we constantly adapt, transform and diversify our business and innovate,” said Banijay Chief Business Officer Frederic Balmary.
While doing so it will continue the vision to become the largest European studio – where it’s already behind shows like MasterChef and Peaky Blinders - with a strong focus on English-language content and streaming services, which now represents more than 20% of the company’s revenue, he noted.
Banijay wants to continue to be a great home for creative talent and expand its catalog, which already counts more than 250,000 hours of content, while also monetizing in the digital space.
But as a producer and distributor of content, he noted the company needs to adapt the business model to more of a business-to-consumer approach – which it’s doing through three complementary strategic pillars, including live experiences, creators in the digital space, and finally sports.
Banijay, Workerbee sees opportunity in women’s sports
On that front, also on stage for the discussion moderated by media cartographer Evan Shapiro was Rick Murray, CEO of Workerbee (a Manchester-based production company acquired by Banijay), who has been working with the larger company’s global team on how to expand the Banijay sports strategy.
While Murray acknowledged global content commissioning has contracted, “sports is something that is never going to go away,” he said, noting there will always be a point of view and ad spend around the category.
Previously Banijay didn’t have much presence in sports, but it has grown to being a key supplier for Amazon in terms of docuseries, according to Murray, including working with large European football (or soccer as we say in the U.S.) clubs and athletes.
“We’ve been spending the last six months kind of coalescing all the global labels and working out, how do we punch into this really exciting, really meaningful space as Banijay,” Murray said.
The answer, he said, is that it’s coming in from both the top and the bottom of the market – meaning big global-level conversations with sports federations but also looking at the way YouTube channels are making an impact on sports coverage.
As the company pivots across the board, in addition to having large conversations around sports, Murray noted Banijay feels it should also “be taking that scrappy start-up approach and coming in at the ground level as well.”
And that means looking to social video platforms like YouTube, where it has plans to launch sports-focused channels in different markets.
“We are going to be launching sports YouTube channels in different territories and looking to build a network of those around the world,” Murray said, including with creators, athletes and people that bring communities.
“It’s that community-led first audience that will then attract brand and investments that we can build something global and eventually attract sports rights.”
He did clarify that the company doesn’t have a particular appetite for getting into battles over pricey sports rights, but wants create great content for audiences and eventually get to a place where it has built some leverage.
And as Shapiro noted 40% of the world’s sport is performed by women yet only 4% of TV coverage of sports is women’s sports, Murray agreed Banijay sees that as an opportunity.
“Actually, it’s a fantastic opportunity because it’s such a growth area,” he commented, noting that the company is thinking about what the future of sport is and what it might look like in five years, “and I think women’s sport is a huge part of that.”
“So getting involved in that in a big way, would be a wonderful way to grow our presence,” Murray said.