Banijay Plans US Expansion as Peaky Blinders Creator Marco Bassetti Says Company Does Not 'Envy' American Studios

Banijay, the producer of Peaky Blinders, wants the United States to know its name. Speaking on stage today at MIPCOM, Jeff Zucker, CEO of Banijay Entertainment, spoke of the independent studio's reputation around the world and confirmed the possibility of US scripted productions. Scripted is an area the company aims to develop in the coming years […]

Peaky Blinders producer Baniji wants the US to know its name.

On stage at MIPCOM today, Banijay Entertainment CEO Jeff Zucker spoke of the big indie studio's reputation in other parts of the world and confirmed that a US script is a possibility.

"Script is an area that we will be looking to develop in the coming years. We are well invested and we are ambitious and we see an opportunity," he said.

"Baniji doesn't always get enough credit for the strength of the script he already has," he added. "It has produced major chart-topping titles for Amazon, Netflix and Apple, with more projects on the way. Given the combination of our capabilities and new investment, the US represents a fresh opportunity in scripting." In related news, BBC content director has message to broadcaster and stars of reality TV show 'Badboys' about 'reminding Hollywood community' of power of LA shooting and TikTok star Noah Beck: 'There's a big responsibility when you wear those red shorts'.

His comments came after RedBird IMI's Banijay Entertainment and All3Media merged to create a sprawling production and distribution studio in Europe with more than $8 billion in revenue, making it the largest independent studio in the world. Watch on Deadline

The company is now home to the likes of The Traitors, Big Brother, Black Mirror, Midsomer Murders, Survivor and Deal or No Deal, and its production companies are making future films. The Beatles, along with formats like Netflix and Prime Video in different territories.

Conversation in the early stages of MIPCOM has centered around the likes of Banijay, Fremantle and ITV Studios, the latter of which is set to become an independent business if Sky's takeover of ITV is completed.

We know Baniji is serious about his ambitions in the States and a buyout is an option. Earlier this year, Baniji was linked with a takeover of Lionsgate's Hunger Games studio, but Zucker played his cards close to his chest on stage at Cannes today.

"We're not going to be specific, but Baniji doesn't need anything and is open to big ideas," he said. "That's the advantage of having shareholders who are well-positioned, well-capitalized and ambitious. We'll continue to be opportunistic and look for growth, but we don't have to do anything. There's no company we feel we have to buy."

Baniji and All 3 Media both had much smaller profiles in the US than in the UK and Europe, despite having extensive manufacturing businesses there. Banijay Americas produces Below Deck, MasterChef and The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Big Brother and Vanderpump Villa, while All3Media America is behind The Traitors, Gordon Ramsay Uncharted and Undercover Boss.

Marco Bassetti, CEO of Banijay Entertainment, also noted a focus on the American script market, where Banijay has had little influence to date. "Right now, we're primarily in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and India," he said.

We have some fantastic talent on the team who can continue to create successful scripted shows. Recent examples include the Culpables trilogy, which became Amazon's most watched movie franchise, as well as The Responder, Peaky Blinders and many others.

“There is considerable opportunity in the script. But we have to enter the market with the right people and the right intellectual property and we have to invest in this institution. "Scripts take a lot longer to generate returns than other areas of the business."

Basti, who has been Baniji's CEO in various guises since 2013, offered a bullish assessment of his company's market position following the All3 deal.

"I can't believe how far we've come, but I believe we have a great future ahead of us," Basti said. We can now consider ourselves not only a production company, but also an entertainment company - we can compare with some of the biggest studios in Europe and the United States. "When it comes to companies like Sony and other big studios, we have nothing to envy."

Zucker and Basti took to the stage at MIPCOM in Cannes today to talk about Banji's story. The session began with an extended VT promoting the union between Banijay's and All3's businesses, with a cover version of Louis Armstrong's "Cheek" playing below a high-speed video showcasing their content and union.

Earlier in the meeting, Zucker provided background on the dance that led to the merger, revealing that Basti contacted him just over a week after RedBird IMI closed its acquisition of All3 in 2024.

"The call was to pitch the idea that All3's English language expertise and Banijay's global IP exploitation business could create a stronger business together," says Zucker.

"All3Media had a strong position in English-speaking markets, great companies and a very strong digital business," Bassetti added. "What they were missing was our large international footprint." We have people around the world and the ability to exploit intellectual property in live entertainment, sports, digital and other fields.

"We felt that the combination of these two companies could create one of the strongest businesses in our landscape. That's why I called. We always believed it could be a good combination.

There was also a wider industrial reason. Today, it is important to have a significant footprint and financial capacity to invest and retain talent. We have a fantastic creative network, with about 25 people coordinating creativity around the world. Together, we have even more potential."

Baniji founder and chairman Stephen Corbitt later met with Zucker in New York, although full negotiations for a merger did not begin until then. The following year, once RedBird IMI ended negotiations with ITV over ITV Studios.

Zucker said RedBird IMI had "fairly long discussions with ITV Studios" over six to nine months that "ended up going nowhere."

"At that time, we had been owning All3Media for about a year," he added. Soon after that, we started talking to Baniji, and these conversations went on for another six to nine months. Here we are, two years after acquiring All3Media, and we couldn't be more excited to be here talking about it.

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