Banijay, owner of Big Brother franchise, and All3Media in talks to merge TV production businesses: Report

Banijay Group, the French media production company known for owning the “Big Brother” franchise, is reportedly in talks with All3Media owner RedBird IMI to combine their television production businesses. Reuters It was reported with reference to sources knowledgeable on the subject.

The potential deal would mark the latest consolidation move in the legacy television industry as producers look for greater scale and broader content libraries to compete with streaming giants.

According to the agency report, it was stated that the talks between the two companies mainly focused on merging Banijay’s Entertainment and Live unit, which also owns “MasterChef”, with All3Media, the producer of the hit TV series “The Traitors”.

If completed, this merger would create one of the largest production groups in Europe, bringing together a wide and diverse slate of popular shows such as “Survivor,” “Peaky Blinders” and “Race Across the World.”

Companies aim to build scale and power

Both companies have sought potential tie-ups with other producers in recent years as legacy television and film production firms aim to build scale and power to counter the growing dominance of streaming giants such as Netflix, Disney and Amazon Prime Video.

A potential deal would likely involve All3Media and its owner, RedBird IMI, injecting funds into the combined entity as it represents the smaller of the two parties, according to the agency report.

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Sources said talks began towards the end of last year after Amsterdam-listed Banijay dropped its pursuit of ITV Studios in the UK and are now at an advanced stage. Reuters.

However, people aware of the development also said that no agreement has been reached yet, adding that neither side is confident that they will ultimately reach an agreement. Reuters reported.

All about the deal

The resulting joint entity will generate revenues of approximately 5.7 billion euros ($6.65 billion), according to 2024 figures published by the companies. Additionally, Banijay’s market capitalization was 3.42 billion euros as of Monday’s close, according to LSEG data.

According to previous reports, All3Media and Banijay had also discussed a merger with ITV’s studio businesses. ITV has since entered talks to sell its broadcast division to Comcast-owned Sky; This deal would leave an independent ITV Studios unit if agreed.

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Banijay had previously explored making a binding offer to acquire All3Media from co-owners Liberty Global and Warner Bros Discovery in 2023. Reuters was reported at the time.

RedBird IMI is led by former CNN executive Jeff Zucker and is also heavily backed by Emirati royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who bought All3Media for 1.15 billion pounds ($1.55 billion) in 2024.

Separately, RedBird IMI’s US-based partner RedBird Capital is backing Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery. However, the revised offer was rejected last week as Warner Bros. decided to stay with streaming giant Netflix.