Fiction
Endemol lines up 17 Latin American networks for ?q’viva! the chosen
MUMBAI: Television format creator and distributor Endemol has closed deals with networks across Latin America for XIX Entertainment’s ?Q’viva! The Chosen.
The Endemol team (Daniela Busoli from EndemolBrazil, Martin Kweller from EndemolArgentina, Mauricio Piccone from Endemol Latino and Veronique Verges from Endemol Worldwide Distribution) has delivered a distribution platform of 17 Networks covering all 21 Latin American markets for the talent series starring Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
with show producer Jamie King.
?Q’viva! The Chosen, which seeks out today’s greatest talent in Latin music, artistry and dance, is being broadcast in three languages.
Networks throughout Central and South America will follow reaching a trans-continental audience of Spanish and Portuguese speakers with an English language version of the show airing in due course.
Endemol Argentina is XIX’s pan-Latin American production partner for the series, which was filmed through the second half of 2011 in cities and villages across 21 countries, including the US and Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Peru.
Broadcast in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, ?Q’viva! The Chosen documents all the drama in the stories and personal journeys that Jennifer and Marc uncover as they travel across the continent over three months, assembling a cast of performers to create a spectacular live event and the greatest ever celebration of Latin culture.
XIX Entertainment CEO Simon Fuller comments, “The Latin American viewing audience is an underestimated powerhouse and Q‘Viva is our recognition and celebration of this plain fact. To showcase this amazing project to its full potential we’re delighted to work with Endemol to put together an unprecedented broadcast opportunity to ensure that the show is seen in every country of theAmerica‘s.”
?Q’viva! The Chosen will climax in what is expected to be the biggest Latin American live show ever, staged at a major venue in the US.
Fiction
Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
