Exclusive-‘Big Brother’ owner Banijay in talks with All3Media owner to merge TV production units, sources say

By Amy-Jo Crowley and Hadeel Al Sayegh

LONDON/DUBAI, Jan 13 (Reuters) – France’s Banijay Group, owner of the “Big Brother” franchise, is in talks with All3Media owner RedBird IMI to merge their TV production businesses, sources told Reuters, the legacy TV industry’s latest move to compete with streaming giants.

The talks have centred on combining Banijay’s Entertainment & Live unit, which also owns “MasterChef”, with All3Media, the producer of hit TV show “The Traitors”, the two sources familiar with the matter said.

A merger would create one of Europe’s largest production groups, with a slate of shows including “Survivor”, “Peaky Blinders” and “Race Across the World”. 

RedBird IMI, Banijay and All3Media all declined to comment.

TALKS NOW AT AN ADVANCED STAGE

Both companies have sought potential tie-ups with other producers in recent years, sources have previously told Reuters, as legacy TV and film production firms build scale against the growing dominance of streaming giants Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.  

A potential deal would likely include All3Media and owner RedBird IMI injecting funds into the combined entity, as they represent the smaller of the two sides, one of the sources said. 

Talks began towards the end of last year after Amsterdam-listed Banijay dropped its pursuit of Britain’s ITV Studios, and are now at an advanced stage, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.

The sources cautioned that no agreement has been reached, and there is no certainty a deal will happen. 

The emerging joint entity would have around 5.7 billion euros ($6.65 billion) in revenue based on 2024 numbers published by the companies. Banijay had a market capitalisation of 3.42 billion euros as of Monday’s close, according to LSEG.

All3Media and Banijay have also discussed combinations with ITV’s studio business, according to previous reports. ITV has since started talks to sell its broadcast division to Comcast-owned Sky, a deal that if agreed would leave a standalone ITV Studios unit. 

Banijay explored a binding offer to buy All3Media in 2023 from its then joint owners Liberty Global and Warner Bros Discovery, Reuters reported at the time. 

RedBird IMI, led by former CNN executive Jeff Zucker and backed by Emirati royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, went on to buy All3Media for 1.15 billion pounds ($1.55 billion) in 2024.

MEDIA COMPANIES BULKING UP

RedBird Capital, RedBird IMI’s U.S.-based partner, is backing Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery. 

In 2024, France’s Mediawan merged with Leonine Studios, and last year the TV group controlled by Italy’s Berlusconi family, MFE-MediaForEurope, took over rival ProSieben.   

Stephane Courbit, Banijay’s founder and chairman, is the largest shareholder in the Amsterdam-listed group with a 45% stake, while France’s Vivendi holds 19.2%, according to LSEG data.

Banijay also has a gaming arm, which acquired Tipico, the leading sports betting and gaming operator in Germany and Austria, at an enterprise value of 4.6 billion euros last year.

Its entertainment and live experience unit generated 2 billion euros in revenue for the first nine months of 2025, compared with 1.1 billion euros in revenue from its gaming division, according to its latest results.  

($1 = 0.8569 euros)

($1 = 0.7426 pounds)

(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley in London and Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai, with additional reporting by Paul Sandle and Mathieu Rosemain. Editing by Elisa Martinuzzi, Anousha Sakoui and Jan Harvey)