Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment, is one of the leading distributors of format sales in Asia. With a breadth of format genres and iconic brands including "Big Brother", "Fear Factor", "Deal or No Deal" and "MasterChef" in its burgeoning catalogue, the business has built a strong foundation across the territory. Rashmi Bajpai, EVP Sales Asia, who sits under the ex-EMEA team, headed by Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Acquisitions and Coproductions, discusses the key to the distributor’s success in the region, while breaking down its focus on scripted formats, and broader plans.

Over the past five years, Banijay Rights has worked with more than 50 broadcasters across 16 Asian countries to produce more than 110 seasons of 33 different formats, an even stronger number when you consider territories such as Vietnam and China experienced extensive covid delays with the return of production. This is in addition to Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India, who collectively produce 85-90 scripted and unscripted shows in India every year. To achieve these numbers is no small feat, and recent successes, such as competition reality format "LEGO® Masters", which launched in Japan on TBS last year; celebrated talent show "Your Face Sounds Familiar" on Edutainment TV in Mongolia; "Puzzle Masters" in China; and "MasterChef" in Thailand, continue to drive this pipeline of enviable deals. The company has also seen real success in exploiting catalogue formats such as First and Last Thailand, and Minute to Win It Philippines. “These are just some examples of how we mine the markets and catalogue to offer a variety of entertainment and reality formats,” says Bajpai, adding: “We not only pitch an idea but also ensure we work closely with all stakeholders to produce top quality, engaging content that meets the clients’ programming and budgetary requirements.”

Banijay Rights has an extensive catalogue of over 5,000 formats, which includes superbrands "MasterChef", "Big Brother", "Survivor", and "LEGO Masters", as well as scripted titles like "Younger". The comedy-drama based on the hit "Darren Star" ("Sex and the City)" U.S. series is being developed in China and South Korea. “We have formats to offer every client and territory, and being a well-established, reputable player, the added experience from our production companies and consultants is invaluable,” explains Bajpai. “In 2024 we further increased our regional production presence via the launch of CreAsia Studio by Banijay Asia, led by Jessica Kam. Bolstering Banijay Entertainment’s regional stronghold, we now benefit by having additional production counterparts, and cross-territory creative strength. In both sales and production Banijay Entertainment is persistent in its approach, along with a “can do” attitude which is crucial in localising ideas and offering flexibility within the brands’ guardrails,” she adds. “We are specialised in working with our partners to respectfully customise formats to serve local needs, maintaining the strong cultural identity of each territory in which we operate. From an emerging territory like Sri Lanka to an evolved market like Thailand, we leave no stone unturned to service our clients’ needs, while maintaining the strong pillars on which our formats were built.” 

Banijay Entertainment has long had a significant presence in India. Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India, both led by Deepak Dhar, work with nearly every partner to produce originals, and Banijay Entertainment-owned or represented IP. “India is a dynamic TV market, multi-lingual and presents a lot of opportunities,” Bajpai says. “The business has seen a lot of success in scripted format adaptations such as crime-thriller drama "Aarya" (Disney+ Hotstar), which has been adapted from "Penoza", and unscripted formats like "Big Brother" (Asianet, Disney+ Hotstar), "Fear Factor" (Viacom), "Temptation Island" (JioCinema), "Survivor" (Zee5), "MasterChef" (SonyLIV), "Deal or No Deal" (&TV), "Wipeout" (Imagine TV), and "Minute to Win It" (Colours TV) in India. And, despite commissioning shifts and economic challenges, demand here remains high.” 

To date, Thailand has been one of the company’s most successful territories in terms of the number of formats adapted. This is partially due to support from Thai producers who acquire formats rather than only relying on local broadcasters to do so. “Producers underwrite the costs and monetise the project by blocking a timeslot from the free-to-air broadcasters,” Bajpai says. “This business model puts more revenue in the hands of independent producers, and in doing so, strengthens their affinity with the IP, and heightens their inclination to deliver on quality and creativity to hook local audiences.” 

Banijay Rights is also seeing a lot of brands land well in Thailand and "MasterChef" and its various adaptations have always resonated via its partnership with Heliconia. Other successful commissions include "The Face" with Kantana, and studio-based gameshow "First and Last", a recurring property that does well for Workpoint TV.

“Indonesia is a territory that historically has not been well-associated with formats,” explains Bajpai. “Classic superbrands tend to perform with extended slots, but primarily, it is a region which enjoys long form-content, so episodes tend to run longer than 60 minutes. Naturally, this means we are mindful in our approach with international format structures, suggesting upwards of one-hour run-times. "MasterChef" has been going strong for 11 seasons and we will have another iteration coming next year. We consider Indonesia to be a key growing market, and you will soon see more Banijay Entertainment adaptations, inclusive of scripted formats.”

“Across the region, Philippines has always been an important market for us with "Pinoy Big Brother" being a grand success, and currently on-air with its 11th season. The Filipino audience is an early adopter of good formats no matter the genre, which is how we have delivered six seasons of "Deal or No Deal", and four seasons of "Minute to Win It", with both making much-anticipated comebacks next year,“ Bajpai says.

In discussing Asia at-large, it would be an oversight not to mention South Korea. “We are always looking to strengthen our ties in the territory, simply because it offers so much opportunity. Not only have we licensed our scripted format Younger to SLL studios and are eagerly waiting for the production to begin, but we have also licensed one of our fastest-moving, family entertainment formats, "LEGO Masters", to JTBC. At Banijay Entertainment, we are always keen to explore new and innovative ideas and collaborations, that are complementary to our in-house creations, so we have multi-territory format acquisitions from our Korean partners like CJ and JTBC. Most recently we acquired the U.K. format rights from CJ for "Genius Game", and the local adaptation will be produced by Remarkable Entertainment (part of Banijay U.K.) for ITV. Interestingly, our scripted formats are also gaining a lot of traction there, so we continue to explore suitable partners with whom we can expand our moves further, given South Korea’s leading position in the scripted charts both locally and on the global stage,” Bajpai says.

And it doesn’t stop here… Banijay Rights has seen real ambition from other South Asian territories. “Bangladesh is a fast-growing market, and we are confident it will become an adaptor of international formats in the near future. The signing of "MasterChef", set to be produced next year, is an early indication of this.” Bajpai says. “We had licensed "MasterChef" in Pakistan many years ago and are trying against all odds to revive our format business there, and with Sri Lanka, while also an important territory, its production costs have been a significant roadblock. In order to open up these territories, our current tactic is to get some of our sponsor-friendly brands adapted there. "Money Drop" is already popular in Sri Lanka; and Cambodia has done a remarkable job with its return season of "MasterChef" this year, so hopefully we will see more to come from there as well. In Myanmar, despite the civil unrest, the broadcasters have done a great job in ensuring TV audiences do not lose hope and are continually served with uplifting entertainment. "Don’t Forget the Lyrics" for instance has been produced and broadcast in the territory, and we hope the situation returns to normality soon.”

Banijay Rights’ strategy has always been to forge close partnerships with clients - not just on the creative adaptation - but also in ideating and helping them with creative solutions to finding sponsors and brand associations. “An idea will open a dialogue with the client but to sign on the dotted line, must find financial solutions to convince the client on the feasibility,” explains Bajpai, who adds: “the company is focusing on building our scripted formats business by finding suitable stories for each country.” Indeed, different stories resonate with different audiences, so a sensitive, tailor-led approach is key. For instance, some territories prefer women-led protagonists, whilst others prefer action and male-skewing stories. The key is in developing deep-rooted client partnerships, listening to our own producers, and remaining adaptable to market and societal shifts. “Our focus remains on developing our key titles for markets that are receptive to scripted formats across Asia, while keeping a close eye on format renewal opportunities.” In addition, as production budgets seem prohibitive with marketers tightening their budgets, Bajpai says “we are open to co-production and co-financing opportunities, where they make sense in the sharing of costs and rights.”

Bajpai concludes: “Like most territories, Asia comes with its challenges and opportunities. We are now seeing incredible growth in certain markets but also a proliferation of South Korean, Chinese and Thai content gaining traction. It is important to stay relevant, ahead of the curve, and above all, have operational flexibility to provide complete solutions to our clients.”

Brought to you by Banijay Rights

▶ Published in ContentAsia September 2024 magazine