Banijay boss reveals \u20ac1bn creativity spend and demands fairer streaming deals
Banijay put €1 billion ($1.1 billion) into "creativity" over the past four years — and its boss says European producers need a better reward for that risk. Chief executive Marco Bassetti gave the figure during a session at MIA Market in Rome, and warned of trouble ahead if Hollywood studios do not improve the deal, according to Deadline.
Bassetti said the total covers production costs, deficits on scripted TV — the gap between what a drama costs and what a buyer pays upfront — and money unlocked through incentives and funds. It follows a March 2025 interview in which he said Banijay expected its scripted business to reach close to €1 billion the next year. The scale helps explain the spend. The group made 110 shows for streamers in the last year alone.
His sharper message was aimed at streamers. Bassetti criticised them for not sharing back end, meaning a cut of future profits when a show succeeds. He pointed to an unnamed Italian film Banijay made for a streamer that barely returned cash to the producer. That money did not come back.
He urged European producers to push for better terms of trade, the industry rules that decide who owns shows and who earns from them. Without that change, he said, they risk remaining guns for hire, meaning companies paid a fee to make programmes but left with no lasting rights. The warning was blunt.
Banijay can speak loudly because it is large. After its merger with All3Media, the enlarged business is described as the largest independent producer in the world. Its library holds 265,000 hours and includes The Traitors, Survivor, Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, Peaky Blinders, Race Across the World and Midsomer Murders.
The remarks came at MIA, the Rome market for film and television staging its 2026 edition on October 19-23. Organisers billed Bassetti's appearance as a fireside chat on creativity and rights, according to MIA Market, alongside sessions with director Edward Berger and producer Jane Tranter. Bassetti also pointed to changing viewing habits, with younger generations watching more on platforms.
For viewers, this matters behind the screen. Who pays for new ideas decides who can afford to keep making them, and which stories get finished.
