European TV Monsters Merge Bigger

[Mark Jeffries]

Banijay Entertainment of Fthe rance has acquired the UK's All4Media (owned by the US' RedBIrd Capital, headed by former NBC and CNN chief Doog--uh, Jeff Zucker) for $8B, forming what they call the world's largest independent producer for television:

https://variety.com/2026/tv/global/banijay-all3media-complete-merger-set-london-headquarters-1236805746/

Although the company's combined catalog does include scripted programs ("Peaky Blinders," "The Office," "Fleabag") probably the merged Banijay's most well-known titles are on the unscripted side, from the grandaddy of them all "The Real World" to "The Traitors," with "Deal or No Deal," "Survivor," "Big Brother" and "MasterChef" in between, among others.

[Kevin M. (RPCV)]

You can be the “world’s largest” or you can be “independent “, but you cannot be both.