European TV production giant Banijay (Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror, MasterChef, Survivor) reported lower first-quarter 2024 revenue, Amsterdam stock exchange-listed parent company FL Entertainment Group disclosed on Wednesday. The parent also unveiled a rebranding that changes its name to Banijay Group, effective immediately.
The total rebranded Banijay group’s quarterly revenue hit $1.0 billion euro ($1.1 billion), up 10.6 percent over the year-ago period. But content production revenue was down 2.3 percent assuming constant currencies, and distribution revenue was down 12.5 percent on the same basis at the company’s Paris-headquartered powerhouse Banijay media and entertainment business, led by CEO Marco Bassetti and chairman Stéphane Courbit. Including live experiences division Banijay Live, revenue here was up 3.1 percent, “reflecting amplified seasonality of major scripted show deliveries and revenue recognition towards fourth quarter 2024 compared to 2023.”
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the total group jumped 11.2 percent to 164 million euro ($178 million).
The full group on Wednesday also boosted its full-year 2024 guidance for organic adjusted EBITDA growth to the low teens percentage range from the high single-digit range. Banijay emphasized that it expects “continued growth … across all business segments with stronger-than-anticipated performance at online sports betting and gaming.” It also noted a “strong pipeline of scripted show deliveries anticipated in the fourth quarter 2024, including Marie-Antoine for Canal+ in France and SAS Rogue Heroes for BBC One in the U.K.”
Earlier this year, the Banijay production arm said that its content catalog expanded by 30 percent in 2022 to 160,000 hours.
Banijay Group aka FL also includes other businesses, such sports betting and gaming firm BetClic Everest. The Banijay media business has grown through acquisitions over the years, including its takeover of Zodiak Media in 2016 and Endemol Shine Group in 2020.
FL became publicly traded on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange last July.
“FL Entertainment will become Banijay Group, incorporating Banijay Entertainment, Banijay Live and Banijay Gaming,” said François Riahi, CEO of Banijay Group. “This strategic rebranding reflects the complementarity and the synergy potential between our existing activities and underlines our ambition
to position ourselves as European entertainment leader.”