Banijay inks French indie pact

Banijay International has scored a deal with French indie La Grosse Equipe.

The deal will see Banijay Group’s sales arm represent La Grosse Equipe’s catalogue of entertainment and factual entertainment programmes internationally.

Furthermore, the pair will work on selected new formats that are developed for the international market.

Ten-year-old La Grosse Equipe has created reality series such as NRJ12’s long-running Les Anges de la Télé Réalité, plus scripted reality series Hollywood Girls, competition series Friendstrip and panel game Face à la Bande.

“This is an exciting development for us – we are looking to broaden our activities and take our shows into the global market and need to tap into the expertise and depth of knowledge that Banijay International has to help us maximise the potential of our shows,” said La Grosse Equipe co-founder Jérémy Michalak.

Another co-founder, Thibaut Valès, added: “Having them on board to work with us as our main distributor will be a huge benefit to our programming as we step up to the next level.”

Banijay International managing director Emmanuelle Namiech said La Grosse Equipe had “established a reputation for putting together shows very cost efficiently and as such can provide programming for all budgets and platforms, which is a real attribute for today’s broadcasters”.

The news comes a day after it emerged Banijay was deep in merger discussion talks with Zodiak Media.