MUMBAI: French content powerhouse Banijay Group is setting up its operations for India and South East Asia in partnership with former Endemol India managing director Deepak Dhar.
Dhar will hold 50 per cent equity in Banijay Asia as its founder-CEO for South East Asia operations. He will head the new business, leading content strategies, partnerships and alliances across the region, with a central focus on India. He stepped down as managing director of Endemol Shine India in December last year having previously held key positions at Star TV, Channel V and MTV.
The new JV, Banijay Asia, will produce content across multiple genres, including digital and films for India and South East Asia. Dhar will lead business, content strategies, partnerships and alliances in the region, with India being central focus.
“Creating innovative and engaging content has been a passion for me, and I am always on a lookout for challenging opportunities,” Dhar said in a statement. “Creating a strong foundation in Southeast Asia is the next crucial step for [Banijay Group] and I am excited to be helming this move.”
Banijay is an independent content creation group for television and multimedia platforms. Spread across entities in seventeen territories, its library includes programming spanning genres like entertainment, drama, factual entertainment, kids and reality; all licensed internationally by its global distribution arm Banijay Rights. Some notable formats include reality television series Keeping up with the Kardashians, crime drama series Underbelly and ABC’s reality television program Wife Swap.
Banijay Group COO Peter Langenberg said, “This is an extremely significant partnership for us as we continue to build our presence in India and South-East Asia, one of the most dynamic and burgeoning regions in the world. We are very excited about the wide-ranging opportunities Deepak’s experience and expertise will bring to the group.”
“After my last role at Endemol, I was looking for an opportunity that could satiate my passion to create innovative and engaging content, while at the same time, have the potential to scale at multiple levels. This partnership with Banijay Group matches perfectly with what I was seeking,” Dhar said.
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