MUMBAI: Banijay Group is soon going to set up Banijay Studios Italy in Rome, hiring Massimo Del Frate, former head of drama at Endemol Shine Italy, to lead the new venture.
As a new scripted player in the Italian market, Banijay will now develop original IP for local broadcasters, while also looking at opportunities to locally adapt Banijay Group’s global content catalogue. Del Frate will look to generate co-productions with other parts of Banijay Group.
“As a leading and well-respected talent in the Italian scripted market, Del Frate is the perfect partner to establish and drive Banijay Studios Italy,” said Banijay Group COO Peter Langenberg as quoted by Rapid TV News.
Del Frate worked in Endemol Shine Italy, as the head of drama and was responsible for growing the scripted division from 2002 to 2018. Previously, he was responsible for scripted operations at Mediaset’s Canal 5.
The new head feels that Banijay’s mission is to establish Banijay Studios Italy as an independent home and partner for leading Italian drama talent, as well as international authors and directors. Collaborating with the top storytellers in the market, Banijay hopes to generate a healthy scripted slate bursting with brilliant and distinctive drama.
The company has worked with a range of media companies in Italy, including the producer of local versions of x Factor, MasterChef, DRY and Don’t Repeat Yourself. The move to expand Banijay’s content creation capabilities follows the opening of a studio in Germany earlier this year.
Banijay Group has already entered the Asian market in partnership with media veteran Deepak Dhar.
An independent content creation group, Banijay Group produces content for television and multimedia platforms. Spread across entities in seventeen territories, its library includes programmes 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.
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