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Big Brother becomes Banijay format after Endemol Shine merger

Endemol name to disappear in UK after French production giant confirmed plans to phase it out

Endemol Shine’s ownership of the Big Brother format has come to an end after the company was acquired by rival production giant Banijay.

In October, Banijay announced that it had reached an agreement reportedly worth £1.8billion to takeover Endemol Shine, which was previously controlled by Disney and Apollo Global Management.

Following an eight-month wait, the transaction was finally completed last week, when the European Commission ruled that it did not raise competition concerns.

The deal makes Banijay the world’s largest independent content producer, with over 120 labels operating in 22 territories.

French production giant Banijay has now acquired Endemol Shine after the deal was approved by European authorities
Today, the France-based company revealed more details about its intentions moving forward, confirming plans to merge Endemol Shine’s operations with its own – resulting in the Dutch brand being largely phased out.

Therefore, Banijay has now assumed ownership of the Big Brother format, as well as the rest of Endemol Shine’s portfolio – including the likes of MasterChef, The Money Drop and Deal Or No Deal.

They join Banijay’s existing television catalogue, which features Temptation Island, Wife Swap, Fort Boyard and the Kardashians’ shows.

Most notably, this means Big Brother is now managed by the same company as Survivor – the creators of which once unsuccessfully tried to sue Endemol for copyright infringement.

As part of the merger, all of Endemol Shine’s subsidiary production labels will transfer to Banijay.

Banijay has rebranded with a new ‘B’ symbol following the merger – while the Endemol name will be largely phased out

Those which use the Endemol name will retain it – so the Australian and US versions of Big Brother will continue to be made by Endemol Shine Australia and Endemol Shine USA respectively.

However, the moniker will eventually disappear in markets where it is only used for holding companies.

This includes the UK, where the Initial label has overseen Big Brother since 2011 – most recently for E4’s retrospective Best Shows Ever series.

To mark the new chapter in its history, Banijay has undergone a complete rebrand, launching a new signature ‘B’ symbol.

Labels will retain their individual identities, but their logos have been updated to incorporate the ‘B’ and subheadings designating them as ‘a Banijay company’.

This includes Initial, whose logo was previously accompanied by the line ‘part of Endemol Shine Group’.

All of Endemol’s labels, including BBUK producers Initial, will transfer to Banijay – with their logos updated to include the ‘B’
Endemol was formed in the Netherlands in 1994 from production companies owned by television creative Joop van den Ende and billionaire media tycoon John de Mol, its name coming from a portmanteau of their surnames.

De Mol led the brainstorming session that gave birth to Big Brother in 1997. The revolutionary format launched two years later and quickly became a global hit, emerging as Endemol’s biggest asset.

Big Brother celebrated its 20th birthday last year and continues to perform strongly worldwide, scoring no less than eight key revivals over the past eighteen months. The show will soon return to its Dutch homeland after a fourteen-year break.

Endemol became Endemol Shine in 2015 when it merged with Elizabeth Murdoch’s Shine TV and Core Media.

Read more: http://www.bbspy.co.uk/bb19/news/070...#ixzz6RSvPZ3ys

http://www.bbspy.co.uk/bb19/news/070...l-shine-merger