FL Entertainment announced the creation of “Banijay Events”, a live events offering which will capitalise on the company’s expertise and success in content production, as well as expand its capabilities within the wider entertainment industry. The newly developed offering will be led by current Chief Executive Officer of Banijay France, François de Brugada. This announcement follows FL Entertainment’s recent new ventures – an investment into The Independents, and the acquisition of Balich Wonder Studio by Banijay.

These investments in the events business, combined with the creation of Banijay Events, showcase FL Entertainment’s ambition to become a global leader in the production of live events. The new offering will sit as part of FL Entertainment’s leading global content production and distribution operations, led by Banijay’s Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti. This strategic initiative is based on the assessment that the live events production industry has significant growth potential.

It remains largely unconsolidated and has a business model very similar to that of content production and distribution, on which media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, was built. Banijay reached €3.2 billion in revenues for 2022, proving the strength of its long-term creative strategy and approach, on which FL Entertainment will further capitalise. Brugada has served as CEO of Banijay France since 2015, building an ecosystem of the best talents, labels and IP, firmly positioning the group as the country’s undisputed production leader.

Having gathered a local holding currently comprising more than 15 production labels, Brugada was responsible for nurturing a local catalogue of almost 3,000 hours of diverse, premium content each year, a portfolio that has continued to evolve and prosper under his guidance. Having first joined Banijay at its inception in 2008 as EVP for Content, Brugada was then appointed Chief Operating Officer, partnering closely with Chairman, Stéphane Courbit, to support the organisation’s initial international expansion ambitions across France, Spain, the US, Nordics, Germany and Australia. In this position, he also initiated internal cross-territory format sharing and helped develop and position the organisation’s worldwide brand.

Evolving and executing the group’s dedicated strategy, Brugada will be tasked with growing this part of the business, developing synergies with the rest of the group, and identifying additional companies to build its dedicated portfolio. Recruitment is currently underway to find a replacement CEO for Banijay France, with Brugada remaining in place until at least September, to ensure a smooth and effective transition period.