NBCUniversal Formats and Banijay Asia Strike Co-Production Partnership

~ Territory-leader picks up local rights to some of Universal Studio Group’s iconic titles in India ~

Mumbai, 24th February 2021: NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group has signed a co-production deal with  Banijay Asia to adapt a number of its iconic, world-class formats in India.

The country’s leading producer, Banijay Asia, will now represent and work with Universal Studio Group to create local versions of award-winning scripted and entertainment titles Suits, House, Monk, Saturday Night Live, The Titan Games and Top Chef across the region. The carefully curated portfolio will be reimagined for a new audience across the linguistically diverse and culturally rich region, having already achieved great success in the US and across the globe.

This deal marks the first co-production agreement  for NBCUniversal Formats in India, as it strives to create more local content across Asia and the globe. To date, Suits has already been adapted successfully for audiences in Japan and Korea; Saturday Night Live has been a ratings success in Japan, China and Korea; and Top Chef continues to perform well in Thailand and Vietnam.

Enrique Guillen, EVP, Commercial Strategy & International Development, Universal Studio Group says “these stories, characters and formats have proven to have universal appeal. The broad reach and expertise of Banijay Asia across scripted and unscripted content makes them our ideal partner to develop and produce these titles for Indian audiences in the language and form that they prefer.”    

“These titles are proven hits and carry significant gravitas in the market, with many ingrained in the cultural zeitgeist worldwide” says Deepak Dhar, CEO and Founder, Banijay Asia. “Entertaining, story-driven and hugely adaptable, there is no doubt, with the right talent and partners, we can get India talking about these shows too.”

Most recently, Banijay Asia, part of leading global group, Banijay, was behind the nation’s ratings-winning-hit, Into the Wild with Bear Grylls.

About NBCUniversal Formats:

NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the international sales division for all formats created within the production, broadcast and streaming divisions of NBCUniversal and Sky Studios, as well as select third parties. The division fosters an array of strategic alliances, co-production and co-development partnerships to bring new and existing content to the global market.

NBCUniversal Formats represents a vast and diverse slate of non-scripted and scripted formats. Leading brands include global success series Top Chef, hit game show Hollywood Game Night, Emmy award-winning comedy showcase Saturday Night Live, global franchise The Real Housewives, entertainment formats World of Dance, The Titan Games and Songland, factual entertainment shows The Big Hospital Experiment and Best Parent?, in addition to scripted formats Suits, House, The Sinner, The Good Place and Superstore.

About Banijay Asia:

Banijay Group, a leading content producer and distributor, entered the Indian & South East Asian market in 2018 under the guidance of Deepak Dhar. The content creator conglomerate witnessed various associations including Salman Khan’s SK TV that recently brought back ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’, MS Dhoni’s Dhoni Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. that co-produced Roar of the Lion, on Hotstar Specials and their collaboration with Group M’s – Motion Content Group, Wavemaker, Talpa and The Natural Studios with Bear Grylls. Apart from that, Banijay Asia has also produced various eminent shows like Ruskin Bond’s Ghost tales - Parchayee, Hostages, Myntra Fashion Superstar with Sushmita Sen, ARRived with AR Rehman, Into the Wild with Bear Grylls with Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar, Flipkart's Ladies Vs. Gentlemen with Riteish Deshmukh And Genelia Dsouza, Jammin and Shrikant Bashir.

About Banijay:

Banijay stands as the largest international content producer and distributor; home to over 120 production companies across 22 territories, and a multi-genre catalogue boasting over 88,000 hours of original standout programming.

A collective of creative entrepreneurs, the group represents some of the biggest global brands including Survivor, Big Brother, Peaky Blinders, Temptation Island, MasterChef, Wallander, The Kardashians, Mr Bean, The Wall, Hunted, Black Mirror, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Deal or No Deal among others. Imagining and delivering high-quality multi-genre IP that was born locally and travels globally, the business offers the best stories told the best way.

Built on independence, creative freedom, entrepreneurialism and commercial acumen, the company, launched in 2008, operates under the direction of Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti.