The boss of the world’s largest independent studio just put a price tag on ambition — and issued a warning to Hollywood. Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti revealed the company has spent €1 billion ($1.1 billion) on “creativity” over the past four years, but cautioned that US giants must offer better “rewards” for European producers if the system is to survive.
Marco Bassetti (Credits: Deadline)
The Italian-born executive laid out the figure — a significant outlay for an independent producer — during a fireside session at Rome’s MIA Market. A Banijay representative clarified that the €1B covers everything from production costs and scripted TV deficits to cash unlocked through incentives and funds. The scale of the bet is real: Banijay made 110 shows for streamers in a single year.
Bassetti’s message wasn’t a victory lap. He argued the spending is unsustainable unless global streamers and studios better reward breakout hits — pointing to IP retention and fairer remuneration as essential as broadcasters’ budgets shrink. The core fight, in his framing, is over recognition and rewards for creativity: European producers must hold their ground in negotiating terms of trade, keeping hold of the rights to the shows they make.
The IP at Stake
This is no abstract argument. Banijay’s catalogue includes some of the biggest formats on the planet — The Traitors, Big Brother, MasterChef — plus scripted heavyweights like Peaky Blinders and Black Mirror. When a show becomes a global phenomenon, who owns the upside matters enormously.
A Giant Still Growing
Banijay Entertainment itself generated €4.3 billion in revenue while operating in an original-content spend market worth an estimated €67 billion. Fresh off its merger with All3Media — creating a combined independent powerhouse — the company is now eyeing US scripted expansion, a push chairman Jeff Zucker has publicly backed.
Bassetti’s warning lands as the global content business wrestles with consolidation, shrinking broadcaster budgets and the rise of platforms like YouTube, which he has also questioned for operating outside traditional regulation. His bottom line: European creativity is expensive, it’s world-class — and it needs to be paid like it.
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Source: Deadline — read the full story there.
