BANIJAY ELEVATES CRIS ABREGO TO TOP AMERICAS ROLE

Banijay announced the final structure for its operations across the Americas, with Cris Abrego stepping up in a new overarching role. As Chairman of the Americas at Banijay, and President and CEO at Endemol Shine Holdings, Abrego will now have principal responsibility for North America and Latin America, reporting to Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti.

He previously served as CEO of Endemol Shine North America and Chairman of Endemol Shine Americas, having taken up the positions in 2016. Originally joining Endemol Shine North America in 2014 as CO-CEO, in 2016 he was given added oversight of the company’s Latin American operations as Co-Chairman of Endemol Shine Americas.

Former co-founder and Chief Executive of Endemol Shine-owned studio 51 Minds Entertainment, he is one of the leading creators and producers of reality television in the United States, recognized globally for pioneering the celeb-reality genre. Most recently, he led the successful launch of production labels in both Brasil and Mexico for Endemol Shine, as well as a push into Spanish-language programming in the United States and across Latin America. 

Abrego’s new footprint is behind hit titles including “Big Brother” (CBS), “MasterChef” (Fox), “Lego Masters” (Fox), “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Bravo), “Keeping up with the Kardashians” (E!), “Utopia” (Amazon Prime Video), “Ball in the Family” (Facebook Watch), T”.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” (VH-1) and the upcoming return of “Wipeout” (TBS), among many others.

“Cris has long been a significant figurehead in the US content ecosystem. Respected, creatively triumphant and a driver of positive change, he has all the qualities to strategically and effectively lead one of our largest territories,”  Marco Bassetti said. “With nine labels split across North and Latin America, spanning everything from entertainment to scripted, he has oversight of some of the region’s most celebrated IP and we’ve no doubt our pipeline and reputation will only soar under his leadership,”  he added.

“I am truly excited about this new role and the opportunity that it allows me and our team to continue building on the tremendous momentum we’ve created at Endemol Shine over the last five years across North America and Latin America. I’m also looking forward to working closely with Marco and our new Banijay colleagues here in the United States and around the globe. Together we are now home to many of the biggest titles in our industry and our teams are currently developing the hits of tomorrow,”  Abrego commented.

Abrego’s full portfolio of award-winning businesses now includes Endemol Shine North America, Bunim/Murray Productions, Authentic Entertainment, Truly Original, 51 Minds Entertainment, Stephen David Entertainment and YellowBird US. He will also have full oversight of Endemol Shine Latino, the company’s Spanish-language sales and development arm that leads all original programming initiatives across Latin America, including Mexico City-based studio Endemol Shine Boomdog and Endemol Shine Brasil in Sao Paulo. Banijay Studios North America will continue to be run independently by President and CEO, David Goldberg.