BANIJAY LAUNCHES NEW COMMERCIAL UNIT: BANIJAY BRANDS

Banijay announced the launch of Banijay Brands, a division dedicated to all areas of commercial activity. The area will launch at next month’s Festival of Licensing with senior executives available for meetings at the virtual conference.

Led by newly-appointed Chief Commercial Officer, Owain Walbyoff, Banijay Brands will encompass brand licensing, merchandising, gaming, gambling and music. The operation will represent an extensive and diverse portfolio covering entertainment, scripted, animation, game shows and kids, which offer a wide range of commercial opportunities.

Following the recent acquisition, Jane Smith, Group Director, Brand Licensing will lead the licensing area, overseeing key brands from the international content catalogue, comprising of 88,000+ hours of original programming. She will also work with the network of teams in local markets to further expand the business. Smith joined Endemol Shine in 2018, where she has substantially driven the growth of properties such as “MasterChef,” “Peaky Blinders” and “Simon’s Cat” within licensing and merchandising.

“Without a doubt we are a market leader in this space, and I look forward to seeing how we bolster the IP even further. Jane is a highly-experienced, strategic executive with vast industry knowledge, and with some of the world’s biggest brands in our portfolio, the possibilities are endless,”  said Owain Walbyoff, Chief Commercial Officer at Banijay Brands.

“Banijay Brands represents an incredibly compelling catalogue of globally-renowned, cross-genre brands, which we will be bringing to the Festival of Licensing. By partnering with the very best licensees in the business, we aim to create innovative and impressive products that our audiences and fans will love,”  added Jane Smith, Group Director, Brand Licensing of Banijay Brands.