Claire Jago: “We are looking for good content that appeals across the board”

Last July, Banijay Rights confirmed its new sales structure in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The revamped team follows the recent promotion of Claire Jago to EVP, EMEA Sales and Acquisitions, a role that sees her take responsibly for all Banijay Rights’ sales activity in the region. To find out more about this new structure, Señal News chatted with Jago.

▸   How were the first weeks of work after Banijay Rights’ sales restructure in Europe, the Middle East and Africa?

“I do not think anyone would necessarily want to restructure during a pandemic. At the same time, Banijay is a huge company with offices all around the world, so we were able to adapt to people being in different time zones and all over the place quite quickly. We were working remotely for a while before the restructuring, so it was easy to continue working together. The first weeks have been great, as everybody is really eager to spend more time together, without so many restrictions”.

▸   What is the company’s strategy for each of these territories?

“The strategy across the board is to grow in all the regions. We aim to provide excellent programming for our broadcaster clients. Taste in programs obviously differ from territory to territory, but our strategy is to grow our sales in those regions and work together with the broadcasters”.

▸   Which differences do you observe between these territories in terms of clients’ needs?

“EMEA is a large territory with very different tastes, but good programming is what people want, what gets people talking and together. This is especially important after all we have been through, because the pandemic has been a global situation, and everybody seemed to be fading away. Maybe more of a ‘feel-good’ factor in programming has been something that has been present across the whole area. There are definitely differences: some are more into documentaries, crime, some others like soap operas, but the shiny-floor entertainment, that cozy television that gets people reunited, remains. At the same time, good stories and good quality productions will always be key, no matter the territory”.

▸   What are you looking for when it comes to acquiring content for Banijay Rights’ catalog?

“We want to grow as a group, so we are always actively looking to acquire third party content to represent. We have production companies all around the world, so it is great when we can acquire some format and then produce local versions. We are looking for good content that appeals across the board”.

▸   What are your goals for the rest of the year?

“We have a lot of new programming coming through. We were very lucky to keep a lot of drama productions going, so we have many titles ready to launch next year, especially non-English drama from our production companies in France, Italy, Germany, and Israel, to name a few. It is great to be able to work together with these production houses, and when you have a catalog like the one we have, with so many hours and so much quality, not only in the current productions coming through but also in the library, then you really can work closely with all companies, especially with streaming platforms, which need a lot of content. That is great, so we aim to continue working, growing in every territory and providing awesome content”.

By Federico Marzullo