Lucas Green is Banijay's Chief Content Officer, Operations, and also co-leads Creative Networks. He is responsible for overseeing the group's superbrands and existing formats. By promoting best practices in production formats and reboots, he defines the global strategy for world-class content and priority titles, driving rollouts, reinventions, and spin-offs. In a conversation with Señal News, he reflected on the characteristics of superbrands, their consumption by different generations, and their impact on everyday life.
What are the main features a show needs to have to be called a superbrand?
"It needs to have universal appeal, and for that, I think it needs to be able to find a broad audience and work in many territories. I think we have some key themes in our superbrands: adventure, human interpersonal relationships, reality dating relationships, aspiration, and life-changing competition. You can change your life if you win "MasterChef," but you can also change your life if you win "Deal or No Deal". Given those universal themes, it makes all of those shows popular in many territories, whether you speak Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, German, or Chinese. The universal themes allow them to travel. For us, the superbrand is a big local show, and it could be a big brand in your own territory, but it does not have an international appeal."
That definition agrees with the "Think local to be global" concept. Or vice versa?
"Whether it's unscripted or scripted, content has to be authentic, and the viewers need to be able to relate to it. Even Netflix uses this phrase, which is "mirror moments". So, do you see a scripted show or an unscripted show, and can you envision yourself, your life, or your friends' lives in those shows? Whether it's local for local or local for global, it has to feel real. Often, local drama is very successful when you see locations, people, and stories that you can relate to. However, for unscripted content, the location and setting are probably less relevant, as you're likely to be in a studio, on a beach, or in a jungle. So, it already feels like a very international setting."
Why is it essential for a superbrand to be part of its audience's everyday conversations?
"It needs to resonate on social media because we know now that those platforms are a crucial part of the marketing of these brands. It needs to be something that we can all discuss with each other. TV and content continue to play a significant role in our lives, serving as a social glue that unites people. People often prefer not to discuss their jobs, war, or financial problems. There are a lot of difficult subjects for us to talk about, so if you can talk about a reality show or a sports show, it's neutral territory that we can have fun and we can tease each other, and it's not offensive, and we can talk about it, and it's the same. If you're talking about reality shows, it's not going to hurt you that much. We can have a debate, an argument, and even get emotional about it. We love human interaction, and we can engage with our friends and family. Those reality shows are very bold in how they cast, allowing you, as an audience, to recognize yourself on screen."
Can you explain the key differences across generations in the way they engage with these superbrands?
"No matter how old you are, what country you live in, you relate to those big things like love, loss, grief, and laughter. That's why Banijay produces "LOL" in eleven territories: everybody likes to laugh, and everybody likes to cry. The way content is consumed now is definitely different, and shows on streaming platforms are powerful. The way we produce and structure them to be consumed in much longer chunks highlights the bingeability of these shows. In straightforward terms, how you edit a show and the structure of its narrative have to be different because you don't have catch-ups, and you don't have cliffhangers at the end of each part. You don't need a big cliffhanger at the end of the episode to make people come back a week later. We scripted more like a ten-hour movie that has peaks and troughs and three or four different phases of the drama, rather than structuring it in one or two-hour repeatable episodes."
How important is it to work with a balance of traditional, senior producers and the younger generation?
"Whether you're a producer or a network, you want a mixed ecosystem of content. You want the big IPs and the new IPs, and you want shows that appeal to both young and old audiences. Similarly, you want a variety of producers. You want people who know how to produce the biggest realities on television like 'Big Brother' and 'MasterChef', but you also need the imaginative visionaries who were the producers of tomorrow, saying, 'let's try these different camera methods' or 'let's shoot it differently, let's mix up the narrative'. So, you're constantly challenging everyone in the industry to be more innovative, particularly in post-production, scheduling, and utilizing AI to streamline the process beneficially. It's through learning from each other that the users of the big IPs can gain valuable experiences from the younger generations. AI can't train you to learn about responsibility and the legal framework behind shows, and not having a shoot where something goes wrong and somebody hurts themselves. It is in this way that new producers and traditional producers can learn from each other."
How will superbrands be represented at Mipcom?
"We're heading into Mipcom with a diverse range of bold formats designed to entice global buyers and captivate audiences. Adventure reality continues to thrive, with our original Danish format 'Shaolin Heroes' expanding into three new territories this year, launched in the Netherlands and Belgium, with France next, and further announcements on the horizon. Across the Atlantic, Endemol Shine North America is producing an exciting new reboot, 'Fear Factor: House of Fear' for FOX, fronted by Johnny Knoxville, which is already generating lots of buzz and renewed interest in the format from other markets. Our superbrands remain a hot commodity, with "MasterChef" leading the charge as the world's largest food format, bolstered by successful iterations such as 'Dessert Masters' and 'MasterChef Creators.' Meanwhile, long-running formats such as 'Temptation Island' and 'Big Brother' maintain global appeal, with their longevity and continued recommissions speaking volumes. From a market perspective, we're seeing a significant shift towards the creator economy and a digital-first mindset. Many broadcasters and platforms are increasingly pivoting in this direction, and Banijay Entertainment is at the forefront, actively developing formats in this space with the likes of 'Mission Unknown: Atlantic' with Knossi, as well as leveraging platforms like YouTube, where one of our key Mipcom highlights, 'Let's Play Ball,' first gained traction."
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