Banijay Bows Global Accelerator Program to Bolster Female Creators Working on Unscripted Formats
Banijay has launched a global accelerator program aimed at supporting female creators developing promising unscripted formats. The company has also commissioned a first-ever study on women in the non-fiction space.
Named Banijay Launch, the competitive program was unveiled at Mipcom by Sharon Levy, Endemol Shine North America CEO and James Townley, Banijay’s CCO of development. Levy and Townley, who are the driving forces behind the initiative, are launching a global portal for submissions on Tuesday.
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“We are always looking for the next ‘Survivor,’ for the next ‘Big Brother,'” Levy said. “But every time we hear about studies on women in business, most of them – all of them – are about scripted. No one has really looked at the non-scripted numbers,” she continued. This is about to change.
Banijay will select top three to five finalists who will then be mentored by a local creative to develop their formats. The competition will culminate with a live pitch presentation before a panel of judges led by Levy and Townley.
Fellow judges include Marco Bassetti, CEO at Banijay, Pilar Blasco, Banijay Iberia CEO, and Abby Greensfelder, founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios. A winner will be announced during the London Screenings in 2024.
“We will invest in the idea, hopefully get it commissioned and it might become the next global superbrand,” said Townley.
To support the program, Banijay Americas odered a study on women in non-fiction with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in partnership with Everywoman Studios.
The study will focus on four territories: the U.S., the U.K., Brazil and one EU territory. Each territory will have its own ambassador overseeing the project.
“We are very keen to attract the best talent, to retain the best talent and to be inclusive, as much as possible,” said Bassetti.
Levy, meanwhile, said “one of the things we know is that there are not enough of us making great shows. Now, we get to use the best Banijay has to offer and that’s exciting to me. We will actively be looking for the best format globally and empowering women in doing so.”
Levy revealed that she was inspired to create this initiative after participating in the Propelle – Realscreen Summit, a female-focused accelerator program created and developed by Greensfelder.
“It was about mentoring women content creators and it was such a rewarding experience. It’s something that can open up a great creative pipeline globally and foster some great relationships,” Levy said, adding that “this business is so much about relationships and cultivating them.”
According to Greensfelder, “there just aren’t enough women creators in the unscripted business.”
“Often, they can’t even get a pitch. They can’t get in the door. The idea was to pair established heads of production companies, like Sharon, with up-and-comers. People who have great ideas, but they don’t have access,” she said.
“The opportunity to really supercharge women creators globally is something that’s so important. When you have the footprint that Banijay has, it feels like a perfect initiative to be behind,” agreed Townley. “You don’t have to be in a creative role to have a creative idea. This is really important and this is exactly what we are trying to do.”
Talking to Variety after the event, Levy reflected on the recent success of “Barbie” and said that although the movie was a giant hit, it “doesn’t mean that people are listening to women. They listen to Greta Gerwig, and she killed it, but I would like a lot more.”
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