Paris-headquartered independent content creation platform Banijay Group, known for backing shows like “Survivor” and “Keeping up with the Kardashians”, is foraying into the Indian market in partnership with Deepak Dhar, former managing director of Endemol India.
It is setting up its office for India and South East Asia in a 50:50 partnership with Dhar in a bid to expand itss presence in India and South East Asia.
The partnership will see Dhar launching and spearheading the group’s operations in India and South East Asia as Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Banijay Asia.
Banijay Asia will produce scripted and non-scripted content across multiple genres, including digital and films, for India and South East Asia, read a statement.
Dhar, who quit Endemol in December last year after a 14-year stint, will also lead business, content strategies, partnerships and alliances with the region with India being the central focus.
Marco Bassetti, CEO of Banijay Group, said: “Banijay Asia has incredible potential to deliver growth to our group and I am delighted to welcome Deepak into the Banijay family. He has an extraordinary creative talent coupled with clear-cut business insight and I very much look forward to working with him again.”
Commenting on his new role, Dhar said: “Creating innovative and engaging content has been a passion for me and I am always on a lookout for challenging opportunities. After my last role at Endemol, I was looking for an opportunity that could satiate my passion, while at the same time, have the potential to scale at multiple levels.
“This partnership with Banijay group matches perfectly to what I was seeking. Creating a strong foundation in South East Asia is the next crucial step for them and I am excited to be helming this move.”
Some of Banijay Group’s other leading formats and shows include “Versailles”, “Occupied” and “Undressed”.
