London, 8 March 2024: Coinciding with International Women’s Day, media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today confirms Amber Kane and Emily Wilson as joint winners of its inaugural Banijay Launch program. Kane, a freelancer from Australia, scooped the prize for her high-octane variety talent concept, Double Act; and Wilson, for her original psychological dating format, Can’t Buy My Love. Selecting two owing to the fierce competition amongst the four finalists, the judges commended both entries as “fantastic ideas with significant international appeal.”
Designed to exclusively support women creators with promising unscripted formats, Banijay Launch was unveiled at MIPCOM 2023 and received an extraordinary 500+ applications from 30+ territories. Spanning Australia (Amber Kane), UK (Emily Wilson), France (Yasmina Salmandjee), and Denmark (Lisbet Winther), the respective finalists assembled in London on Tuesday 6 March for the grand finale, where they pitched their ideas to an esteemed jury comprising Endemol Shine North America CEO, Sharon Levy; Banijay Chief Content Officer, Development, James Townley; Banijay Chief Business Officer, Fred Balmary; Banijay Iberia CEO, Pilar Blasco; and Founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios, Abby Greensfelder. But there could only be... two winners!
Kane’s idea was credited by the judges for its brilliant reality elements, highly-clipable offering, and the way in which it taps into the zeitgeist of the “mash-up” in a spectacular way to create a new competition show. Elsewhere, Wilson’s was enjoyed by judges for its twist and turns, strong format pillars, brandable moments, and original “gifting” concept everyone can identify with.
Sharon Levy, CEO, Endemol Shine North America comments: “Banijay Launch was envisioned as a bridge for women to gain access to our industry, and based on the sheer volume and quality of pitches we received, its time was long overdue. Mirroring the global reach of Banijay, we heard from applicants far and wide, and I hope the result illustrates just how strong the four finalists were. The two fantastic women who share the ‘winner’ title had unbelievably competitive ideas that were well- pitched, original, and highly sellable. The ambassadors and Banijay at-large feel fortunate to continue collaborating with them to bring their amazing concepts to life. We are all so proud to have played a role in opening the door to the next generation of talent, and with the study results from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media imminent, we hope to keep doing more to foster a wider community of women in non-scripted.”
Amber Kane says: “I still can’t quite believe it. I had been working on Double Act for six years and it always felt taking it to screen may be impossible given the continued challenges for women in the content industry. However, Banijay Launch truly opened the door for me. Working with the talented Amelia Fisk, I have not only strengthened my idea but also my confidence in pitching, and I look forward to continuing to partner with her, and Banijay’s Creative Networks, in hopefully landing my idea on-screen. I am hugely thankful for the opportunity and feel inspired to keep going with creating great formats for the world to enjoy.”
Emily Wilson says: “As a huge reality TV fan, it was always my dream to create my very own unscripted format that could transcend audiences across the globe. In Can’t Buy My Love I feel I have crafted an original show that I truly believe has all the elements for success, and with the help of Banijay, and my brilliant mentor Claire O’Donohoe, could tap into the buyer demand for social experiments everywhere. I’m hugely grateful for this life-changing experience and look forward to seeing where this opportunity can take me in a career capacity.”
Addressing gender equality by discovering and incubating untapped women talent, Banijay Launch was initiated by Levy, co-led by Townley, and supported by the group’s network of creative ambassadors who nurtured the finalists in developing their bold new formats from concept to pitch, with the aim of the winning ideas eventually landing on screen. It was inspired by the Propelle program, a female-focused accelerator initiative created and developed in 2020 by Everywoman Studios’ CEO, Abby Greensfelder. Both Kane and Wilson will now work with their ambassadors and
Banijay’s Creative Networks to develop their ideas further, and the group hopes to unveil both ideas fully at launch.
Coinciding with the program, Banijay Americas announced the commission of a first- of-its-kind study with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in partnership with Everywoman Studios. The findings of the ground-breaking study, which investigates women’s inclusion in creative leadership roles in unscripted production across Brazil, U.K., U.S., and France, will be unveiled at an event in Los Angeles in May. Further news will follow in the coming weeks.
Notes to editors:
Below are the local Banijay Launch ambassadors who locally mentored their respective candidates through the program process:
Australia: Amelia Fisk, Endemol Shine Australia
Denmark: Line Westi, Metronome
France: Leslie Blumberg, Air Productions
UK: Claire O’Donohoe, Remarkable, Initial, and ZnakTV
For further enquiries please contact:
Kate Humphreys, Global Head of Communication @ Banijay Email: k.humphreys@banijay.com
Tel: +44 7792 222769
About Banijay
Launched in 2008, media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, is home to over 130 production companies across 21 territories, a multi-genre catalogue boasting over 180,000 hours of original standout programming, and a complementary live entertainment business – Banijay Events.
Imagining and delivering high-quality, multi-genre IP that was born locally and travels globally, the business offers the best stories told the best way, and represents some of the biggest global brands in the market including Survivor, Big Brother, Peaky Blinders, MasterChef, Rogue Heroes, Marie Antoinette, Mr Bean, The Summit, Black Mirror, Deal or No Deal Island, and Upside Down among others.
Built on independence, creative freedom, collaborative entrepreneurialism, and commercial acumen, the company, operates under the direction of Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti. It is under his leadership, the business has grown to reach €3.3bn in revenues and €494m in EBITDA for 2023.
About Banijay Americas
Banijay Americas is a leading creator and producer of entertainment content, composed of production companies in the United States and across Latin America. A division of media
and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, Banijay Americas includes subsidiary production companies across two continents – U.S.-based Endemol Shine North America, Bunim/Murray Productions, Truly Original, 51 Minds Entertainment, Authentic Entertainment, and Stephen David Entertainment; Mexico-based Endemol Shine Boomdog and Banijay Mexico and U.S. Hispanic; and Brazil-based Endemol Shine Brasil and A Fábrica. Additionally, the company is set to open Banijay Studios Brasil, a 750,000 square- foot studio facility in 2023. Together, Banijay Americas is home to more than 100 original series, including some of the biggest brands in television, and produces over 1,500 hours of original content per year.
About Everywoman Studios:
Everywoman Studios is a full-service media company, dedicated to women-fuelled content that can create positive cultural impact. Founded in 2019 by veteran producer, Abby Greensfelder – creator of global hits such as Say Yes to the Dress and The Last Alaskans, among others – Everywoman Studios currently has a range of non-fiction series and features in development and production across multiple networks and streamers. The company’s first feature documentary, LFG – which chronicles the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s fight for equal pay – premiered in 2021 at The Tribeca Film Festival before launching on HBO Max. The Emmy-nominated film is credited with helping the players achieve equal pay.
Greensfelder and Everywoman also founded “Propelle,” a content accelerator program for women producers and filmmakers. The first year’s winning project, Prisoner of the Prophet, is streaming now on Discovery+. For more information, please visit Everywoman Studios’ website.
About Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media:
Founded in 2004 by Academy Award Winning Actor Geena Davis, the Institute is the only research-based organization working collaboratively within the entertainment industry to create gender balance, foster inclusion, and reduce negative stereotyping in global family entertainment and media. Visit seejane.org for more information.
