With 170 labels across 25 territories, Banijay Entertainment has plenty of scale. But at Iberseries & Platino Industria, Steve Matthews, head of scripted, creative, made clear that the company’s global strategy doesn’t begin with scale, platforms or market trends. Matthews concurred, arguing that Banijay’s challenge is to build an international network without flattening the creative identities of its individual companies.
The panel brought together Vairo, Simone Oliviera of Brazil’s A Fábrica and Carolina Bang, CEO of Spain’s Pokeepsie Films — three producers working in very different markets but facing the same fundamental challenge: finding material and talent strong enough to cut through an increasingly crowded scripted landscape. At Groenlandia, Vairo said the company’s slate has been built around original stories, often drawn from true events and overlooked characters. Its series about Italian pop band 883, for example, was initially conceived as a one-season project before becoming a returning hit.
The company’s answer to the quality-versus-commerciality equation is straightforward: writers. Groenlandia has cultivated a reputation as a talent-friendly producer, giving writers creative partners who understand and develop their ideas. That relationship, Vairo suggested, is increasingly important as commissioners look for projects that can stand apart rather than simply fit a familiar genre.
A Fábrica’s Oliveira likewise emphasized the importance of building long-term relationships with creators. The Brazilian company works across premium series, films and sitcoms and is developing several projects with writer Raphael Montes, including adaptations and original series. The strategy is less about predicting the next international hit than creating the conditions for one to emerge.
Pokeepsie’s Bang offered a particularly clear example. The company, known for horror and comedy, moved into young-adult storytelling after Bang discovered the books younger members of her family were reading. She fell for the material and spent years trying to get the project made.
You have to believe in what you are doing.” That instinct is increasingly important in a market where trends can become obsolete before a project reaches production. Matthews cautioned against treating market intelligence as a recipe for development. And therefore, it won’t be commercial either.” The trick, he added, is finding the right balance between understanding the market and protecting the creative idea that made the project worth pursuing in the first place.
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