Banijay launches Iberia sports division, adapts Monk in India with Disney+ Hotstar
MIPCOM: Banijay Iberia is launching a new division dedicated to creating and developing sports-related content, while Banijay Asia revealed a separate deal to adapt the American police procedural Monk in India.
Gonzalo Miró
The new sports division is being led by newly appointed head Gonzalo Miró. Its launch, on the first day of Mipcom, comes after parent company, France-based Banijay, launched Banijay Sports last year to more fully capitalise on the opportunities in the sport-adjacent content space.
The move is being spearheaded by Banijay Iberia CEO Pilar Blasco. The company has looked to move further into the sports space over the past year, recently revealing a feature-length documentary The Silence of the Earth, produced by Banijay Iberia-backed Diagonal TV with Crescendo Media Production, in association with Banijay Rights. It has also launched La Liga Studios in a joint venture with the Spanish football top flight.
Miró said he was confident the new division would “attract new talent and pave for the way for more sport-centric, original stories, to make their way onto screens.”
Meanwhile, Banijay Asia has received a greenlight from Disney+ Hotstar in India for a local adaptation of Monk.
The series, which ran on USA Network for eight seasons from 2002 to 2009, follows a detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder who solves unconventional cases while investigating his wife’s unsolved murder. The original Monk format is licensed globally by NBCUniversal Formats, which is part of Universal International Studios.
The Indian adaptation is currently in production and will stream on both Disney+ Hotstar and US streamer Hulu.
Banijay Asia has previously adapted English-language series such as The Night Manager and The Good Wife.
“The original [Monk] series has set a new benchmark for character-driven mysteries, and we believe our adaptation will resonate similarly,” said Deepak Dhar, founder and group CEO, Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India.
