FL Entertainment, Banijay launch live events arm led by Banijay France CEO De Brugada

Banijay’s French parent company FL Entertainment is launching Banijay Events, a live events arm aiming to capitalise on the firm’s expertise in content production.

François de Brugada

Banijay Events will be led by François de Brugada, who will exit his position as CEO of Banijay France to helm the new arm.

The news comes on the heels of FL Entertainment’s recent investment in The Independents and Banijay’s acquisition of Balich Wonder Studio, both of which operate in the events sector.

These investments, combined with the creation of Banijay Events, are part of FL Entertainment’s ambition to become a global leader in the production of live events.

The new offering will sit as part of FL Entertainment’s content production and distribution operations, led by Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti.

De Brugada has been CEO of Banijay France since 2015. With 15 production labels under the Banijay France umbrella, the exec was responsible for a local catalogue of almost 3,000 hours of content each year.

Having first joined Banijay at its inception in 2008 as exec VP for content, Brugada was subsequently appointed chief operating officer, partnering with chairman Stéphane Courbit to support the organisation’s initial international expansion ambitions across France, Spain, the US, the Nordics, Germany and Australia.

François Riahi, CEO of FL Entertainment, said: “The live events business has rapidly soared post-Covid and, given our already-established entertainment assets, it represents a perfect addition to our group and to our strategy to become an integrated global entertainment leader.

“Capitalising on our entrepreneurial production/distribution model, we have great ambitions in this area and are confident this new, reinforced offering will become a destination for creativity and awe-inspiring activity.”

Recruitment is currently underway to find a replacement CEO for Banijay France, with De Brugada remaining in place until at least September.