Just 12 months after completing a sale of Beyond International to Banijay, Beyond founder and CEO Mikael Borglund (above) has bought back the production business only.
No financial details have been revealed by either party.
Banijay will keep the distribution business Beyond Rights which had a catalogue of 8,000 hours of content from Beyond Productions and other third-party producers.
Beyond Productions has also concluded a five-year first-look distribution deal for Beyond group’s future productions, which secures an ongoing partnership between the two groups.
Just as the deal was made public, Borglund told Mediaweek he will be retaining all current Beyond Production staff and continue working in the Sydney production facility on the lower north shore.
All productions that were worked on during the 12 months of Banijay ownership will become Beyond Productions properties.
Borglund explains buyback
“The opportunity was presented to become an independent producer,” said Borglund. “We previously operated as a public company for 25 years to then being owned by a large public company. Being an independent producer was always something I wanted to do.”
Although the Banijay deal to purchase Beyond International was first revealed in October 2022, it closed on December 30, 2022. “This new deal went through on December 29, 2023, so for 364 days we were part of Banijay.”
See also: Banijay Group grows Australian footprint – taking over Beyond International
As to any differences between where Banijay and Borglund wanted to take the business, Borglund told Mediaweek. “Banijay is more format driven. Beyond has never been a format company. We have always operated more in the documentary/factual space. We are much more Mythbusters than a format.”
“We like doing things like the John Farnham documentary. There was a real market for it here, but it doesn’t really drive Banijay international aspirations.”
Beyond: The horizon
Borglund wouldn’t confirm any productions currently in the works, apart from noting “there are a number of big musical documentaries in production”.
Beyond Productions has a good relationship with Seven where they had succuss with John Farnham: Finding the Voice. They worked a model that had a theatrical release for a brief window followed by a FTA TV screening. Borglund said he expects that is a model they will use again.
The new Beyond Productions will also continue its global ambition that sees it producing content in the US for that country yet uses its in-house facilities to post-produce in Australia.
Beyond had been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1987, but once the Banijay acquisition was completed it became become a wholly owned subsidiary of Banijay and its shares ceased to be publicly traded.
When announcing the deal in 2022, Beyond productions included Back in the Groove, a new dating series for Hulu, produced in partnership with Walt Disney Television Alternative; multi-territory franchise, Love It or List It Australia; and the 8-part scripted series Troppo (co-produced with EQ Media) screening on Freevee USA and ABC Australia.