Marco Bassetti has issued one of the clearest calls yet for a reset in the economics of global TV production. Speaking at Rome’s MIA Market, the Banijay Entertainment CEO said the company has spent €1 billion on creativity over the past four years, but warned that European producers cannot keep carrying so much risk without better rewards from Hollywood studios and streamers.
For anyone tracking the future of TV & video, Bassetti’s remarks matter far beyond one company. They touch on the growing tension between independent production groups, international streamers, rights ownership, rising production costs, and the long-term value of creative work in Europe.
Why Marco Bassetti’s warning matters now
Bassetti’s argument is simple: independent producers are doing a disproportionate share of the investing, while too often failing to share fairly in the upside. According to his comments at MIA Market, Banijay made 110 shows for streamers last year alone, underscoring the scale at which major European producers now operate.
The €1 billion figure covers far more than a headline investment number. It includes:
- Production spending
- Scripted TV deficit financing
- Cash unlocked through tax incentives and public funds
- Broader investment tied to getting premium content made
That matters because it shows how much independent groups are fronting to keep the content pipeline moving. In Bassetti’s view, creativity is not being adequately compensated when the producer shoulders costs but sees limited long-tail participation.
European producers want compensation for creativity
The phrase at the center of Marco Bassetti’s message was “compensation for creativity.” He argued that public broadcasters and commercial TV networks are no longer the main engines of investment in original ideas at the level they once were. Instead, independent production companies are increasingly financing and structuring ambitious projects, especially for global platforms.
His criticism focused particularly on streamer deal terms. The issue is not simply license fees; it is what happens after a show is delivered. If a platform keeps most of the rights and does not offer meaningful backend participation, the producer may end up acting more like a service provider than a creative partner.
That is the model Bassetti appears eager to challenge. He warned that without structural changes, European producers risk remaining “guns for hire” rather than businesses that can build durable value from the intellectual property they help create.
The rights retention debate
One of the strongest points in Bassetti’s argument is that rights retention remains the foundation of independent growth. He pointed to the UK and France as examples where terms-of-trade systems often allow rights to revert to producers. Those frameworks have helped companies scale globally because ownership creates recurring value.
Why rights matter so much:
- Libraries create long-term revenue: A hit can be sold, remade, licensed, and revived.
- Ownership supports investment: Producers can take more creative risk if they share in future returns.
- Stronger balance sheets attract capital: Rights-rich companies become acquisition targets and strategic partners.
This logic helps explain the rise of major European media groups and why consolidation continues across the production sector.
Banijay’s scale gives Marco Bassetti a powerful platform
Marco Bassetti is speaking from a position of unusual strength. Banijay recently unveiled its enlarged business following its merger with All3Media, with Banijay Group and RedBird IMI each holding 50% stakes in the expanded company. The result is the world’s largest independent producer, with a library reported at 265,000 hours.
That library includes some of the most recognizable unscripted and scripted brands in global entertainment, from The Traitors and Big Brother to Peaky Blinders and Midsomer Murders. Scale like that gives Banijay leverage, but Bassetti’s comments suggest that even the biggest independent players feel pressure under current streaming economics.
He also highlighted U.S. scripted as a growth area, signaling that Banijay is looking not just to defend producer rights in Europe, but to expand aggressively in the world’s largest premium content market.
Why incentives and local regulation may not be enough
Another key point from Marco Bassetti was that national incentives and audiovisual laws, while useful, cannot solve the bigger structural problem alone. Several European countries have pushed streamers to invest a share of local revenues into original content. But Bassetti suggested those country-by-country systems are uneven and limited in impact.
His broader message was that simply increasing public support is not a lasting answer. Tax credits and local funds can help get productions financed, but they do not replace a sustainable commercial model. If production costs keep rising and rights remain concentrated with platforms, producers may still struggle to earn a fair return.
That concern is especially relevant in today’s market, where buyers want global rights, budgets remain under pressure, and buyers are becoming more selective even as demand for standout IP remains high.
What could change next
If Bassetti’s position gains wider support, the industry could move toward:
- More producer-friendly rights structures
- Improved backend participation on streamer commissions
- Budget models that explicitly value creative contribution
- Territory-by-territory policy reforms tied to IP ownership
The central idea is not radical: if producers are expected to innovate, absorb risk, and deliver hits, they need a meaningful share of the value those hits generate.
What Marco Bassetti’s remarks mean for TV & video
Marco Bassetti has tapped into one of the defining business debates in modern TV & video: who truly benefits from the streaming boom? Platforms brought enormous demand and helped transform commissioning worldwide, but the next phase may be less about volume and more about fair economics.
For European producers, this is about survival and leverage. For streamers, it is about securing the best creative partners before talent and production groups take their ideas elsewhere. And for the wider industry, it is a reminder that content ecosystems work best when creators, producers, and distributors all have incentives aligned.
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Conclusion
Marco Bassetti’s intervention is more than a conference soundbite. It is a pointed warning that the global content business cannot rely on independent producers to fund creativity without offering better rewards in return. If the balance does not shift, Europe’s top production companies may rethink how, where, and with whom they do business. In that sense, Marco Bassetti is not just defending Banijay’s position — he is laying out a future-facing case for a fairer producer economy.
