Olympic Games Ceremonies Wizard Marco Balich on Partnering With Banijay to ‘Challenge’ Global Live Entertainment Operators (EXCLUSIVE)

Nick Vivarelli
·6 min read

Milan-based events creator Marco Balich has choreographed and produced a record-breaking 14 Olympic ceremonies, including for the 2006, 2014, 2016 and 2020 Olympics respectively held in Turin, Sochi, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

More recently, Balich and his team created the spectacular ceremony for the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup.

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His Balich Wonder Studio has now partnered with global content giant Banijay, which has taken a 51% stake in the outfit he created in 2013.

They are combining their strengths to expand the studio’s scope in various ways, a key one being venturing into immersive live experiences set in the worlds of Banijay IPs such as “Black Mirror” and “Peaky Blinders” in the scripted realm and, interestingly, also “Master Chef” to mention those he cited.

After announcing the deal last week, Balich spoke exclusively to Variety about the strategic rationales behind the Banijay partnership.

You were doing pretty well on your own. Why did you decided to partner up with Banijay and sell them a majority stake?

Well, first of all, we are in a size range of about €315 million ($344 million) [in annual revenues]. In order to grow to a bigger size, where we can really challenge the big operators around the world of the live entertainment, we needed an investor.

Beyond having broader financial shoulders what are the synergies with Banijay?

We had to choose between capital investors who wanted to just put money in – and we saw what happened to other companies that have gone through that path. When we met Banijay, we thought that we had a lot in common because they are an industrial investor, they understand our language. They understand IP and they understand that the market fluctuates. So, I thought it was a very good match.

Tell me more about why it’s a good fit

We operate in two different environments. They are a media content giant with plenty of IP, but they are lacking the live application of that. And we are very solid in the big ceremonies and live events space around the world. But we were lacking IPs that are repeatable and scalable.

So now we have this common sort of area that can be beneficial from both sides. On our side, we love the idea that they are creating huge shows the need to be broadcasted and sold around the world. And that’s one. From their side, in giving us their IP, it will be great to try to create a live version of some really incredible titles, whether it is “Master Chef” or “Black Mirror” because lots of people are looking for these types of experiences.

Talk to me about the experiences aspect

Experience is the code and emotion is what we are specialized in. And an emotional experience is something that bonds people together. That is why you go to the stadium; why you go to a concert. So the fact that – and there are examples from other companies: Universal Studios did some big sort of live application of “Stranger Things” that was hugely successful. In London there is the company called Secret Cinema who take a movie title whether it’s from the “Star Wars” franchise or other stuff, create a live experience, and suddenly you have thousands of people coming every day, buying ticket. Dropping the phone and playing.

So that is something that it’s a common ground for us to explore with Banijay. They have the IP and they know the content. So together I can see us opening up and developing this market all around the world.

Are there other synergies?

The third point why we are very keen to be attached to, or involved, with Banijay is that they have a global reach. So imagine that we are kind of a haute couture hotelier. And they have offices around the world in all the key markets which allows us to accelerate a certain sort of application of our events and luxury brand experiences. And that also will be very beneficial because we can leverage on their positioning, on their knowledge of the market and they can leverage on the fact that we know how to create a turney event everywhere in the world.

Do you have a Banijay IP title that you can reveal will be turning into an experience?

No, I don’t have a title to give you and I will be very happy in the fall to start to talk to you about what we have planned. Right now, we went through a negotiation and we are very happy, both sides, about the fact that we are aligned for Banijay to have this live entertainment extension that will compete with big players. Disney is the reference, of course. .

In terms of your core business, how much room for growth is there?

Okay, so organically we are on a path in five years to reach €700 million ($764 million) with some acquisitions that are strategic to our DNA. There is a geographic type of conversation that we can have. We are very strong in the Middle East and we are very strong in producing these high-end events like Olympic ceremonies and events for top brands. Banijay is very strong in the U.S. and other markets that we don’t tap in to. So, given that the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics are coming up; given that in India Banijay are very strong and also in Asia, I can see a lot of beneficial geographical support for us from Banijay. And for them, the fact that we are very strong in the Middle East will help them to maybe go big in some areas there that are growing. I mention Saudi Arabia as a standout because for us in the live entertainment sector working in Saudi Arabia during COVID was, in a way, a big support.

Can you tell me about how the deal is structured? What are the financial and management details?

Banijay doesn’t want to disclose the financial details. But I can tell you one thing. Since Balich Wonder Studio started 10 years ago it’s really become a very efficient young company with a lot of creativity at its very core, which is something that we also relate to Banijay. So when we start to talk to Banijay and Marco Bassetti, who is the CEO, he immediately understood that our sort of hub is working very well. And so he is not going to interfere in the governance. Of course they will expect results and we are very ambitious in that respect. So we both understand that we can support each other, we can leverage on each other. But our governance stays the same. And I think that in the next three or four years you will see a consistent growth of the studio and that I can target some active synergies in 24 months or so.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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