The story
Background
Before the formation of Zodiak Kids in 2011, Marathon Media announced in 2005 that it would merge with the French division of the British-based private firm Bridgepoint Capital (owners of French TV production group Tele Images). Tele Images' subsidiaries, GTV Productions and Adventure Line Productions, would be part of the new group, while Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel continued to hold their stakes in Marathon's animation division. The following year, in January 2006, the merger was completed, forming the largest production and distribution group based in France, and the combined entity was subsequently named Marathon Group.
In July 2007, it was announced that the Italian-based holding company, De Agostini, had acquired Marathon Group from Bridgepoint Capital, turning De Agostini from a multimedia company into a European content production company while it entered the animation production business with Marathon Media and Tele Images became De Agostini's in-house animation production studio.
In February 2008, Marathon Group brought a majority stake in independent entertainment & documentary production company KM Production, the acquisition of KM Productions had resulted in reuniting the acquired documentary studio KM Production with Marathon Group's subsidiary Adventure Line Productions (which had been part of Canal+-owned StudioExpand until 2004) as Marathon Group folded KM's operations into the group, while KM Production's founder, Renaud Le Van Kim, continued to operate the company.
Three months later in May of that year, Marathon Group's owner, De Agostini, announced that they had made a deal to acquire the Swedish-based Scandinavian production & distribution outfit Zodiak Television AB. The acquisition was completed in November of the same year as the acquired Swedish production & distribution studio Zodial Television AB gained entry into the kids & family production industry, with that Zodiak Television AB had been rebranded as Zodiak Entertainment while De Agostini's animation production studios Marathon Media and Tele Images had been transferred and became subsidiaries of the rebranded company as the latter's own in-house animation production studios.
History
In February 2011, Zodiak Media Group announced the establishment of a children's television division named Zodiak Kids. The French animation production companies (Marathon Media and Tele Images Productions), the British production company (The Foundation TV Productions), and Zodiak Active's kids entertainment division were placed into the new division alongside Zodiak Rights's kids & family distribution activities.
In late-November 2014, Zodiak Kids and their subsidiary, Tele Images Productions, had announced that the latter's founder and president, and CEO of Marathon Images, Philippe Alessandri, was stepping down as its president.
In late-April 2015, Zodiak Kids expanded their online presence by launching two multi-platform YouTube channels which were called ZeeKay and ZeeKay Junior. The two channels would work closely with Zodiak Kids' new production division, Zodiak Kids Studios, alongside third party producers to launch original content on the two channels.
In February 2016, Zodiak Kids and its Swedish/French production & distribution parent Zodiak Media merged with the rival French independent international television production and distribution company, Banijay Group, with the former being folded into Banijay Group as Zodiak Kids became Banijay's new children's television production subsidiary as the latter groul had gained entry into the kids & family production operations & the animation production industry. Marathon was folded within the process. The Zodiak Kids name was retained until 2022 when the company adopted the Banijay name.
Read the full text
In September 2018, Zodiak Kids announced that they had hired former MoonScoop Group co-founder and co-chairman, Benoît Di Sabatino, as their new CEO of the company, succeeding Jean-Philippe Randisi.
In April 2021, Banijay announced that they had acquired the Paris-based animation studio, Monello Productions, which was founded in 2013 by former Tele Images SVP Giorgio Welter from ITV Studios-owned Tetra Media Group. The acquired animation studio was placed under Zodiak Kids and would continue to operate independently, with their founder continuing to serve as the company's president.
In November 2021, Banijay announced that they were bringing their three children's production companies, Zodiak Kids & Family, Tiger Aspect Kids & Family, and Monello Productions, into one group by launching a new division named Banijay Kids and Family with the two latter production labels Tiger Aspect Kids & Family and animation studio Monello Productions became subsidiaries of the new children's division.
In September 2022, Banijay Kids & Family announced that they had acquired two children's production companies: the London-based British live-action production & entertainment studio, Kindle Entertainment, and the Italian animation studio MoviMenti Production, with the latter being acquired from its previous parent company ForFun Media as Banijay Kids & Family had entered the Italian animation production with MoviMenti became its in-house Italian animation production studio & became an Italian subsidiary as it would handle animation services for Banijay Kids & Family's future animated series.
In January 2024, Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution was renamed as Banijay Kids & Family Distribution.
In September 2024, Banijay Entertainment acquired a majority stake in the French animation studio Procidis, placing it under the Banijay Kids & Family unit, with Benoît Di Sabatino becoming the new president and Hélène Barillé remaining the managing director.
From Wikipedia’s article on Banijay Kids & Family, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5