Johannes Jensen Courtesy of Banijay Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Johannes Jensen knows a thing or two about the laws of the TV jungle. After all, started his industry career in 1992 as a freelancer at Swedish production firm Strix Television, where he later played a key role in producing the original version of the Survivor format, known in Sweden as Expedition: Robinson, for public broadcaster SVT in 1997. Since then, he has risen through the ranks. He ended up leading the two production labels Jarowskij and Yellow Bird, which are now merged as Jarowskij/Yellow Bird under France-headquartered content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment (Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders, MasterChef, Big Brother). After serving as Banijay Nordic head of scripted, a promotion early this year expanded his remit with the role of head of scripted, business, reporting to chief business officer Frédéric Balmary. Related Stories Movies Chloé Zhao on the "Superpower" of Being a Neurodivergent Director: "I Have an Extreme Sensitivity to Dissonance" TV Amy Poehler Slams AI Actress Tilly Norwood on 'Saturday Night Live': "You'll Never Be Able to Write a Joke, You Stupid Robot!" Together with head of scripted, creative Steve Matthews, he is tasked with working "to effectively support and partner with the group's thriving portfolio of over 60 dedicated labels," the company said, lauding Jensen for playing "an integral role in significantly uplifting scripted slates, with expertise in co-production, navigating complex industry changes, and driving long-term strategic expansion." Heading into his first MIPCOM since taking on the new role, Jensen has kept busy. "We see ourselves not as the ones that point out the direction or prescribe the future for the labels, but rather the ones nurturing the talents, the creativity, supporting where we think we can," Jensen tells THR about how he and Matthews approach their jobs. "We want people, we want the labels, we want the creatives to act and be independent. Steve comes to the role with a lot of knowledge from the creative side, working with HBO and several others. He goes into the actual development, the script-writing rooms, and so on. Whereas, I come from the business perspective - having a strategy, how to finance things, and thinking about what the global world looks like. What is the appetite for certain things? So, we complement each other and have a holistic approach." The output of the more than 60 labels in more than 20 territories that Jensen works with within the Banijay family speaks for itself. "Over the last years, we produced more than 1,000 hours of scripted content, over 100 titles," he explains. "And we were the number one European scripted studio." 'Culpa Nuestra' Courtesy of Banijay But what are Jensen and colleagues looking for? "We always say that we put creativity first. We want bold, new stories," he tells THR. "We're also fostering IP because we need scale and balance. And we are trying to bring the labels, the producers together, where we can find the physical opportunity to share information. 'We have an idea here. We're lacking funding. We know this opportunity.' That's where we bring them together at gatherings like MIPCOM or other festivals or trade events to have a day where we're trying to share some of the knowledge we have. The most important thing is bringing them together so they start meeting each other and learn from each other." Jensen has his eyes on sustainable growth in terms of output rather than quick short-term wins. "In general, we're trying to be very ambitious. We want to create more, but at the same time, you need to be smart," he explains. "We're not going to be over-investing. We're not deficit funding in a lot of things. We are working in an ecosystem where we have been smart in putting financing together over the years." The U.K., Italy, and Spain are Banijay's "dominant markets for us currently," Jensen highlights, also citing France, Germany, and the Nordics as "strong markets." Asked about the company's growth areas, the exec tells THR: "We're doing more and more with the global streamers, which are becoming more and more. In the beginning, we were uncertain, but now we can see they're here to stay. They are complementing what the local broadcasters are looking for." So what does the Banijay scripted team focus on at MIPCOM this week? "It's such a long list," Jensen says with a laugh. "We have huge stories, including some strong returners, but obviously also new shows. We just had the premiere of the drama House of Guinness for Netflix. And the second season of The Buccaneers launched on Apple TV+" and has been renewed for a third season. Other returning Banijay dramas include Bergerac and SAS: Rogue Heroes from the U.K. and The Law According to Lidia Poët f