‘Big Brother’ Firm Banijay Hits Out At YouTube Copycats: “It Feels Like The Gloves Are Off”

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Formats powerhouse Banijay, which produces and sells the likes of Big Brother, Survivor and Total Wipeout around the world, has lashed out at social media and YouTube copycat versions of some of TV’s biggest hits.

Lucas Green, the French-headquartered outfit’s Chief Content Officer of Operations, branded copycats “an intrinsic issue facing the industry that we need to have a conversation about,” as they are “hurting the creative economy.” In recent years, Green said a wealth of copycat examples have sprung up on the likes of YouTube, TikTok and Twitch from a nascent army of social media personalities, which are “very hard” for their original creators to challenge from a legal standpoint.

Green declined to point the finger at specific examples but said he is highlighting the issue in the round, and he is now keen to discuss with fellow industry figures, UK trade body Pact and the new government post election. “It feels like the gloves are off,” said Green. “Outside of the creative economy and outside of the regulated industry, you are getting content creatives saying, ‘We don’t care about the rules or licenses, let’s just do it.’ As a big content powerhouse, it’s up to us to try and provide some leadership in this realm.” Green described certain copycats as “sophisticated attempts to build formats and franchises, sometimes quite unashamedly using the names of shows and their architecture or infrastructure, even breaching trademark.” Some are created on a “shoestring budget with a much smaller team” than traditional formats, which can have an impact on below-the-line and contributor duty of care, he added. “We have 25 years experience producing reality shows and know what the pitfalls can be,” said Green.