Factual

Banijay Entertainment has unveiled Players Network – powered by Banijay Entertainment, a new digital sports brand dedicated to bold, personality-driven, social-first sports entertainment formats. The first title under the banner, Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party, produced by Banijay UK label Workerbee in collaboration with Contentuual, will launch on Wednesday, 10 June, ahead of the World Cup, across YouTube, Amazon Prime and major podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple.

Fronted by former Leicester City Premier League winner and England striker Jamie Vardy, the series will feature guests from sport, entertainment, broadcast, arts, comedy and the creator community, with Rebekah Vardy also making special appearances.

Distributed by Banijay Rights, the series will also launch in the US and be supported by a major UK billboard campaign. The launch marks the first release under Players Network, further strengthening Banijay Entertainment’s expansion into premium, talent-led sports content, with further international announcements to follow.

Jamie Vardy comments: “I am excited to launch the podcast with one of the major players in the game, Banijay Entertainment. I am still an active player but having an opportunity to chat football and have a banter off the pitch is something that I am really looking forward to.”

Rick Murray, CEO, Workerbee adds: “Sport is a big part of our strategy, and we're focused on creating digital-first formats that put great talent front and centre. Jamie Vardy's Having a Party is a perfect example – it's entertaining, highly shareable and driven by one of football's biggest personalities. As we grow our direct-to-consumer offering, we're looking for more projects that can connect with audiences across platforms and look forward to developing more projects with Jamie and Rebekah.”

Banijay Sports is the specialised division dedicated to broadening Banijay Entertainment’s efforts in sportainment, documentary, digital, live events, live hosting, creator economy, and scripted, via new partnerships, content investments and M&A. Latest successes in sports from across the group include the recently launched sportainment format Football Island, from Banijay Benelux’s SimpelZodiak and Southfields; documentaries Homecoming: The Tokyo Series from Banijay Americas’ BD4, and The Eubanks: Like Father, Like Son from Banijay UK’s Workerbee; and the launch of creator-led football club FC Failliet/Finesse from Banijay Benelux’s Southfields and Banijay NXT.