Joris Gijsbertse founds the European independent collective Thirtyfour Media

EXCLUSIVE: The new independent collective is now ready with four labels on board and discussions with others are ongoing. Thirtyfour Media is the brainchild of former Banijay executive Joris Gijsbertse, who told Deadline he has been working on the project for over a year.

The idea is that Thirtyfour will act as a hub for independent producers and provide centralized support for development, production and distribution. Another key offering for partner brands will involve format and intellectual property acquisitions, with Gijsbertse providing information and advice.

Ideas can travel between labels within the group, so we plan to limit the Thirtyfour family to one company per territory. The initial focus will be on unscripted content and formats.

The quartet of companies on board at the launch includes Constantin Entertainment in Germany, which organizes performances including: locally A LOT OF LAUGHTERand NewBe in the Netherlands, whose local achievements include: Onecity. Danish Laud People which has formats such as Things my dad didn’t teach meand Constantin Entertainment Polska in Poland, which handles local versions Farm AND Kitchen nightmaresI also registered. Gijsbertse said talks are ongoing with other independent producers in Europe.

London-based Thirtyfour has an advisory board that includes Tanja van der Goes, CEO of All Right Media and former director of EndemolShine, and Boudewijn Beusmans, currently a consultant at 3Rivers and previously president of EndemolShine in the Netherlands and Northern Europe.

Gijsbertse said that at a time when consolidation and commissioning are slowing and advertising revenues are under pressure, “there is no doubt that India needs affordable options to help it realize its international potential.”

He will become CEO of the newly formed company and added: “As borders have narrowed, there have been fewer creative opportunities and the need to leverage the broader production distribution ecosystem to effectively get ideas to and from the market. Thanks to Thirtyfour Media, producers not only protect their DNA and maintain their freedom, but importantly, they have a space where they can focus on what they do best – creating, selling and producing locally. We will take care of the rest.”