Banijay Entertainment Launches Digital Sports Brand with Jamie Vardy Series
Media and entertainment powerhouse Banijay Entertainment today unveils Players Network – powered by Banijay Entertainment, its new overarching digital sports brand to house bold, personality‑driven, social‑first sports entertainment formats. Signalling the group’s commitment to innovation and continued expansion into premium, talent‑led sports content, the brand’s first title, Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party, from Banijay UK label Workerbee, launches Wednesday 10th June, in time for the World Cup, on YouTube, Amazon Prime and all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple.
Produced by Workerbee, in collaboration with sports and entertainment content studio Contentuual, Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party is fronted by one of football’s most dynamic and charismatic players, Jamie Vardy, former Premier League winner with Leicester in 2016 and star England striker. The series will also feature an array of guest stars, from creators to the world of sports, broadcast, arts and entertainment, comedy and other areas. Rebekah Vardy will also make special guest appearances on the show.
Banijay Rights is distributing the series which will also launch in the US. The launch will be supported by a major billboard campaign in the UK. Further strengthening Banijay Entertainment’s existing capabilities in sport, Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party marks the first launch under Players Network – powered by Banijay Entertainment, with further announcements to follow internationally.
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.”
Fresh, relatable and proudly unpredictable, Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party is larger‑than‑life sports entertainment, built for digital-native, social‑first audiences. Taking fans inside the biggest stories, fiercest debates, and most entertaining personalities in football, the video series blends football, culture and entertainment, with the feel‑good chaos only Jamie Vardy can deliver.
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.
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About Banijay Entertainment
Launched in 2008, media and entertainment powerhouse Banijay Entertainment (inclusive of Banijay Live) is home to over 130 creative companies across 25 territories and delivers an average 16,000 hours of content and 3,000 live events globally each year. An innovative leader, in 2025 alone, it launched 250+ new non-scripted titles, 100+ scripted titles, 80+ shows on streaming platforms, 30 formats active in more than 3+ territories.
A home for today’s storymakers, and the creative pioneers of tomorrow, the business puts creators first, uniting the best creative minds to shape the next generation of entertainment. The masters of superbrands like MasterChef, Big Brother, and Survivor, scripted icons like Peaky Blinders and Black Mirror, and live spectacles including the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, the business nurtures ideas at scale, defining culture and inspiring audiences worldwide. Its latest standout titles include Good Luck Guys, El Jardinero, Shaolin Heroes, House of Guinness, The Summit, The Culpa Trilogy, Let’s Play Ball, Fear Factor: House of Fear and The Fifty among others.
Built on independence, creative freedom and pioneering entrepreneurialism, Banijay Entertainment and live events business, Banijay Live, under the direction of Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti, have collectively grown to reach €3.3bn in revenues and €544m in EBITDA (2025).
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