Big 4 restructuring uk

Streamers such as Netflix, Prime Video and Paramount+ are “perplexed” by government threats to the UK’s Public Service Broadcasters (PSB), according to Sherwood scribe James Graham . Graham, one of Britain’s foremost TV and theater writers, flagged the example of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who broke through the theater system to create the BBC ’s Fleabag before being snapped up by Amazon in a ‘Golden Handcuffs’ deal. He was reflecting on the BBC’s funding struggles due to the government’s freezing of the licence fee for two years, along with threats to Channel 4’s position as a public broadcaster, although this was recently reversed. “We’ve got the best of both worlds [in the UK],” said Graham, in conversation with Banijay UK Chair Patrick Holland at today’s Freeview Outside the Box 2023 event. “Streamers benefit from PSB development. The likes of Amazon would be utterly perplexed by the threat to that pipeline.” Graham said his hit BBC One drama Sherwood set … [Read more...] about ‘Sherwood’ Writer James Graham: Streamers Are “Perplexed” By UK Government Threat To BBC & Channel 4

French studio Pathé and film and TV financier and producer Logical Pictures have announced a three-year co-production and co-financing deal. The operation involving Logical Content Ventures, a new fund operated by Logical Pictures, will see Pathé open up the financing of its films to private investors for the first time in its history. Under the deal with Pathé, Logical Content Ventures will contribute to the financing of all films produced and acquired by Pathé between 2022 and 2024. The aim is to co-finance and co-produce more than 20 pictures together with the first projects being released as soon as Spring 2023. The first films included in the agreement are Dany Boon’s Life for Real (Pathé – 26DB Productions), Just Philippot’s environmental thriller Acid (Pathé – Bonne Pioche), starring Canet and Laetitia Dosch, and Kirill Serebrennikov’s English feature debut Limonov: the Ballad of Eddie (Pathé – Chapter 2 – Wildside – Fremantle) starring Ben Whishaw. … [Read more...] about Pathé & Logical Pictures Team On Slate Financing Deal As French Studio Targets Big Budget Local & European Tentpoles

Carol Welch is leaving Odeon Cinemas Group. The cinema chain’s Managing Director, UK and Ireland, and Commercial Officer, Europe, has resigned after six years. She is moving to become CEO of AF Blakemore, a large family-owned retail and food distributor in the UK. Odeon has decided to revert its commercial leadership to a standalone position following her exit. Chris Bates, Commercial Director UKI & Europe, has been promoted to the role of Chief Commercial Officer. This extends his current remit as European Commercial Director and he will also be joining Odeon’s Executive Committee. The appointment of a new Managing Director UK & Ireland is in its “final stages,” the group said, adding it would “provide a further update once the position has been filled.” Mark Way, Managing Director Odeon Cinemas Group, said: “While very sad to see Carol leave, we are delighted for her, and I would like to congratulate her for everything she has achieved at Odeon over the … [Read more...] about Odeon Cinemas Group UK & Ireland Boss Carol Welch Exits To Join Retail Company

The results are in, and Netflix undoubtedly dominated the Nielsen U.S. streaming charts for 2022, led by originals including Stranger Things , Wednesday and Ozark — as well as acquisitions like Cocomelon and NCIS. The streamer took home 11 of the top 15 spots on the overall streaming program list, and 13 spots among the streaming originals. Stranger Things came in at No. 1 on both lists with 52B minutes viewed across all 34 episodes of the series. Ozark came in at No. 2 on the streaming originals chart and No. 4 overall with 31.3B viewing minutes. Wednesday ‘s 18.6B minutes viewed put the series in third place among the streaming originals and 12th place overall — an impressive feat considering the new series only has eight episodes. Many of the series on the list have dozens or even hundreds of episodes. Cobra Kai, Bridgerton, Virgin River, Dahmer, Love Is Blind, Inventing Anna, and The Crown rounded out the Top 10 for the streaming … [Read more...] about ‘Stranger Things’ Rules 2022 Streaming Charts, Nielsen Says; Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ & ‘Ozark’ Big Winners Too

The Oscar nominations this week set off a new round of speculation about corporate image: Does it matter that Netflix ’s potential Oscar take had dropped to 16 from 36 in 2020? “I don’t give a f*ck about my corporate image and companies shouldn’t waste their time worrying about their’s.” Those were the words of Martin Davis, the only press agent ever to become CEO of a major media company. Davis’ behavior in the ‘90s reflected his views: During his decade-long tenure at Paramount, the company endured a succession of public brawls and setbacks. The Davis Doctrine is worth pondering today given the stalwart efforts of entities like Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery on image enhancement. Under Bob Chapek, Disney spent $8.3 million to reward its newly recruited PR chief, Geoff Morrell, for his stint on improving the company’s corporate image. Morrell’s four-month tenure culminated in his firing and, later, that of his boss prior to the re-anointment of Bob … [Read more...] about Peter Bart: Big Media Honchos Hunt For Ways To Accentuate The Positive In Turbulent Moment

UPDATED with final winners: The Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul , Bo Burnham’s Emmy-winning musical comedy special Inside , Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad and Raoul Peck’s Exterminate All the Brutes are among the final list of winners of 2022 Peabody Awards . The Peabodys, in their 82nd year, honor the year’s most powerful content across the fields of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming. The organization based at the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia wrapped up a a weeklong rollout of all 30 winners Thursday. This year’s awards were presented by the likes of Melissa McCarthy, Morgan Freeman, John Legend, Kevin Bacon, H.E.R., Ethan Hawke, Jon Stewart, Hasan Minhaj, Riz Ahmed, LeVar Burton, Jenny Slate, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Scott. Newsman Dan Rather and Fresh Air ‘s Terry Gross have already won this year’s Career Achievement Award and … [Read more...] about Peabody Awards: The Complete List Of 2022 Winners

EXCLUSIVE: Aria Studios , a new two-stage £1.6M ($2M) facility that boasts 20,000 sqft of filming space, has officially opened for business in Anglesey, North Wales . The facility, located near the popular Welsh region of Eryri, has been established by indie production company Rondo Media and Welsh broadcaster S4C’s commercial arm S4C Digital Media Limited, with the support of the Welsh Government through Creative Wales. The studio has two fully-soundproofed stages and is located amongst acres of unspoiled grounds in the Eryri region. Rondo Media is currently filming the drama series Rownd a Rownd for S4C for 27 weeks in stage 2 at Aria. The studio has said they expect further bookings from drama and film producers commissioned by S4C. However, the studio has said its principal target clients are high-end film and television productions from the UK and the US. Wales has long been the shooting location of productions like Doctor Who , and more recently, HBO’s … [Read more...] about Wales Hopes To Lure Next ‘Doctor Who’ And ‘Sex Education’ With New Film & TV Studio

Beyond Rights CEO David Smyth is leaving the UK-based distributor following its parent’s sale to Banijay . Industry veteran Smyth joined Beyond International’s sales arm in December 2021, selling shows such as Mythbusters around the world. Banijay swooped to buy Beyond International in October last year and completed the circa-$30M deal early this month. Banijay has its own sales arm, Banijay Rights. A Banijay Rights spokesman confirmed his exit. “David Smyth, CEO, Beyond Rights, will be leaving the business, with his last day being January 31,” he said. “He joined Beyond Rights in December 2021 and made a significant contribution to the company through his strong and effective leadership. We’d like to thank him for his hard work and commitment to the business and wish him all the best with his future endeavours. “The move comes as Banijay embarks on integrating Beyond International Limited into its existing group.” Upon taking full control of Beyond, Banijay … [Read more...] about Beyond Rights CEO David Smyth Is Leaving After Banijay Takeover

Streaming service Peacock closed 2022 with more than 20 million paid subscribers, helping Comcast slip past Wall Street estimates during a challenging fourth quarter in the media business. Total revenue came in at $30.55 billion in the period, less than 1% ahead of the prior-year quarter but just above analysts’ consensus. Earnings per share of 70 cents fell short of estimates, but exceeded them on a non-GAAP basis. Along with Peacock, a strong return for theme parks helped NBCUniversal post solid numbers on the top line, with revenue up 6% to $9.9 billion. Advertising revenue increased 4%, which the company credited to Spanish-language coverage of the World Cup by Telemundo and rising Peacock ad revenue. The profit story was less encouraging, with adjusted EBITDA falling 36% to $817 Theatrical revenue at the film studio soared 47% over the prior year, with Ticket to Paradise , Puss , Violent Night and Halloween Ends closing the year on a high note. … [Read more...] about Peacock Clears 20M Subscribers, Helping Comcast Nip Wall Street Q4 Estimates

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said the company is always eyeing possible deals to bolster its business, citing the $3.8 billion acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016 and Universal’s partnership with Blumhouse Productions . Shell jumped in Thursday after Comcast president Mike Cavanagh noted new deals have a high hurdle versus investing in existing operations. The execs were asked about M&A on a post-earnings conference call, with particular reference to World Wrestling Entertainment. Vince McMahon, WWE ’s majority owner and newly returned executive chairman, is looking to sel l, with Comcast considered a logical buyer. WWE Network programming has been popular on Peacock and helped drive subscriber acquisitions since the service took exclusive U.S. streaming rights in 2021. Shell didn’t address WWE but said the conglom led by Brian Roberts would be opportunistic. And with a market cap of $6.45 billion, WWE is not a mega-deal. “We are always looking … [Read more...] about NBCU Chief Jeff Shell Says Comcast Open To “Bolt-On” Deals, Cites DreamWorks Animation Acquisition, Blumhouse Venture