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Supply Chains

Join us in this week’s edition of Entertainment Supply Chain Digest as we bring to you a thrilling mix of exciting achievements and fascinating developments from around the world. From BBC’s impressive £2 billion revenues to the magical transformation of manga to TV anime, and the hottest trends in IP formats, to the latest global acquisitions and collaborations.

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• Screenwriter Zack Stentz is collaborating with iwot productions and Quebec’s Squeeze Studios for “The White Tower,” an animated film based on Robert Jordan’s graphic novel series “The Wheel of Time.” The action-adventure story revolves around a gifted young girl whose life is forever altered when her remote mountain village is threatened by evil 🇨🇦 🇺🇸
• ITV Studios’ dating format “My Mum, Your Dad” has been picked up by TF1, Vox, and Three. Productions in France, Germany, and New Zealand are underway. The show, created by Greg and Haley Daniels, follows single parents seeking love, while their children spy on them 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 🇳🇿 🇬🇧
• Amazon Studios, Banijay Mexico & US Hispanic, and Endemol Shine Brasil have joined forces to produce locally adapted versions of Banijay’s “Temptation Island” reality show in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile 🇧🇷 🇲🇽 🇦🇷 🇨🇱
• Suu Morishita’s manga “A Sign of Affection” (Yubisaki to Renren), nominated for Kodansha Manga Award, is to be adapted into a TV anime. The series, produced by Ajia-do, revolves around Yuki, a college student whose life centers around friends, social media, and shopping 🇯🇵
• RTL Germany has ordered a local adaptation of Banijay’s renovation format “The Block.” Produced by Good Times, the show, titled “Wettkampf In 4 Wänden – Die Ultimative Bau-Challenge,” features four couples competing to transform a rundown apartment into a high-end property, aiming to impress a panel of experts 🇩🇪

• Atresplayer has started filming its new original series, “A Muerte,” a rom-com produced by Atresmedia Televisión in collaboration with Sábado Películas, DeAPlaneta, and Playtime Movies. The series explores the concept of meeting the love of your life when it may be on the brink of ending 🇪🇸
• US prodco Wheelhouse has partnered with Majordomo Media, led by chef David Chang, to create diverse content spanning entertainment, food, lifestyle, travel, and sports. Culinary programming will be produced at Majordomo Media’s new space in LA 🇺🇸
• Channel 4 partners with 141 Productions for “Millionaire Hoarders,” a show where experts assist individuals in finding valuable items within their homes 🇬🇧
• “Carmen & Bolude,” a feature film co-produced by Charcol Pictures and Draw Your Own Box Productions Pty Ltd, explores the enduring friendship between Bolude, a Nigerian diplomat’s daughter, and Carmen, a self-made vigilante mestiza 🇦🇺
• Spanish-Argentine co-production ‘Adiós Madrid,’ directed by Diego Corsini, has begun filming. Madco TV and Cineworld collaborate on this feature film, based on Mariana Cangas’ original idea and co-written by Corsini 🇪🇸 🇦🇷

• The Golden Line Art Production Company is gearing up for the production of the highly anticipated 2nd season of the hit series “Al-Arbaji” 🇦🇪
• ORF and ZDF have commissioned a 4th season of the period crime drama “Vienna Blood”. The series, based on Frank Tallis’ novels and produced by Endor Productions and MR Film will feature a new format, with a single story told across multiple episodes 🇩🇪 🇦🇹
• Tem Dendê Produções is currently filming the second season of “Memories of Brazil,” a series celebrating notable Brazilian women over 60 in eight 45-minute episodes. The production pays homage to renowned actresses, singers, and designers 🇧🇷
• Atresmedia renews Mamen Mendizábal’s ‘Anatomy of…’ on laSexta for season 2, a true crime show, covering historical events in Spain, including the Love scammer, Aznar assassination attempt, Biescas tragedy, and Calixtino Codex theft 🇪🇸
• “The Game Catchers,” a children’s series set in Flossy’s vibrant universe, gears up for its 2nd season in production, airing on Rai Kids, TVOKids, and ICI Radio-Canada Tél 🇮🇹 🇨🇦

• Salaud Morisset, a renowned short film production and distribution company based in Berlin and Paris, expands into feature film sales and production, acquiring two films “Dammi” & “Excursion” selected at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Locarno Film Festival for worldwide distribution 🇫🇷 🇷🇸
• Home Screen Entertainment and Yash Raj Films have acquired global rights to Shah Rukh Khan’s action film “Jawan” prior to the release of the movie 🌐
• Moonbug Entertainment and Cinemark Holdings have teamed up to bring “Blippi’s Big Dino Adventure” to select US cinemas. This 60-minute special marks the first time the popular children’s character “Blippi” will hit the big screen in the United States 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
• O2 Play, the distribution-sales arm of Brazil’s O2 Filmes group has acquired the rights to “Broken” (“Partido”). This documentary feature, co-directed by César Charlone, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer of “City of God,” will be distributed by O2 Play in Brazil and globally 🇧🇷
• Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” the debut feature by Pham Thien An. The Vietnamese drama won the Camera d’Or and screened at Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight. (Vietnam 🇺🇸

• The healthy eating and cooking web series, “Fizzy’s Lunch Lab,” has been licensed by the IP owner, Pretty Amazing, to Common Sense Networks’ Sensical and BatteryPOP 🇺🇸
• Crunchyroll has acquired “Me & Roboco” the anime adaptation based on Shūhei Miyazaki’s manga 🇺🇸 🇯🇵
• “The Best of Us,” a French crime thriller, secures international sales after receiving high ratings on France 3. It has been sold to ZDF, AMC Networks International, Acorn TV North America, and EITB 🇩🇪 🇪🇸 Portugal, Ireland 🇬🇧
• Netflix has acquired Nippon TV’s romantic comedy drama “Turn to me Mukai-kun,” which will stream immediately after premiering on Nippon TV in Japan 🇯🇵 🌐
• Canal Brasil acquires the licensing rights for “Between the Colony and the Stars,” a film selected for screening at the 2023 Blackstar Film Festival, from Fistaile 🇧🇷

• STV Studios has purchased UK-based Greenbird Media and its network of 15 production companies for £21.4m ($27.2m). Greenbird, previously backed by Keshet International and BBC Studios, will integrate into STV Studios with founders Jamie Munro and Stuart Mullin joining the board in key roles 🇬🇧
• Connecticut’s Great Mountain Partners (GMP) has acquired a minority stake in LA-based production company Amplify Pictures. The investment will fuel Amplify’s growth in producing original scripted and unscripted series, while also expanding its executive team 🇺🇸
• ViX, TelevisaUnivision’s Spanish-language streaming service, collaborates with Colombian broadcaster and studio RCN to enhance its presence in Colombia through exclusive content, original productions, and promotional support on the network 🇺🇸 🇨🇴

• Corus Entertainment’s subsidiary Nelvana Limited finalizes a deal with Integrated Media Company, acquiring Montreal-based animation software firm Toon Boom Animation for around $147.5 million CAD in cash 🇨🇦
• Ecuavisa Studios has unveiled the Audiovisual Investment Certificate (CIA) at Conecta Fiction & Entertainment 2023. This tax incentive offers up to a 37% rebate on production costs and expenses for international production companies shooting in Ecuador 🇪🇨
• Universal Production Services is expanding Assembly Studios, including 19 sound stages, exterior facades, lighting, grip, costume, transportation, as well as paint and sign shop services 🇺🇸
• Koko Films, a production technical services company in Dubai, has been launched by Koko Boutchakjian and Serine Gharibian. The company, an extension of their previous venture, Media Max FZ LLC, will provide professional crew and technical support for productions 🇦🇪

• Production services company, Plate Pros, is launching a stock library of 12,000 pre-stitched 360-degree driving process plates featuring in-demand locations. These plates serve as VFX elements for film, TV, and commercial projects 🇺🇸
• Zixi has released Zixi Edge Compute (ZEC), a high-performance connectivity solution that enhances live video distribution at the network edge. ZEC replaces legacy software and supports diverse delivery workflows. It is installed on-premises as a Zixi endpoint, leveraging the benefits of the Software-Defined Video Platform (SDVP)
• KitBash3D’s Cargo software integrates with Cinema 4D, offering a vast library of high-quality assets for easy import and smoother 3D creation 🇺🇸
• TouchDesigner integrates TouchEngine-UE plugin for seamless compatibility with Unreal Engine 5.2.1, enhancing their collaboration 🇨🇦

• Chaos introduces Vantage 2, a real-time visualization tool empowering artists to explore large, high-quality 3D scenes with full ray tracing capabilities and make real-time modifications 🇩🇪
• VFX studio Milk expands its presence with a new studio in Poble Nou, Barcelona. Led by 2D Supervisor Jorge Oliva Ruiz de Leon, the Barcelona Studio will serve as a hub for Milk Spain’s hybrid and remote teams, utilizing Milk’s London infrastructure 🇪🇸
• Blu Digital Group has opened a full-service facility in Barcelona, expanding its European presence and enhancing its services in content distribution, localization, post-production, and media management for the Spanish and global markets 🇪🇸
• DreamWorks Animation partners with NetApp to facilitate its cloud transition, utilizing a hybrid storage architecture that integrates NetApp flash storage and Microsoft Azure cloud services with a focus on microservices 🇺🇸

• Lion Forge Entertainment and Nickelodeon Animation form a first-look deal, allowing Nickelodeon access to Lion Forge’s kid’s and family IP for potential development and production collaborations. The agreement emphasizes diverse storytelling with Lion Forge serving as an animation studio on select Nickelodeon projects 🇺🇸
• Trevor Bentley, a seasoned animation executive, opens Toon City Vancouver, a production studio in Canada. Partnered with Toon City, the studio aims to offer traditional and digital animation services and seek co-production opportunities, building on their successful collaborations on acclaimed shows 🇨🇦
• Netflix researchers introduce the Magenta Green Screen, capturing actor color images against a green screen using blue and red lights. This technique simplifies keying processes for a bright magenta silhouette against a green background 🌐
• Harvatek, a Taiwanese LED supplier, has launched Cyans Visual Creative Co., the country’s first virtual production studio within Formosa Television station. The state-of-the-art facility meets Netflix Partner Centre standards and incorporates Brompton Technology’s LED processing 🇹🇼 🇺🇸

• Amagi and Astro have collaborated to launch FAST services on sooka, Astro’s standalone streaming platform for millennials. The collaboration enables the platform to offer a variety of local and curated worldwide content through Amagi’s marketplace, Amagi CONNECT 🇲🇾
• Pluto TV and Cineflix Rights join forces to introduce Cineflix’s first single-brand FAST channel in Canada, featuring the beloved reality-TV series “American Pickers” 🇨🇦
• MuxIP, a leading ad-supported streaming technology provider, will deliver FAST channels for Crimeflix, a retro crime film and TV show provider 🇺🇸
• Atresmedia, the Spanish broadcaster, has revamped its on-demand platform, Atresplayer, and introduced new content and 10 new FAST channels, including thematic channels like Clásicos Atresplayer, Multicine Atresplayer, Comedia Atresplayer, and Mentes Inquietas 🇪🇸

• BBC Studios surpasses £2 billion in revenues for the first time in 2022/23, despite a 25% decrease in profits for its channels and streaming division. Overall sales rose by 28% to £2.09 billion, and profits (EBITDA) increased by 6% to £240 million. BBC Studios also sets a record for returns to the BBC at £362 million, with a content investment of £177 million 🇬🇧
• Walt Disney is considering strategic options for its Disney+ Hotstar streaming service and Star India business, including joint ventures or a sale, as it seeks growth opportunities and cost-sharing 🇮🇳
• Brad Pitt will film “Apex” in Hungary, directed by Joseph Kosinski and serviced by Mid Atlantic Films, taking advantage of the 30% tax rebate. Shooting at Hungaroring is scheduled for 21-23 July 2023, co-produced by Apple Studios and Lewis Hamilton’s Dawn Apollo Films 🇭🇺 🇺🇸
• “Oppenheimer” cast members strike at UK premiere, demanding fair treatment and inclusion in promotions. Other Hollywood actors also join the writers’ strike led by the Screen Actors Guild due to failed negotiations with major studios 🌐