Global Entertainment Supply Chain Digest (February 2023 #2)

February 15, 2023

Global Entertainment Supply Chain Digest (February 2023 #2)

Global Entertainment Supply Chain Digest (February 2023 #2)

The entertainment value chain globally is massive, fragmented, and complex! It begins with content stories & IP and ends with the theatrical, streaming, broadcasting, and inflight devices that deliver content to consumers. We keep a track of all the global action, in the supply chain across content development, production, post-production, VFX, animation, localization, promotions, distribution, and delivery… so you don’t have to!

Vitrina AI is the global sourcing hub for the entertainment supply-chain marketplace. Our mission is to enable worldwide partner and content discovery with our proprietary AI-powered search, daily market intel, and business platform.

Companies Making Headlines

IP Deals

Hottest IP [Stories, Formats, Books, Games, Podcasts] to be turned into the next big blockbuster

>> Inside Vitrina: 3000+ global adaptation deals

- OTT platform Passionflix has acquired the rights to adapt bestselling vampire book series – J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood 🌎
- The Japanese manga series The Kingdoms of Ruin will be adapted and produced by Yokohama Animation Lab into an anime series 🇯🇵
- France Télévisions has commissioned Talpa’s new quiz show The Floor for both a daily and prime-time version. Satisfaction Group will produce the show 🇫🇷
- Showmax brings The Real Housewives of Abuja (RHOAbuja), the eighth adaptation of The Real Housewives franchise, for Africa 🇳🇬 🌍
- Spain’s Secouya Studio will produce La Bandera, an adaptation of Guillem Clua’s comedy drama, which won the Premio Nacional de Literatura Dramática in 2020 🇪🇸

New Global Arrivals

Recent biggest releases across the globe!

>> Inside Vitrina: 1 million+ global content titles

- Self-financed M. Night Shyamalan film Knock at the Cabin released globally in theatres recently 🌎
- Oscar nominated film Fire of Love based on true story of Katia and Maurice Krafft, to be released in theaters for one night only on Valentine’s Day by National Geographic and Neon.
- Most anticipated Marvel film of the year Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania gets a worldwide release in February 🌎
- Mandarin movie Liú Làng Dì Qiú 2 gets a theatrical release in UK, Australia, New Zealand & North America.
- Titanic returns to theaters for its 25th anniversary, with a new featurette by Paramount Pictures 🌎

Production Deals

A sneak peak into recently announced production projects, worldwide

>> Inside Vitrina: 30,000+ global production projects

- Sky Documentary has announced a four-part docu-series about former Spanish King Juan Carlos I which will explore the rise and fall of his reign 🇬🇧
- The WNET Group, Latino Public Broadcasting, and NGL Collective will present a new three-part series called American Historia with John Leguizamo to uncover the often-overlooked history and contributions of Latino people 🇺🇸
- Based on true events, He Ain’t Heavy a drama set in Western Australia to begin production by Jess Parker of No Labels Films. Major funding was provided by Screenwest and Lotterywest 🇦🇺
- Arab Telemedia Group has announced production of series Al-Aidarous which explores the rich cultural heritage and traditions of Bedouins 🇯🇴
- Toonz Media Group and Nuttery Entertainment will be collaborating for a new show Super Brakan & Ice Bella: Defenders of Imagination for kids of age 6 to 9 years 🇸🇬🇸🇪

Distribution Deals

Distributors securing worldwide content across different genres, languages and format types

>> Inside Vitrina: 20,000+ global distribution projects

- Barunson E&A, a Korean production company, is showcasing Cobweb, a film directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Song Kang-Ho, at the European Film Market (EFM) 🇰🇷 🇪🇺
- Bleecker Street has obtained the North American distribution rights for Laurel Parmet’s film The Starling Girl, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is set to be released in theaters later in the year 🌎
- Hong Kong-based Edko Films has picked up international sales rights to high grossing film Full River Red 🇨🇳
- Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American distribution rights for the film The Persian Version. It won the Audience Award and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance Film Festival 2023 🇺🇸
- Beta Cinema announces its first distribution deal for Operation Napoleon ahead of its market premiere at the Berlin EFM with Mediawan, Twelve Oaks, Hagi Film, MegaCom, Tohokushinsha, and AV-Jet 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 🇵🇱 🇯🇵 🇹🇼

Acquisition Deals

Streamers & channels acquiring latest content across the world

>> Inside Vitrina: 15,000+ global content acquisitions

- PBS’s POV has secured the distribution rights for the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Children of the Mist, which focuses on the kidnapping of girls among Vietnam’s Hmong minority 🇺🇸 🇻🇳
- TV Catalunya, SVT, Czech TV, MTVA, Latvian TV, Sunflower TV, True Visions, and PCCW Media, acquire CAKE and Pioneertown Productions’ kids animated shows Draw With Will and Will Sliney’s Storytellers 🇪🇸 🇸🇪 🇭🇺 🇺🇦 🇹🇭 🇭🇰 🇲🇴
- Netflix acquires WARSHA / ورشة, a film that highlights human rights, from Front Row Filmed Entertainment. The film has won 99 awards, including the Short Film Jury Award at Sundance 🇦🇪 🇺🇸
- ITV series D.I. Ray, starring Parminder Nagra and created by HTM Television, is sold to international buyers including SBS, VRT, NPO, BritBox, RTP, Cosmote TV, Virgin Media, Yes TV and NHK 🇦🇺 🇧🇪 🇳🇱 🇵🇹 🇬🇷 🇮🇪 🇮🇱 🇯🇵
- Distributor Kids First signs broadcast deals for Hello Kitty: Super Style! in Europe, East Africa, and North America with Viaplay, Super RTL, Canal Panda, Canal+, and CBC Kids 🇸🇪 🇵🇱 🇧🇪 🇩🇪 🇵🇹 🇪🇹 🇨🇦

Partnerships/M&A

Cross-Border Collaborations, Joint Ventures, M&A and Partnerships!

- Fremantle has entered into a strategic partnership with Mediaset España for collaboration on various projects, including the first European version of Got Talent: All-Stars, a long-term agreement for the successful format Got Talent España, and the creation and production of new family entertainment programs based on the Game of Talents format
- Animaccord has partnered with Giochi Preziosi to develop a new toy collection based on the popular animation series Masha and the Bear. The collection is set to launch later this year in Italy, and other European countries in 2024 🇵🇹 🇹🇷 🇬🇷
- UK indie Argo Films and Malaysian company Double Vision partner for co production, to create content to break stereotypes for global audiences through newly launched prodco Sympatico 🇬🇧 🇲🇾
- A partnership deal between Starzplay and Egyptian VOD service Watch It will add hundreds of hours of Arabic content to Starzplay library, while Watch It subscribers will have access to Starzplay’s Hollywood catalogue 🇺🇸 🇪🇬
- Meta has agreed to acquire VR start-up Within Unlimited following a favorable court ruling.

Companies Making Headlines

Launch and Expansions of facilities, studios, services & technologies

>> Inside Vitrina: 100,000 global entertainment companies

- Peacock to no longer offer its free ad-supported tier to new customers in order to focus on its premium offering 🇺🇸
- Aria Studios has debuted a 20,000 sq ft global film and TV production facility which is fully soundproofed in North Wales. It is open to productions worldwide 🇬🇧 🌎
- SEVEN, a Saudi Arabian entertainment ecosystem investor, developer, and operator, has acquired AMC Entertainment Holdings’ (AMC) equity stake in the country’s cinema business, resulting in 100% ownership by SEVEN. The company will retain AMC’s intellectual property rights and brand name 🇸🇦 🇺🇸
- Swedish streamer Viaplay to launch in the US and Canada, with 1,500 hours of European content available via the app 🇺🇸 🇨🇦
- AfroLandTV to debut on Vizio Smart TV homepage in celebration of #BlackHistoryMonth 🇺🇸

Featured New Specializations

Global innovations & breakthroughs in the Entertainment supply-chain

- Microsoft’s 343 Industries to switch Halo from its proprietary Slipspace engine to Epic Games’ widely used Unreal Engine.
- Disney’s subsidiary, STAR, plans to launch its metaverse platform in India called Starverse.
- Runway, the AI startup behind the successful text-to-image model Stable Diffusion, has introduced a new AI model called Gen-1. This model has the ability to convert existing videos into new ones by using a text prompt or reference image.
- Metaphysic has revealed a partnership with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), to create generative AI tools and offerings for global talent.

Localization & Post-Production

Latest updates in the world of content Localization & Post-Production

>> Inside Vitrina: 1500+ Localization & 12,000+ Post-Production global companies

- Iyuno makes a strategic investment in Turkish dubbing studio Ak’la Kara International to strengthen presence in the EMEA region 🇹🇷 🌎
- Using its AI dubbing platform, Papercup will localise hundreds of hours of Fremantle content into Arabic 🇬🇧
- Swedish localization company Plint opens new office and studio facilities in Amsterdam, Netherlands 🇸🇪 🇳🇱
- Skywalker Sound’s new extensible software platform, CODA, used in series like The Mandalorian, automates soundtrack creation and reduces deliverables from weeks to real-time 🇺🇸

Animation, VFX & Virtual Production

Latest global updates in Animation, Visual Effects VFX & Virtual Production

>> Inside Vitrina: 4,000+ Animation & 2500+ VFX global companies

- Pier59 Studios has launched the world’s largest and most advanced Virtual Production stage for fashion and advertising. The ground-breaking tech uses real-time CGI to create digital environments and special effects that are captured simultaneously with live-action props and actors 🇺🇸
- Framestore, sets off on their new project ‘1899’ equipped with innovative virtual production tools for Netflix. The team has developed tools that work with Unreal Engine 5.1 to generate and display lifelike backgrounds on an LED wall, by utilizing 18 machines with dual GPUs.
- Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, among other cast members, will undergo de-aging for Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming Miramax film Here, using Metaphysic Live, a cutting-edge generative AI tool.
- Mediapro plans to open new virtual production studios in Barcelona, Madrid, New York, and Miami in 2023 and 2024. The Barcelona facility will be located in the Imagina production center and will receive an investment of €3.5 million ($3.8 million)

FAST Channels

World of FAST channels & related market moves

- Roku and Tubi partner with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring free, ad-supported content to their streaming platforms.
- Canal+ distribution arm Thema, has launched Vive Kanal D Drama, a FAST channel which will have all Turkish dramas, in Spain 🇹🇷 🇪🇸
- Amagi and Plex partner to offer access to Amagi’s network of 2,000+ FAST channels and AVOD libraries.
- M6 Group partners with Konbini to launch a FAST channel on 6play platform 🇫🇷
- Common Sense Media partners with Accedo to deliver FAST Channel Sensical, a service for kids with a rich catalog of content and tools for parents to track consumption for a safe media environment.

Cancelled Deal/Shows

Recently cancelled!

- TNT will not air the fourth and final season of Snowpiercer and the show is in search of a new home 🇺🇸
- HBO Max has decided not to renew Pennyworth, the story of Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth, for a fourth season 🇺🇸
- The Mysterious Benedict Society a book adaptation series on Disney+, starring Tony Hale, will not be getting season three 🌎
- Paramount+ has removed original titles Real World: Homecoming from the platform 🇺🇸
- NBC cancels long running crime drama The Blacklist after 10 seasons 🇺🇸