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.
Partnerships/M&A
Cross-Border Collaborations, Joint Ventures, M&A and Partnerships!
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- Cinema XXI and IMAX Corporation have expanded their partnership by agreeing to install ten new IMAX with Laser systems in Indonesia. This deal will double the size of both companies’ footprint in the country, bringing the total number of commercial IMAX systems in Indonesia to twenty 🇮🇩
- StudioCanal, Europe’s production and distribution leader, has invested in the U.K.’s Birdie Pictures and announced their first project: optioning the rights to Janice Hallett’s best-selling novel, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels 🇬🇧
- Latino-focused content company Voz Media has purchased the Spanish-language network Mega TV from Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. for USD $64 million
- CJ ENM will utilize Amagi’s extensive network of linear and OTT platforms, including Peacock and The Roku Channel, to distribute K-content to American audiences 🇰🇷
Companies Making Headlines
Launch and Expansions of facilities, studios, services & technologies
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- Radford Studio Center in Studio City, known for its iconic television shows such as Gunsmoke and Seinfeld, is scheduled for a $1 billion expansion and modernization project 🇺🇸
- Jennifer O’Connell and Rebecca Quinn, former heads of unscripted content at HBO Max, have launched Velvet Hammer Media (VHM), a production company that will specialize in premium original non-fiction content such as formats, documentaries, and special-event programs 🇺🇸
- Sunbelt Rentals, the parent company of William F. White International (WFW), has acquired UK-based Movietech Camera Rentals, a leading rental specialist. The move will expand the production equipment provider’s international reach as the demand for content increases worldwide due to streaming services
- Chelsey Stephens, an unscripted casting executive and producer, has established her own development and casting company called Chelsey Creative and has signed a first-look agreement with ITV America 🇺🇸
- SkyShowtime has launched in Spain and Andorra, completing its expansion across over 20 European markets. The platform offers blockbuster movies, original series, and exclusive local productions from renowned studios. SkyShowtime will also feature its own original series 🇪🇸 🇦🇩
Featured New Specializations
Global innovations & breakthroughs in the Entertainment supply-chain
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- Disguise has unveiled a cloud platform update that enables the import, previsualization, and sharing of 3D interactive scenes. The platform’s seamless workflow allows for easy sharing of files and projects, as well as simultaneous collaboration, offering new possibilities for media and entertainment collaborations
- PLAZAMEDIA has unveiled its new Extended Reality (XR) LED Studio at its headquarters in Ismaning near Munich, featuring a 120 sq m L-shaped LED wall. The new briX|woRk.studio seamlessly combines real set architecture with virtual worlds via the LED wall and can be expanded into a 360° room via augmented reality 🇩🇪
- PureWeb Reality, the leading platform for streaming real-time 3D built on Unreal Engine and Unity, has just announced the general release of its On Demand deployment capability with CoreWeave. CoreWeave’s specialized cloud infrastructure is purpose built for GPU-accelerated workloads and serves as an ideal environment for complex 3D applications
- YouTube is testing a new feature with a small group of creators that allows them to upload multiple ‘Audio Tracks‘ to a single video — which viewers can then toggle between
Animation, VFX & Virtual Production
Latest global updates in Animation, Visual Effects VFX & Virtual Production
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- ReDefine has established a new department called the Advanced Development Group (ADG), to be based in Barcelona. The ADG will provide innovative solutions to clients’ VFX requirements by utilizing real-time technology and AI 🇪🇸
- The collaboration between Digital Catapult and Target3D continues with AMP at PROTO, a network of technology studios that provide access to virtual production and 3D technology across the UK. AMP at PROTO has benefited from a £2m investment from InnovateUK to provide greater capabilities to regional creative industries
- Producer Ed Saatchi, to co-produce an AI film, White Mirror the first generative AI feature film. His previous VR Film, Wolves in the Wall, starred Lucy, an AI enabled character 🌎
- Wonder Dynamics introduces Wonder Studio, a full-scale CG character studio in a web platform that lets creators drag and drop a CG character into any scene as if it was professionally captured and edited 🇺🇸
IP Deals
Hottest IP [Stories, Formats, Books, Games, Podcasts] to be turned into the next big blockbuster
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- Dead by Daylight, the popular horror multiplayer game, will be adapted into a feature film by Atomic Monster, Blumhouse, and Behaviour Interactive, the largest Canadian gaming studio 🇨🇦
- Scott Sternberg Productions is partnering with Korean media group CJ ENM, a Seoul-based media group, to adapt the well-established Korean lifestyle series Get It Beauty for the US market 🇺🇸 🇰🇷
- Nine Network has co-commissioned Scrublands, a TV adaptation of Chris Hammer’s novel for Australian streamer Stan. Easy Tiger is producing the show in association with VicScreen, after the former optioned the rights to the story in 2018 🇦🇺
- SonyLIV has announced a Hindi adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Sittaford Mystery, titled Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley, marking director Vishal Bhardwaj’s debut on a streaming series. it will be produced by Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures and Tusk Tale Films in association with Agatha Christie Limited 🇬🇧 🇮🇳
- Paramount+ has commissioned Berlin-based X Filme Creative Pool to develop an anthology series based on Zeit Crime (Zeit Verbrechen), a popular German-language podcast 🇺🇸 🇩🇪
Production Deals
A sneak peak into recently announced production projects, worldwide
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- ITVX has commissioned its first factual series, Born From the Same Stranger, a four-part series by Wall to Wall that follows individuals born from an unknown donor who seek to uncover their blood relations and unravel the mysteries surrounding their identities 🇬🇧
- South Africa’s MNet has commissioned an eight-part crime thriller series titled White Lies, starring Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer. The series is a co-production between MNet, Quizzical Pictures, and Fremantle, which is also responsible for distribution 🇿🇦 🇬🇧
- Mattel is bringing back Barney, the popular purple dinosaur, with a new animated series set to release in 2024 along with a line of toys, books, clothing, and accessories 🇺🇸
- Big Media and BTF Media are partnering to co-produce true crime series Railroad Killer, a five-part show about a serial killer who evaded authorities on both sides of the border for 30 years 🇺🇸 🇲🇽
- O2 Filmes has revealed new projects in production, including a spin-off series, a Brazilian rock biography, an action feature in Rio, and a dystopian adventure and sci-fi film 🇧🇷
Distribution Deals
Distributors securing worldwide content across different genres, languages and format types
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- Sony Pictures Classics has bought The Teachers’ Lounge, a film by Ilker Atak that earned an award at the Berlin Panorama The distribution rights cover all media in North America, Latin America, and Eastern Europe (excluding Hungary)
- The UK and Ireland distribution rights for the feature documentary Cassius X: Becoming Ali directed by Muta’Ali”, has been acquired by Cosmic Cat. The film is set to have its world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival 2023 🇬🇧
- Sales agent Skoop Media, has closed deals with Les films du Preau and JEF for the rights to distribute the movie Kiddo in France and Belgium, respectively. The movie which was featured in the Berlinale Generation Kplus category has also secured an all rights deal in China with Hugo East 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 🇧🇪 🇨🇳
- Match Factory has announced several distribution deals for Christian Petzold’s “Afire” that won the Berlin Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. Deals have been closed with Films du Losange, Wanted, Filmin, September Film, Filmcoopi, Stadtkino, Future Film, Aurora Films, Vertigo, Demiurg, Independenta and A-One 🇫🇷 🇮🇹 🇪🇸 🇧🇪 🇨🇭 🇦🇹 🇸🇪 🇵🇱 🇭🇺 🇨🇿 🇸🇰 🇷🇴 🇪🇪
- Hive Filmworks acquires global sales for Kazakh horror film Black Mountain, produced by Aldongar Productions. The movie tells the story of five college students who venture into a deserted sanatorium in the mountains to rehearse for a New Year’s performance 🇰🇷 🇰🇿
Acquisition Deals
Streamers & channels acquiring latest content across the world
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- Foxtel Group and Warner Bros. Discovery have extended their content deal. HBO Max Originals, Warner Bros. and Discovery’s content will continue to be on Foxtel and its streaming platform in Australia 🇺🇸 🇦🇺
- TVF International has sold two documentaries, Sex, Myths and the Menopause and its follow-up Sex, Mind & the Menopause, to New Zealand’s TVNZ 🇬🇧 🇳🇿
- AMC Networks’ HIDIVE streaming service has secured an exclusive output deal for MBS’s anime programming lineup in all global markets outside of Asia. Sentai Filmworks, a subsidiary of AMC Networks, will be in charge of distributing the shows, which are based on popular manga and light novel titles, and will be simulcast exclusively on HIDIVE 🌎
- The Roku Channel will stream Malpractice, a medical thriller from World Productions, as one of its primary Roku Original drama series in 2023. The show will also be available on Pumpkin Film in China 🇨🇳 🇦🇺
- Netflix adds another Korean show to its catalogue, the courtroom K-Drama Divorce Attorney Shin 🌎
Gaming & Podcast
World of FAST channels & related market moves
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- Worldwide Webb, a unique Ethereum-based MMORPG game, is gaining momentum after securing $10M funding from Pantera Capital. The game allows players to explore its world with their own NFT avatar and has an old-school look with promised Web3 innovation 🌎
- In the PlayStation State of Play event, the company made new game announcements like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion, along with updates on PS VR2 and other exciting reveals 🌎
- Bandai Namco announced a new Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi game during the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Championship tournament where fans got glimpses of past games’ action before revealing a next-gen Super Saiyan Blue form of Goku 🇯🇵
- Gunpowder & Sky has signed a first-look deal with Audible, giving the audiobook and podcast service first refusal options for the US indie prodco’s audio projects spanning several genres 🌎
- Audible announces the exclusive release of Marvel’s Wastelanders, a German podcast series featuring famous Marvel superheroes played by notable German actors, providing a high-quality and immersive audio experience, set to be released in 2023 and 2024 🌎
NFT & Metaverse
Recently cancelled!
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- Lekh-Haq, a production house, has listed the first Indian short film as a non-fungible token (NFT) on OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace. Titled For Those That Watch Me Dream, the short film has been minted on the blockchain and is available for purchase with a base price of 0.3 ethereum 🇮🇳
- Baobab Studios, a Disney-backed animation studio with nine Emmy Awards, has released an NFT collection based on Ethereum, exploring how Web3 and NFTs can improve user engagement and storytelling 🌎
- Fox’s animated series, Krapopolis, featuring a family managing an ancient city together, is set to launch in Q4 2023 along with its corresponding NFT marketplace. Despite several delays, Fox is committed to the show and has greenlit it for a third season 🇺🇸
- Arad Productions, led by Marvel film producer Ari Arad, to adapt artist Ben Mauro’s Ethereum NFT comic book project Huxley into a feature film 🇺🇸
New Global Arrivals
Recent biggest releases across the globe!
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- Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness to make its streaming debut on Hulu. The satirical dark comedy was nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture and best director
- Al Thaman a series based on the Turkish show Binbir Gece and loosely inspired by the Arabian Nights folktale, starring Bassel Khaiat and Razane Jammal, was recently released on Shahid VIP and MBC 1 🇦🇪 🇹🇷
- Call It Love, a Korean romantic melodrama tells the story of two people finding solace in each other and transforming themselves emotionally, and is released on Disney Plus in February 2023 🌎
- Eugene Levy, takes a break from his usual deadpan humor to host The Reluctant Traveller, an adventure-travel show. The show premieres on AppleTV+ worldwide 🌎
- The series African Queens: Njinga, a blend of documentary and dramatizations that highlights the lives of actual African royalty, narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith and produced by her company is set to debut on Netflix worldwide 🌎
Localization & Post-Production
Latest updates in the world of content Localization & Post-Production
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- Visual Data a Localization Services and Digital Media Supply Chain Solutions provider has implemented the OOONA Integrated platform. The platform will enhance the company’s global localization workflows and enable it to expand its Language Services operations 🌎
- Meta AI has introduced a new benchmark called MuAViC, which incorporates audio-visual learning to achieve accurate speech translation, even in noisy environments. MuAViC is an improvement on their AV-HuBERT and RAVen models and uses visual information to enhance speech recognition
- Regional broadcaster Radio Kol Rega upgrades with DHD.audio SX2 Production Consoles. DHD equipment has proved a very successful choice and encouraged the network to replace its analog desk with DHD digital consoles 🇩🇪 🇮🇱
- A large streaming company is looking for Turkish TV Series
- A streaming platform is looking for Post-Production studios in the Middle-East
- Hollywood-based large production house looking to secure IP for material that could be adapted for the big screen
- A Streaming platform is looking for Distributors in TVOD windowing (TV Series and Korean dramas)
