Lights, Camera, Cannes ๐ฌ
From the sun-kissed shores of the French Riviera to vibrant metropolises around the globe, join us in this week’s edition of Entertainment Supply Chain Digest as we delve into the latest developments in sales, acquisitions, tax incentives, and partnerships.
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IP Deals
Hottest IP Stories, Formats, Books, Games, Podcasts to be turned into the next big blockbuster- A Japanese version of the South Korean dating show “Exchange” has been commissioned by Amazon’s Prime Video ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ท
- NBC to bring back “Deal or No Deal” with a new twist called “Deal or No Deal Island”,a mix between the original format and popular reality show, “Survivor”. It is set on the Banker’s private island, where teams must retrieve cases with millions of dollars split between them, and compete against the Banker for the biggest prize in the show’s history ๐บ๐ธ
- Cognito Entertainment, a recently launched prodco, has optioned the rights to Grace Chan’s award-winning novel “Every Version of You”. It will be adapted into an sci-fi film about a couple separated by the boundary between our world and the metaverse ๐
- Disney+ is filming “Yo, addicted”, based on Javier Giner’s book about his battle with addiction “Yo, adicto “. The show follows Giner’s decision to enter a detox center at age 30 after struggling with addiction to alcohol, drugs, and sex ๐บ๐ธ
- Participant and Bunya Productions will produce the film adaptation of the theater sensation “Prima Facie.” Cynthia Erivo, an Oscar nominee, will star as Tessa, the confident and ambitious defense attorney ๐บ๐ธ
Production Deals
Sneak peak into recently announced production projects worldwide- Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology initiates a co-production grant scheme, supported by the National Cultural Endowment Fund, to foster collaboration between Indonesian and international filmmakers, covering areas such as development, production, post-production, promotion, and distribution ๐ฎ๐ฉ
- Connekkt Media Network has partnered with AVS Studios to enter the content creation market as a full-fledged film studio in India. Connekkt Media will invest $36.5 million USD in three films produced in multiple languages as part of the initial phase of the partnership ๐ฎ๐ณ
- Sunny Side of the Doc’s 34th edition scheduled in June 2023, will feature seven themed pitching sessions, showcasing 42 projects from 23 countries, with 46% directed by women. The event is a crucial opportunity for funding international documentary co-productions and programme circulation ๐
- The Australian film industry is set to receive a boost with the Federal Budget’s decision to permanently increase the location offset to 30%. Ausfilm will also receive $6.9 million over the next 4 years to promote Australia as a production destination ๐ฆ๐บ
- Comedy “Honorary Male” is up for pre-sales by OneTwoThree Media at Cannes. The story follows Chip, a drag queen, who teaches disco at a retirement home and gets recruited by a Chinese American family to produce an heir. Filming will start in New York later this year and is produced by Bonachia Films’ Canete and Orpheus Group Casting/Liberty Film Group ๐บ๐ธ
Season Renewals
More episodes on the way! Season Renewal Announcements- OGM Pictures’ drama series “รmer” and “Golden Boy” have been renewed by Turkish broadcaster Star TV ๐น๐ท
- Fox has renewed Gordon Ramsay’s cooking competition series “Next Level Chef” for Seasons 3 and 4 ๐บ๐ธ
- David Mitchell’s “Outsiders” has been recommissioned for a third season by UKTV. The show produced by Wall to Wall, features David Mitchell testing fellow comedians’ survival skills in a post-apocalyptic worldย ๐ฌ๐ง
- Broadcaster TV2 renews “Innebandykrigerne,” the comedy series, for Season 2, with Espen PA Lervaag and Steffan Ludvigsen returning to craft the hilarious adventures of the Sveiva Wild Boys indoor bandy team. The sereies will be produced by Salto Film og Fjernsyn ๐ณ๐ด
- Comedy Central greenlights Season 2 of “Digman!”, Andy Samberg’s adult animated series, which takes place in a celebrity archaeologist world following Rip Digman’s escapades ๐บ๐ธ
Distribution Deals
Distributors securing worldwide content across different genres, languages and format types- EST Studios secures global sales rights, excluding South Korea, for the Korean horror thriller “Chabak โ Night Of Murder And Romance,” showcasing it to potential buyers at Cannes’ Marchรฉ du Film ๐ ๐ฐ๐ท ๐บ๐ธ
- Anthony Chen, the Camera d’Or winner for “Ilo Ilo,” brings “The Breaking Ice” to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, with Nour Films acquiring French rights and Rediance handling global sales ๐จ๐ณ ๐ซ๐ท ๐
- New Europe Film Sales has announced new deals for Ulaa Salim’s sci-fi drama film “Eternal” with distributors like Kimbo Films, Cineart, Galapagos, Five Stars, and Mozinet ๐ซ๐ท ๐ง๐ช ๐ต๐ฑ ๐ญ๐บ (ex-Yugoslavia)
- Loco Films secures worldwide sales rights for Joanna Arnow’s comedy “The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed,” starring Arnow as a disillusioned woman facing challenges in her job, BDSM relationship, and family life. The film premieres at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes ๐ซ๐ท ๐บ๐ธ
- Cinephil secures global sales rights for Maciek Hamela’s “In The Rearview,” premiering at Cannes’ ACID program, that depicts Ukrainians seeking refuge during conflict ๐บ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ธ
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Acquisition Deals
Streamers & channels acquiring latest content across the world- The Africa Channel (TAC) and Demand Africa partner with MTV, BBC, and MNET, to feature shows like “Housewives,” “Queen Nanny,” and “The Rising,” alongside BBC’s news program “Focus on Africa” ๐บ๐ธ ๐ฌ๐ง
๐ฐ๐ท ๐ฟ๐ฆ - “The Ghastly Ghoul,” the Lupus Films and Dream Logic Animation Studios’ Halloween special, lands European sales with Canal+, KMBO, YLE, DR, and SVT securing distribution rights ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช ๐ซ๐ฎ ๐ซ๐ท
- Latin American broadcasters Telefuturo, Imagen, Telemetro, and RPC acquire Turkish drama “Golden Boy,” produced by OGM Pictures and distributed by Eccho Rights ๐น๐ท ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ต๐ฆ
- Israeli streamer HOT acquires the comedy series “Kid Sister”, produced by Greenstone TV, and the anthology series “Summer of Love”, produced by Gristmill, from Red Arrow Studios International ๐บ๐ธ ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐บ
- Thymos Media, creator of BTS’s animated series “Bastions,” partners with Crunchyroll, and grants global rights (excluding a few regions) for the show ๐ฐ๐ท
Partnerships/M&A
Cross-Border Collaborations, Joint Ventures, M&A and Partnerships!- Virgin Media UK and Amdocs’ Vubiquity have expanded their collaboration with the delivery of Amdocs’ cloud-native Entertainment Suite solution, enabling Virgin Media customers to access EST and future TVOD contentย ๐ฌ๐ง
- Kidsโ entertainment veteran Mevelyn J Noriega has launched Wonderworld.Fun, a LA based company that will collaborate with Kintop Pictures, ReDefine, and Prime Focus Studios to produce and distribute content specifically for children ๐
- PikoTV which provides cloud-based streaming solutions, partners with MwareTV to deliver cost-effective live TV channel management on multiple devices ๐ณ๐ฑ ๐น๐ท
- ERA partners with Tedial, expanding its IT workflow solutions with media supply chain automation and Asset Management services using Tedial’s platforms ๐ฌ๐ง ๐ช๐ธ
- Spanish broadcaster RTVE has chosen LiveU to enhance its video coverage. RTVE will use LiveU’s IP bonding technology and cloud-based services to improve content gathering and production efficiency. The broadcaster has acquired multiple LiveU units to be deployed in major cities globally ๐ช๐ธ ๐บ๐ธ
Companies Making Headlines
Launch and Expansions of facilities, studios, services & technologies- New York approves a $700 million tax incentive package for the film industry, highlighting the importance of promoting film production and its socio-economic advantages, while Brazil seeks a national incentive to attract more international productions besides Sรฃo Paulo’s $8 million program ๐บ๐ธ ๐ง๐ท
- Bruce Berman (CEO, Village Roadshow Pictures) and Aditya Chand (CEO & Chairman, Through the Lens Entertainment) collaborate to establish a pan-Asian film ecosystem, combining East-West opportunities and creating a digital-age studio platform headquartered in Singapore ๐ธ๐ฌ
- Content delivery provider STN expands its services to include MENAFLIX, enabling viewers worldwide to access the rapidly growing Arabic language OTT service on any internet-connected device ๐ฆ๐ช
- Mo Abudu, renowned Nigerian media executive and founder of EbonyLife Media, launches Mo Abudu Films, dedicated to amplifying the voices of minority communities by creating “personal and intimate” films ๐ณ๐ฌ
- SVF Entertainment’s Bengali streaming platform, Hoichoi, expands into the world of theatrical films with the launch of Hoichoi Studios ๐ฎ๐ณ
Featured New Specializations
Global innovations & breakthroughs in the Entertainment supply-chain- TAG Video Systems introduces Content Matching at CABSAT, a technology to detect similar content across streams by creating unique fingerprints for video frames and audio envelopes, simplifying workflows and ensuring efficient content delivery ๐ฎ๐ฑ
- LucidLink has added DC Thomson and Minute Media to streamline remote collaboration, eliminating upload/download cycles and enhancing efficiency for editors, photographers, and videographers across different locations ๐ฌ๐งย ๐บ๐ธ
- A1 Croatia collaborates with Appear to optimize live OTT channel encoding and distribution. Appear’s NEO Series platform enables delivery of 300+ high-capacity channels across devices, offering efficient compression ๐ญ๐ท ๐ณ๐ด
- Wurl unveils ContentDiscovery, an AI-driven ad platform for streamers and content publishers, boosting viewer acquisition and profitability through targeted content promotion ๐บ๐ธ
Localization & Post-Production
Latest updates in the world of content Localization & Post-Production- ZOO Digital acquires 30% stake in Spanish dubbing provider AM Group, expanding its presence in Iberia and gaining access to facilities in Madrid and Valencia ๐บ๐ธ ๐ช๐ธ
- XL8 introduces ‘Projects,’ the advanced version 2.0 of its MediaCAT platform, revolutionizing localization and translation by enabling seamless API integrations with existing systems of localization service providers (LSPs)
- 9iFX celebrates 10 years of success by expanding their state-of-the-art studio space for ambitious projects. Spanning 4200 square feet, the fully remodelled facility empowers the 9iFX team to push the boundaries of visual effects in a dynamic and inspiring environment
Animation, VFX & Virtual Production
Latest global updates in Animation, Visual Effects VFX & Virtual Production- Sony’s ET&S establishes a virtual production unit with Crystal-LED technology at Pinewood Studios, UK, enabling collaboration with cinematography experts ๐ฌ๐ง
- Annapurna Studios and Qube Cinema launch the ANR Virtual Production Stage in Hyderabad, enabling filmmakers to unleash their storytelling potential unrestricted by physical boundariesย ๐ฎ๐ณ
- Oxford Metrics’ subsidiary, Vicon, secures contract with Digital Kinetics to deploy the industry-leading Valkyrie solution and Shลgun software platform for motion measurement in the life sciences, entertainment, and engineering markets ๐ญ๐ท
Fast Channels
World of FAST channels & related market moves- Rakuten TV expands its FAST channels lineup by introducing TED talks. It is now accessible on Rakuten TV in the UK, Netherlands, and the Nordicsย ๐ช๐ธ ๐ฌ๐ง ๐ณ๐ฑ
- A+E Networks EMEA has recently launched three new FAST channels on Amazon Freevee: Inside Crime, Mystery TV, and World War TV as a step to bring its factual content to Amazon’s AVoD platform
- Hasbro’s Entertainment One (eOne) is preparing to launch a new FAST streaming channel for Dungeons & Dragons fans. It will feature original celebrity-focused unscripted series, catalog content including the 1980s animated series, and third-party content from internet creators and influencers, with a focus on live gameplay ๐บ๐ธ
- Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and AMC Networks have agreed to add 12 FAST channels. The channels will soon be available and can be accessed through the Redbox app on Roku, Samsung TVs, and many other devices ๐บ๐ธ
- DraftKings introduces a FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus, showcasing original shows hosted by popular personalities and collaborating with Meadowlark Media
New Global Arrivals
Recent biggest releases across the globe!- Netflix’s highly anticipated K-Drama “Black Knight” releases globally ๐
- The 10th installment of long-running Fast & Furious franchise “FAST X’” gets a grand release in theaters globallyย ๐
- Experience the captivating debut of the Brazilian telenovela “Terra e Paixรฃo” as it graces the screens of Globoplay and Globo TV, transporting viewers into a world of love and intrigue ๐ง๐ท
- Paramount’s 2022 psychological horror film “Smile” comes to scare the Australian viewers on Binge in May ๐ฆ๐บ
- Disney’s next live action spectacle “The Little Mermaid” comes to theaters across the globe in May ๐