In this week’s edition of the Entertainment Supply Chain Digest, we unravel the latest seismic shifts from industry giants.
Dive into the dynamic world of entertainment as we unravel the chapters of Lionsgate billion-dollar spin off, witness the primetime deal between ZDF Studios and Disney, explore Fremantle’s ventures shaping the industry, and unveil the extended alliance of Comcast & Paramount.
Join us this week in our LIVE session to explore the dynamic landscape of Production Financing and Content Licensing in EMEA. Discover the latest trends, strategies of global players, and insights into the thriving entertainment markets of EMEA.
We at Vitrina AI, the global marketplace for the entertainment industry, strive to keep you informed of the latest happenings in the industry, so you don’t have to spend countless hours researching and keeping up to date.
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Global Entertainment Leaders Speak
IP Deals
Hottest IP Stories, Formats, Books, Games, Podcasts to be turned into the next big blockbuster- Talpa Studios reaches a milestone as its quiz show, “The Floor”, expands internationally, securing deals for its debut in Latin America’s Argentina (eltrece) and Hungary (RTL Hungary) as the ninth and tenth markets, with broadcasts set for 2024. (🇭🇺 🇦🇷)
- Banijay’s celebrated cookery format, “MasterChef”, hits a milestone with its 70th international adaptation in Serbia (TV Prva) and Malta (TVM), set to air in 2024.(🇲🇹 🇷🇸)
- iGeneration Studios teams up with author Ali Novak for “The Heartbreakers Chronicles,” a drama series about the top boy band, told through the perspectives of their love interests, with plans for television pitching. (🇬🇧)
- Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. TV are set to adapt Dana Brown’s memoir, “Dilettante: True Tales of Excess, Triumph, and Disaster,” into a scripted series. It explores Brown’s journey in the New York media scene of the 1990s, after securing the option for the book. (🇺🇸)
- Diosual Television Studios is adapting the Brazilian non-fiction book ‘Whose Money Is It? Fear, Luck, and Bad Luck: Victories and Stumbles in the Stock Market’ into a three-season series titled “Brazilian Succession,” directed by Alexandre Avancini. (🇧🇷)
Production Deals
Sneak peak into recently announced production projects worldwide- Netflix is gearing up to expand its hit series “Wednesday” with a “spinoff centered on Fred Armisen’s Uncle Fester” character, exploring his electrifying abilities in early development with MGM Television.(🌐)
- Carla Hall, the renowned chef and author, takes viewers on a Max Series journey, “Chasing Flavor,” exploring the diverse roots and international influences behind beloved American dishes, from chicken pot pie to ice cream, across destinations like Ghana, Italy, and Turkey. (🇺🇸)
- Canal+ has commissioned Banijay France’s KM label to produce a new Karl Lagerfeld docuseries, “Révélation”. It uncovers the fashion icon’s hidden family history and explores his relationship with luxury, power, and authority through exclusive access to archives and interviews with relatives and collaborators. (🇫🇷)
- Australian director Tim Piper and screenwriter Sally Gifford are shooting ‘Kangaroo Island,’ a family drama-comedy. The film follows actress Lou Wells as she grapples with her past, fulfilling her father’s last wishes by reuniting with her sister on Kangaroo Island, unraveling a tale of redemption and family healing. (🇦🇺)
- Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham set to star and produce a Prime Video comedy series by Tessa Coates. The show revolves around best friends Judith and Debbie, who must mend their friendship on the run when Judith’s secret life as an assassin is revealed. (🌐)
Season Renewals
More episodes on the way! Season Renewal Announcements- HBO has renewed “The Gilded Age” for a third season, celebrating the achievements of the show’s captivating elements, including Julian Fellowes’ storytelling, costumes, production design, and performances.(🇺🇸)
- Prime Video has renewed TVF’s enduring show “Flames” for its fourth season, making it one of The Viral Fever’s longest-running series, as it continues to chronicle the antics, friendships, and relationships of Indian teens at a tuition center.(🇮🇳)
- Starz has renewed “Power Book IV: Force” for a Season 3 following an explosive season finale, continuing the gripping narrative of Tommy Egan seeking vengeance for Liliana’s death and solidifying his determination to dominate the Chicago drug world in the “Power” universe’s third spinoff series. (🇺🇸)
- ABC News Studios extends its true-crime docuseries lineup on Hulu, bringing back a second season of “Death in the Dorms,” which delves into the tragic stories of six college students from different schools(🇺🇸)
- Apple TV+ to renew the hit half-hour comedy “Platonic,” starring and executive produced by Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen, for a second season after its successful performance since its summer debut.(🇺🇸)
Distribution Deals
Distributors securing worldwide content across different genres, languages and format types- In a historic collaboration, ZDF Studios and The Walt Disney Company join forces for the first time in Bulgaria and the Balkans, for a deal encompassing two pre-sales and 34 hours of primetime drama, including titles like “Dead Still,” “The Swarm,” “Queens of Mystery,” “The Puzzle Lady,” and “Concordia,” with the latter two secured as pre-sales. (Balkans 🇧🇬)
- MPM Premium secures international rights to “Betânia” ahead of its Berlinale Panorama debut, a film depicting the challenges faced by a 65-year-old matriarch and her family as they navigate the impact of desertification near the Amazon after her husband’s death. (🇧🇷 🇫🇷)
- Fremantle secures global distribution rights for Sky’s documentary ‘Zuckerberg: King of the Metaverse.’ It traces Mark Zuckerberg’s evolution from Harvard student to Facebook (now Meta) CEO, using interviews and archival footage to explore pivotal events in his life and the social network’s evolution. (🌐)
- Bohemia Media secures distribution rights for “Memory,” in the UK and Ireland, following its Best Actor-winning premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. The film explores the impact of an unexpected reunion on the lives of social workers Sylvia and Saul. (🇬🇧 🇮🇪)
- Eccho Rights broadens its portfolio of Turkish dramas for global distribution with the addition of the upcoming series “Kara”. Produced by Most Production, the show follows Kara, a young thief from Istanbul’s slums, who intertwines his life with Zeynep’s, the target of his previous heist. (🇸🇪 🇹🇷)
Acquisition Deals
Streamers & channels acquiring latest content across the world- Fremantle reveals a partnership with GAIN, a Turkish SVOD service, for titles like “Bayern Munich: Rise of a Legend,” “House of Kardashian,” “Herrhausen: The Banker & The Bomb,” “CAUGHT,” “Sullivan’s Crossing,” and “Platform 7” in one of GAIN’s initial international agreements post-relaunch. (🇹🇷)
- Liam Neeson’s ‘Honest Thief’ is scheduled for a multi-platform streaming release in China. Independent aggregator Leeding Media collaborates with platforms Tencent, Youku, iQiyi, and Bilibili to bring the film, where Neeson plays Tom Dolan, a renowned bank robber seeking surrender after a transformative romance. (🇨🇳)
- Peacock has acquired the movie “The Holdovers,” from Focus Features. Set in 1970, it features Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham, a stern history teacher at a snowy boarding school, overseeing three lonely teens unable to go home for the holidays. (🇺🇸)
- Chile’s TVN acquires Global Agency’s hit Turkish drama ‘One Love,’ joining its global success. The series, also acquired in Puerto Rico, Panama, and Honduras, tells the compelling love story of Doga and Fatih as they navigate differences in values and family conflicts. (🇨🇱)
- Indian streamer Playflix has acquired two new binge-worthy series, “The Three Musketeers” in Korean with English subtitles and “The Lieutenant” in Spanish with English subtitles. (🇮🇳 🇰🇷)
Partnerships/M&A
Cross-Border Collaborations, Joint Ventures, M&A and Partnerships!- Warner Bros. Discovery solidifies its global growth strategy by acquiring full ownership of BluTV, Turkey’s subscription video-on-demand service, after initially securing a 35% stake in 2021. (🇹🇷)
- Comcast and Paramount Global have successfully extended their comprehensive carriage agreement, ensuring the continued availability of CBS stations and Paramount channels on Comcast’s cable systems for approximately 14.5 million video subscribers and 29 million broadband subscribers. (🇺🇸)
- Curiosity Inc. joins forces with Telkomsel in a strategic partnership, to introduce the Curiosity Channel to Telkomsel’s IndiHome subscribers, and offer a range of award-winning unscripted content spanning science & tech, history, nature, travel, and more. (🇮🇩)
- ERA Ltd and Tyrell join forces through a strategic partnership, enhancing Tyrell’s offerings to the media, broadcast, and production markets by collaboratively providing hosting, cloud services, infrastructure, and storage tailored to the dynamic needs of the M&E industry. (🇬🇧)
Companies Making Headlines
Launch and Expansions of facilities, studios, services & technologies- Lionsgate has announced a $4.6 billion SPAC deal with Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp. to spin off its studio business, including TV production, Motion Picture Group, and a vast 20,000-title film and TV library, creating a separately traded public company and separating it from Starz. (🌐)
- Iyuno Paris adds a significant milestone in its global expansion by completing phase two of the renovation of its facility. Now equipped with 20 stages, 14 cutting-edge recording rooms, and enhanced studio capabilities, it’s a substantial expansion from the initial 11 stages. (🇫🇷)
- SVF Entertainment, forays into the Bangladeshi film market through a collaboration with Alpha-I Studios and Chorki, to produce two impactful films, ‘Toofan’ and ‘Domm’, with the aim of elevating Bengali cinema globally. ( 🇮🇳 🇧🇩)
- Brain Audio launches London immersive audio facility with Dolby Atmos theater, handling Netflix series, Steven Eastwood’s film, and VR projects.(🇬🇧)
- G6 Motion Control secures a 10-year lease for 5,000 sq ft at Montford Enterprise Centre, Salford, expanding its offerings in high-speed cinema robotics and virtual production. (🇬🇧)
Featured New Specializations
Global innovations & breakthroughs in the Entertainment supply-chain- Seoul’s Spaceblock Co. debuts innovative motion capture 3D animation packs on Unreal Engine Marketplace, transforming virtual gaming and live performances.(🇰🇷)
- Filmworkz introduces Loki 2.0, an automated restoration app utilizing Emmy award-winning DVO tools to upscale, denoise, and sharpen archive footage for broadcasting and streaming. (🇺🇸)
- FilmLight reveals Baselight 6.0, showcasing ML-driven Face Track tool for face detection and tracking, alongside timeline enhancements and grading tools.
- Pika Labs unveils Pika 1.0, a text-to-video AI accessible online, enabling users to create diverse videos, competing with AI video tools like Stability AI and Runway.(🌐)
- Microsoft enhances Copilot AI with a synthetic music engine in collaboration with Suno, enabling users to prompt Copilot for custom song compositions based on specified music and lyric preferences. (🌐)
Localization & Post-Production
Latest updates in the world of content Localization & Post-Production- Deepdub introduces Voice Artist Royalty Program, compensating voice actors for generative AI voice clones featured on its marketplace. Performers receive royalties when their unique profiles are chosen.(🌐)
- DaVinci Resolve 18.6.4 by Blackmagic Design introduces faster transcriptions, enhanced collaboration, and improved lightbox sorting for efficient video editing.
- Universal Pixels partners with SUMOLIGHT, enhancing image-based lighting (IBL) for film and TV with SUMOSKY IBL, advancing visual storytelling capabilities.
- DPG Media partners with Limecraft to revolutionize content delivery, enhancing structure, security, and efficiency in the post-pandemic era for media operations.
- Developer Zak Ray introduces FinderKit, an iOS viewfinder app for cinematographers and photographers. Ideal for location scouting and preproduction, it eliminates the need to carry multiple cameras or lenses.
Animation, VFX & Virtual Production
Latest global updates in Animation, Visual Effects VFX & Virtual Production- Animaj introduces Animaj AI 1.0, revolutionizing kids’ animation production with AI-driven features like text-to-3D motion, motion retransfer, and text/animatic-to-motion retrieval for efficient workflows.(🇫🇷)
- Korea Deep Learning Inc launches Polyground, a cutting-edge online marketplace for AI-driven photorealistic 3D assets, transforming collaboration and trade in the global 3D and metaverse community. (🇰🇷)
- Freefly rolls out firmware 2.3 update, named ‘Power Surge,’ for Mōvi models, enhancing features like motor power boost, improved camera control, and bug fixes, aimed at optimizing power management. (🇺🇸)
- PhiliaDX debuts AI-powered immersive 3D content production at CONTENT TOKYO 2023, offering rapid creation of high-resolution 3D content with cross-polarized shooting for consistency and accuracy. (🇰🇷)
- DJI introduces the Ronin 4D-8K, the latest in the Ronin 4D cinema camera series, integrating advanced technologies for revolutionary 8K cinematography.
Fast Channels
World of FAST channels, streaming & related market moves- Amagi collaborates with Latino Alternative TV (LATV) to launch a FAST channel, catering to the streaming needs of the diverse Hispanic and Latino community. LATV has secured distribution agreements in anticipation of the channel’s launch.. (LATAM)
- Wedotv debuts three FAST channels—Wedo Movies, Wedo Big Stories, and Wedo Sports—on Amazon Freevee in Germany. The channels feature a range of content, including female-skewing movies, outdoor survival documentaries, science programming, and sports content. (🇩🇪)
- Kinostar collaborates with OKAST to launch its first FAST channel, Turk on Video Free, offering a curated selection of Turkish movies as a linear complement to Kinostar’s existing Turk on Video channels on Amazon Channels in German-speaking Europe, Benelux, and Scandinavia. (🇹🇷)
- African Movie Channel has partnered with Cineverse to introduce its FAST channel, Nolly Africa HD, in the US and Canada. This 24-hour premium Nollywood channel offers curated English language movies, TV series, talk shows, reality productions, and other engaging content. (🇳🇬)
- Zattoo introduces HD-quality FAST channels with features like pause, starting from the beginning, and a seven-day catch-up option in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Includes Top True Crime, Top Filme, Craction TV, Naruto, Strongman Champions League, Terra Mater Wild, Enquêtes de Choc, and Homicide. (🇩🇪 🇦🇹 🇨🇭)
New Global Arrivals
Recent biggest releases across the globe!- “Goodbye Julia,” the first Sudanese feature at Cannes, sets a record for the highest-grossing non-Egyptian or non-Saudi arthouse film in the GCC, generating $349K+ across Gulf countries after its release by MAD Solutions. (🇦🇪 🇸🇦 🇰🇼 🇶🇦 🇴🇲)
- Malaysia’s first crowdfunded film, “Pendatang,” addressing the sensitive topic of race and released online for free to circumvent strict censorship. It has gone viral on YouTube with over 408,000 views in four days. (🇲🇾)
- Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix’s acclaimed film “Joker” is now available on Netflix.(🌐)
- The SPY x FAMILY CODE: White” anime film has garnered success in Japanese theaters, screening on approximately 433 screens, including 50 IMAX theaters. It secured the top position in the weekend box office, earning an impressive 1.224 billion yen (about US$8.61 million) in its initial three days. (🇯🇵)