The Line of Duty creator’s company HTM Television eyes the US TV market with its multi-year first look deal. Jed Mercurio and his partner at HTM Jimmy Mulville have struck a ‘first-look’ deal with 20th Television. With hit shows such as Bodyguard and the all-conquering Line of Duty behind him, Mercurio is seemingly looking to … >
Squid Game exceeds our already high expectations in the latest Nielsen ratings We expected Squid Game to top the Nielsens for 27 September – 3 October, but little did we know how far it would exceed out predictions. Here’s what we said last week: Starting with the easier end of the table, Squid Game should dominate for … >
According to Broadcast Now, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) is on the brink of acquiring independent scripted production powerhouse Bad Wolf. Co-founded in 2015 by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner – and now joined by Natasha Hale, The His Dark Materials producer is set to join SPT in a deal thought to be worth close to … >
Netflix expands its games team with the acquisition of Night School Studio Netflix has strengthened its games team and also reaffirmed its vision of how it will add gaming to the platform: We’ll continue working with developers around the world and hiring the best talent in the industry to deliver a great collection of exclusive … >
Netflix buys Roald Dahl Story Company — what might that mean? Subject to final ratification from various external parties, we have the news Netflix buys Roald Dahl Story Company. We see this is a strategic move, bolstering the portfolio and bringing a strong brand to the company. It bodes well for a lot of new … >
BBC Three is back and will be broadcast again from January 2022. Probably. We explain… Ofcom has agreed (in principle) with the BBC’s plan to bring BBC Three back to broadcast viewers in January 2022. You can follow the Ofcom process on their website, and today the focus is on the latest update: As required … >
Netflix is to keep using the BBFC age ratings following a successful trial The BBC is reporting Netflix will continue to use the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) age ratings on all content in the UK (the symbols are shown on the image above, co the BBFC). We see this as part of a … >
BRB, the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, has released its latest survey showing two-thirds of the UK has at least one SVOD service (and often more) We like statistics, and thanks to BARB we have some good, recent data on UK SVOD take-up. [If SVOD and means nothing, our handy guide might help]. You can read the … >
ViacomCBS multi-year deal with Sky brings Paramount+ to Europe Another day, another deal in the VOD (Video on Demand — see our guide) world, as Sky brings Paramount+ to its ever evolving portfolio. It looks like good news for everybody (there are details): more content for Sky, European market for Paramount and more content for customers. We’ll … >
HBO Max is expanding its podcast portfolio and this includes Batman: The Audio Adventures With what it calls Scripted Audio Originals, Look-Backs, Brand Pods (and more), HBO Max is getting very serious about podcasts. They’ve also inked an expansion deal With Audacy, and seen a six-fold increase in portfolio since 2019. We’ll bring the news down (thanks to … >