Content London: ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ to return to Prime Video; Sony’s Ahuja talks ‘cooling’ US market; MGM+ unveils roll-out plans

Clarkson’s Farm

Prime Video’s Clarkson’s Farm to return

Prime Video’s Clarkson’s Farm will return for a fourth season, despite reports that the show’s future was in doubt after presenter Jeremy Clarkson’s comments about Meghan Markle.

The news broke at Content London, where Fozia Khan, head of UK unscripted at Amazon Studios, said that shooting was soon to begin on the fourth run.

TBI understands the show’s third season, which has completed production, will be launched next year, with its return coming after months of speculation.

At the Edinburgh TV Festival in August, the Prime Video UK team indicated that the popular agricultural documentary series could continue without its divisive star, explaining that Clarkson’s Farm is “bigger than Jeremy”.

Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson caused outrage following a newspaper column he wrote about Meghan Markle in which he said that the Duchess of Sussex should be “made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds throw lumps of excrement at her.”

Prime Video is also expanding its true crime offering with Dead In The Water, which is being produced by Tinder Swindler prodco Raw TV. The show tracks a four decade-long hunt for a murderer.

In related news, Amazon Studios’ head of unscripted development & formats CJ Yu has left the company after six years. US trade Deadline broke the news.

Sony’s Ahuja on ‘cooling’ US market

Sony Pictures Television (SPT)’s chairman of global TV studios, Ravi Ahuja, has admitted the US industry is at an “inflection point” following surging spending over previous years.

Ahuja, who used his keynote at Content London to unveil a partnership with UK media group The Guardian, said the US market had become “too hot” but was now “cooling”.

Sony, he said, would be able to navigate the turmoil with a focus on quality over quantity.

He added that while the US strikes had caused delays, a decline in commissions had been in evidence before they began.

“The ad market contraction and the streaming reset happened at the same time, we were in a phase where it was too hot and now we’re in a stage where it is really cooling off.”

MGM+ unveils roll-out plans

MGM+ will commission local-focused programming and tweak its approach on a territory-by-territory as the service is rolled out globally.

After MGM was acquired by Amazon, the streamer was rebranded from Epix to become MGM+ International, and VP of corporate strategy at Prime Video Chris Brearton and MGM+ chief Michael Wright told delegates at Content London how the expansion would be tailor-made.

“We do not believe in the one size fits all programming strategy, we believe that every territory has individual needs,” said Brearton, adding that the expansion has been “accelerated” because of positive results.

Wright said that regional and country-specific right strategies were taking centre stage, because the company does not believe that “global market tastes are consistent”.

The duo added during their Content London appearance that further markets would be explored in the next year and a half.