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Author
Mark Layton
Recent articles by this author
1 min read
Blink49 Studios acquires ‘Wild Cards” & ‘Sight Unseen’ partner Front Street Pictures
Blink49 Studios, the Toronto-based firm headed by former Entertainment One exec John Morayniss, has taken…
2 min read
News round-up: CreativeChaos to adapt ‘This Is War’; Showtime orders ‘The World According To Football’; Prime Video & NRK acquire ’44 Hours’
CreativeChaos to adapt ‘This Is War’ US prodco CreativeChaos has acquired the rights to adapt…
1 min read
Swedish ‘Headhunters’ prodco Yellow Bird hires FLX’s Elin Kvist as creative director
Swedish scripted prodco Yellow Bird has appointed FLX’s Elin Kvist as VP and creative director….
1 min read
LGBTQ+ streamer OUTtv orders dating format with Tiffany Pollard
US-Canadian LGBTQ+ streamer OUTtv has commissioned Looking For A Third, an original dating competition series…
1 min read
Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks recruits SPT’s Scott Landsman to head up TV
Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions has hired Sony Pictures Television (SPT) exec…
2 min read
TBI Tech & Analysis: Why streamers must embrace seasonal subscribers
With churn rates on the rise, and expected to increase further in the coming year,…
2 min read
Amazon expands ‘Bosch’ franchise with greenlight for Renée Ballard spin-off
Amazon streamer Prime Video has given the greenlight to the previously announced spin-off from crime…
1 min read
Genie TV & Disney+ Japan to launch ‘Tell Me That You Love Me’ remake
South Korean streaming service Genie TV and Disney+ in Japan are launching a Korean remake…
1 min read
Mediatoon recruits Princess Sam’s Fréderic Gentet to head up sales
Paris based distributor Mediatoon has appointed Princess Sam Pictures exec Fréderic Gentet to the newly…
4 min read
What the Sony/Zee merger tells us about the Indian market
Marco Ferrarese explores what’s driving India’s $10bn merger between Sony and Zee Entertainment and how…
2 min read
Amazon, ESPN & CBS strike multi-year deals for National Women’s Soccer League coverage
Women’s sport is achieving growing recognition and interest from major streamers and networks as Amazon-owned…
1 min read
Starz greenlights ‘Spartacus: House Of Ashur’ in historical drama franchise revival
US network Starz has greenlit Spartacus: House Of Ashur, a new chapter in its historical…
2 min read
Plimsoll elevates BBC alum Mark Brownlow to creative director, natural history, as Tom Hugh-Jones exits
ITV Studios-owned factual producer Plimsoll Productions has promoted Mark Brownlow to the role of creative…
2 min read
News round-up: ZDF Studios, Non Stop & La Sagrada Familia team for F1 doc; Newen Studios acquires Digital Banana & takes Brain Comet stake; WE tv picks up ‘S.W.A.T’
ZDF Studios, Non Stop & La Sagrada Familia team for F1 doc ZDF Studios, Non…
1 min read
ABC Australia & Disney+ pick up half-hour ‘Bluey’ special
Australian broadcaster ABC has commissioned a special half-hour instalment of animated kids hit Bluey to…
2 min read
ABC expands ‘Death In Paradise’ crime drama franchise with Australian spin-off
Australian broadcaster ABC has commissioned Return To Paradise, a spin-off from long-running British-French crime comedy…
2 min read
Disney to cut content spend & raise savings target as it nears streaming profitability
Disney+ added almost seven million new subscribers globally in the fourth quarter, with the Mouse…
1 min read
Warner Bros. Discovery dropped 700k streaming subscribers in Q3 2023
Warner Bros. Discovery lost 700,000 streaming subscribers in the third quarter, taking its total down…
2 min read
C4 pledges 40% of commissions to indies if in-house production begins, as UK gov imposes “safeguards”
The UK government has put in place “safeguards” to protect local indies from losing investment…
1 min read
BBC Studios launches UK scripted label, River Pictures, led by ‘Time’ EP’s Andrew Morrissey and Michael Parke
BBC Studios is to launch River Pictures, a new UK scripted production label with offices…
1 min read
Sony Pictures TV Studios promotes Lauren Stein to head of creative
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has promoted drama development exec Lauren Stein to the newly created…
1 min read
India’s Sony Entertainment TV reacquires BBCS format ‘Dancing With The Stars’
Sony Entertainment Television has acquired the Indian rights to BBC Studios dance reality format Dancing…
2 min read
WildBrain recruits eOne’s Nick Gawne & unveils new leadership & business structure
Canadian kid’s entertainment company WildBrain has appointed former Entertainment One (eOne) general manager Nick Gawne…
2 min read
Jonathan Katz launches digital broadcaster, Free TV Networks, with WBD, Lionsgate & Gray TV
Industry veteran Jonathan Katz has partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Lionsgate and station owner…
3 min read
“Broken” streaming model is “devaluing content”, say global execs
The “broken” streaming model is leading to a “huge devaluing of content”, execs argued at…
2 min read
Rare TV snags Studio Ramsay exec Fernando de Jesus as creative director
UK-based factual and formats prodco Rare TV has appointed Studio Ramsay Global exec Fernando de…
2 min read
‘Lust’ producer Miso Film appoints Rachel Bodros Wolgers as MD, with Max Hallén to exit
Fremantle-backed Nordic prodco Miso Film has appointed Rachel Bodros Wolgers as managing director of its…
1 min read
Studio Crook acquires Lilly Valentine novel ‘Damaged Goods’ for TV adaptation
UK production company Studio Crook has acquired the rights to adapt Damaged Goods, the first…
2 min read
Ant & Dec’s Mitre Studios hires Talkback & BBC alum Ed Sleeman as managing director
Mitre Studios, the UK production company run by TV personalities Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly,…
2 min read
TBI Tech & Analysis: How Disney+’s move towards AVOD aims to reignite subs growth
Omdia’s Rob Moyser & Matthew Evenson explore the growth of Disney+’s ad-supported subscription tier and…