Former Zodiak Media and Canal+ executive Marc Antoine d’Halluin has been appointed as CEO at MBC Group, the Saudi Arabia-controlled broadcaster that is the largest in the Middle East. D’Halluin will join the company on January 5 and replaces Sam Barnett, who left in October after 17 years. The new CEO previously served as chairman […]
Agatha Christie doc sells into Nordics TV4 in Sweden and TV2 in Denmark have picked up a Channel 5 documentary that explores the life and work of mystery novel doyen, Agatha Christie. Inside The Mind of Agatha Christie will provide access to the author’s personal notebooks, letters and diaries as well as never-before-seen documents that […]
Former Canal+ exec Lorenzo Benedetti and ex-Havas exec Benoit Bunaigre have launched an international podcast production studio. The studio is to create and produce premium scripted, documentary and kids content for international platforms such as Spotify, Audible and Sybel. Formats will be produced in languages including English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French. The business […]
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will host the premieres of original series from Facebook Watch, USA Network and HBO. The Canadian festival, which takes place in September, has programmed six premieres as part of its TV sidebar ‘Primetime’, which is now in its fifth year. Around 60% of the episodes set to be screened […]
France’s Canal+ Group has struck a deal to acquire African studio and channel operator ROK as part of its strategy to bolster its operations across the continent. The deal with parent company IROKO comes six years after ROK was launched by producer/actor Mary Njoku. It has since produced more than 540 movies and 25 original […]
French pay TV operator Canal+ is to reduce its workforce by around 500 posts as it struggles to regain ground following the entry of streamers such as Netflix. According to various press reports, the Vivendi-owned pay TV operator sent an email to employee representatives last week calling on them to attend a meeting on July […]
France’s Canal+ orders Dandelooo animation French pay TV operator Canal+ has ordered a serialised children’s animation series from production and distribution company Dandelooo. The Upside Down River (10 x 30 minutes, pictured) is a 2D animation that is being directed by Paul Leluc (The Wolf). The show is targeted at kids aged 8 to 12 […]
BBC2 in the UK, PBS in the US and French pay operator Canal+ are preparing to air a documentary to mark the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing. 8 Days: To The Moon And Back (1 x 90 minutes) is being co-produced by BBC Studios’ Science Unit, PBS and The Open University, in association […]
Samuel Kissous’ Pernel Media and Vivendi Entertainment have partnered on a 4K series delving into the construction of the Pyramids for France’s Canal+. Secrets Of The Pyramid Builders (6 x 45 minutes) will examine the construction of Egypt’s Pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza from the perspectives of those who worked to build them. […]
Vivendi-owned Canal+ has agreed to acquire international pay TV operator M7 group from private-equity investor Astorg Partners for just over €1bn ($1.1bn) in a move that marks a significant ramping up of the pay-TV outfit’s efforts in the international market. Canal+ and M7 Group have complementary European footprints. M7, which turns in revenues of over […]
