Disney Media Distribution

ABC Oz backs female Shakespeare drama from ABC Studios Int’l

Australian pubcaster the ABC has boarded a drama from its international production unit that will retell the works of Shakespeare from female perspectives and has Margot Robbie (pictured) attached as a producer. The broadcaster is working with ABC Studios International (part of US broadcaster ABC), LuckyChap Entertainment and Hoodlum on the show, which is currently […]

Disney secures $66bn 21st Century Fox entertainment takeover

The Walt Disney Company has secured a US$66 billion deal that hands it most of 21st Century Fox’s TV and film assets, marking a seismic moment in recent entertainment history. The deal effectively brings to an end Rupert Murdoch’s long career in entertainment media empire building, though he retains control of News Corp, which is […]

LA Screenings 2017 in pictures

The LA Screenings are over for another year, with most acquisitions executives now back in their home countries assessing what shows they’ll be bidding for in coming weeks. Each studio approaches the week in different ways, but all lay out the good china and buy in the fancy food in a bid to impress their […]

LA Screenings 2017: Military procedure

International broadcasters are desperate for American procedurals, and this year the Hollywood studios believe they’ve got the supply to satisfy demand. Jesse Whittock reports from LA Major international networks have been demanding more procedurals from the US studios for years. The ratings stability the format offers is not matched on a consistent basis by the […]

MIPTV preps LA Screenings preview

The organisers of MIPTV have teamed with two of the Hollywood studios for a preview of the LA Screenings that take place in May. The MIPDrama Pre-LA Screenings Showcase will take place on the Tuesday of the market in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais. Disney and Lionsgate are on board the initiative, and TV […]

Russian nets form pact for Hollywood deals

A trio of Russian broadcasters have allied to group-buy content from the Hollywood studios, according to a local report. Kommersant claims CTC Media, National Media Group and YUTV will team up to drive down costs of buying American programming for their channels. The reports adds the trio will also combine online advertising and TV channel […]

E4 acquires US comedy Black-ish

UK terrestrial Channel 4 has acquired ABC comedy Black-ish, and will premiere it on its youth-skewed digital channel, E4. Black-ish has been a ratings and critical success for ABC, and is currently in its second season on US broadcast television. The series follows Anthony Anderson and his African-American family, who try to balance their upper […]

Shonda Rhimes centre stage at MIPCOM

US super-producer Shonda Rhimes will be the Personality of the Year at this year’s MIPCOM. Rhimes is currently the most successful producer in US TV and has a slew of network shows among her credits, including Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, and from this year’s ABC line-up, Romeo and Juliet-inspired drama […]

CTV reveals Screenings acquisitions

Canada’s CTV has acquired eight new series that launched internationally last week at the LA Screenings. The Canuck network bought Designated Survivor and Conviction from Entertainment One Television; This is Us and The Exorcist from Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, Notorious from Sony Pictures Television; American Housewife from Disney Media Distribution; and Time After Time […]

Disney’s Pyne: TV remains indispensable

Despite growth in alternative media, “TV remains the indispensable connective tissue,” that ties people together, according to Disney Media Networks distribution chief Ben Pyne. Despite a decline in linear TV viewing, overall viewing time for top shows is actually growing, added Pyne, who is president, global distribution networks at The Walt Disney Company-owned Disney Media […]