SVOD

TNT president to head content for WarnerMedia SVOD

TBS and TNT president Kevin Reilly is to lead the content strategy for WarnerMedia’s new streaming service. The exec has been handed an expanded role, and will now serve as chief creative officer for Turner and direct-to-consumer alongside his duties as president of TBS and TNT, where he has helped in launching such titles as […]

Apple strikes deal with DHX Media for Peanuts content

Apple has signed a deal with DHX Media for new Peanuts content including new shows, specials and short films about Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the gang. One project for Apple will include an exclusive short-form piece aimed at getting kids into STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects. It will feature Snoopy as an astronaut […]

Facebook Watch expands ad break initiative amid programming rethink

Facebook Watch has extended its ad break initiative in 40 countries and launched via desktop. The social media giant has revealed that its Watch app is now available on both mobile and desktop globally – a key component in improving the accessibility and ad monetisation of the fledgling video platform. Meanwhile, its ad breaks function, […]

Netflix reveals most-binged true crime & sci-fi series in the UK

Netflix’s bank heist series Evil Genius and Haunting of Hill House topped the list as the most-binged true crime and sci-fi/thriller series in the UK for 2018. The streamer unveiled US data for the most-binged titles of 2018 earlier this week and has now followed up with a sneak peek into UK data. It revealed the true […]

Disney reshuffles international business units

Disney has consolidated its international business units, which includes its direct-to-consumer segment, to fall under three leaders as it preps for its integration with 21st Century Fox. Upon completion of the acquisition, Rebecca Campbell, who currently serves as president at The Walt Disney Company EMEA, will maintain oversight of the region and add Russia and the […]

Eleven Sports on brink of closure

SVOD Eleven Sports may be shuttered just four months after launching. Billed as the ‘Netflix of Sport’ and with minority investment from Endeavor Group, the fledgling platform has struggled to find a subscriber base in the UK and Ireland, according to reports. The service, which is priced at £5.99 ($7.50)/month and owned by Leeds United […]

Netflix acquires doc on Fyre Festival controversy

Netflix has acquired a documentary film about the unravelling of the Fyre music festival. Created by Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, Fyre was promoted as a luxury music festival on a private island in the Bahamas featuring bikini-clad supermodels, A-List musical performances and posh amenities. Guests arrived to discover the reality was far […]

Report: Hulu, AT&T look to run ads when streamers pause shows

Hulu and AT&T are both looking at the option of adding advertising to their current, or upcoming, platforms when viewers pause for a break. Hulu intends to unveil what it calls “pause ads” in 2019, according to Variety. AT&T is also looking at the option for its upcoming WarnerMedia-branded streamer, which will launch at the […]

Hulu set to reach 23m subs by year end

Hulu is on track to reach over 23m subscribers by year end, according to Hulu CEO Randy Freer who discussed the topic at Business Insider’s Ignition conference. The Hulu chief said that the streamer is on track to add more subscribers by the second half of 2018 than it did the first. Between January and […]

Netflix’s Sarandos: “We don’t have a China strategy”

Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos said that the streamer is unlikely to look to expand business in China, during the UBS 46thAnnual Global Media and Communications Conference. Sarandos said that work with the nation has been, for the most part, “frustrating distraction”, and that it will not be looking to invest its time there unless […]