Anonymous Content Elevates Three To Partner

EXCLUSIVE: Canada’s Crave has struck a multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for the likes of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe and HBO content.

Vizio, a top smart-TV maker, has launched a branded content studio as part of its push into streaming programming.

EXCLUSIVE: Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and United Agents have set former ITVS Creative Director Patrick Spence (Spy Among Friends) as Managing Director of their UK film and TV production joint venture.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content has acquired “Niki,” a film about the famous French-American artist Niki de Saint-Phalle, for international sales. The Paris-based banner will introduce the period project to buyers at the Cannes market with exclusive first stills. “Niki” marks the feature debut of popular French actor Céline Sallette and stars Charlotte Le Bon (“The Walk” “Saint-Laurent”) as de Saint-Phalle. Le Bon recently made her feature debut with “Falcon Lake” — which bowed at Cannes last year — and previously starred in Robert Zemeckis’s “The Walk,” as well as Terry George’s “The Promise” and Jalil Lespert’s “Saint-Laurent.” Le Bon stars in “Niki” opposite Damien Bonnard (“Les Misérables“).

Viacom18 have revealed a multi-year agreement making JioCinema India’s new streaming home for HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros. content from May. The WBD content had previously been carried on the Disney-owned Star TV platform. But the deal with Star expired at the end of March. WBD sources have confirmed that, except for a handful of shows licensed to third parties, HBO content has been absent from Indian airwaves since the beginning of the month. The new deal is another major victory for Mukesh Ambani, one of India’s richest and most politically influential businessmen. His Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is behind Viacom18 and the JioCinema streaming platform, as well as India’s dominant cellular phone and broadband internet providers.

Warner Bros Discovery has signed a multi-year licensing deal with Viacom18 under which its JioCinema service will become the new streaming home of HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros content in India starting next month. 

Naman Ramachandran Internationally sourced programming and stories placed alongside local content could be a solution to bring audiences back to Indian cinemas, a high-powered panel debated. The panel was part of Indiantelevision.com’s annual industry event, The Content Hub, that recently concluded in Mumbai. Mayank Shroff, head of film distribution at Cinepolis, the Indian division of Latin American exhibition giant Cinepolis, said that while footfalls were back to 85% of pre-pandemic days, an innovative approach is required to bring the rest of the audiences back. Shroff pointed to the success of Makoto Shinkai’s anime film “Suzume,” which accounted for 20% of the Cinepolis box office over the past weekend and “Evil Dead Rise,” which also pulled in decent numbers, both in the face of stiff competition from Eid holiday release “Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan,” starring superstar Salman Khan. Shroff also said that there was demand for Korean films and K-pop concerts, notably by BTS, streamed into cinemas live or as recordings. He added that that the international content was working in their original languages in the metropolises and can be customized into local languages for release in tier 2 and 3 centers.

EXCLUSIVE: Mina Lefevre, who was Head of Development and Programming at Meta, is departing Facebook’s parent company.

Netflix will have invested almost $6BN in UK content over four years by the end of 2023, the streamer has revealed.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In a significant play for audience growth at Telefonica’s Movistar+, Domingo Corral has been promoted to the position of director of fiction and entertainment at the company, the biggest Spanish pay TV/SVOD service.  The move, which in some ways echoes the larger oversight of ITV Studios’ Ruth Berry, marks further recognition for the former director of original fiction who has spearheaded Movistar+’s notably successful drive into scripted production, begun with its first releases in 2017.  Playing off Corral’s innate flair at forge talent relationships his passion for premium entertainment and willingness to explore flexible market models, Movistar+ has created some of the most lauded and prized series in Spain, such as Canneseries double winner “A Perfect Life,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Riot Police” and “Offworld,” chosen by Variety as one of its best international TV shows of 2022.

Naman Ramachandran A galaxy of senior Indian content creators shared their insights on burning topics dominating the local landscape. They were speaking at at Indiantelevision.com’s annual industry event, The Content Hub, in Mumbai on Tuesday. At the Content Creation: No More Formulas panel, Shobha Sant, head of content alliances at Jio Studios, broke down the process behind the selection of its 100-title slate. Sant said that the selection was the result of five years of very a definite plan in terms of understanding audience segmentation and what people are watching.

McKinley Franklin editor Moviefone today announced at CinemaCon the addition of several theater circuits to its affiliate content, media and ticketing network, Variety has exclusively learned.  CMX Cinemas, Santikos Entertainment, IPIC Theaters, National Amusements’ Showcase Cinemas and Cinema Labs will be added to ensure a seamless transition from the Moviefone Media platform to showtimes and ticketing at theaters across the U.S.  “The addition of these terrific, geographically diverse circuits enhances the ability of our multi-media network to refer our viewer, browser, fan or follower to purchase on the exhibitors’ platform,” said Cleveland O’Neal III, CEO of Moviefone Media. “Exhibitors are tremendous marketers for their brand, location, loyalty programs and more. We drive traffic to them and help in the acquisition of customers. We do not do the ticketing, they do. This completely simplifies the process and exemplifies the evolution of our legacy brand to a new win-win partnership with exhibitors.”

Jennifer Lopez, Jaime Camil, and Juanpa Zurita are partnering up with Roku. The company is expanding its original content and has reached out to Latino stars to get the job done.Jennifer Lopez celebrates Easter after saying goodbye to Ben Affleck at the HamptonsJennifer Lopez opens up about her fitness journey: How she prepares for new albumA post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)Deadline reports that Lopez, Camil, and Zurita will be providing different types of content to Roku Originals.

CinemaCon is doubling as a retirement party for its president and CEO, John Fithian, who in his final opening day speech urged movie theater owners to not use the word “content” to describe what they put on their screens.“The words ‘product’ and ‘content’ are still used far too often, and they diminish the value this industry provides,” Fithian said on Tuesday. “We are not in the widget business…Movies are fun, entertaining, and sometimes art.

Naman Ramachandran Gaurav Banerjee, head of content at Disney+ Hotstar, India, has revealed the streamer’s growth strategy in the country. Banerjee was speaking at Indiantelevision.com’s annual industry event, The Content Hub, in Mumbai on Tuesday, in conversation with the organization’s founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari. The thrust is to expand original programming in languages beyond Hindi, Banerjee said. “We recognized early on that massive growth in India is going to come by thinking about our content strategy and multiple languages, and not just in Hindi,” Banerjee said. The streamer currently commissions in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages and also programs in the Malayalam language.

Variety. “We were also inspired by the President’s love and strong support for the Korean entertainment industry and fuelling the Korean wave.”“It is incredible that the love towards Korean shows has led to a wider interest in Korea, thanks to the Korean creators’ compelling stories.

Netflix has said it will invest $2.5BN in South Korean series, films and unscripted shows over the next four years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Global streaming giant Netflix has publicly committed to spending $2.5 billion (approx. KRW3.34 trillion) on South Korean film and TV production over the next four years. The total is double the amount it has spent in Korea since 2016, the company said. The promise was made by Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, at a meeting in Washington DC with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. “We were able to make this decision because we have great confidence that the Korean creative industry will continue to tell great stories. We were also inspired by the President’s love and strong support for the Korean entertainment industry and fueling the Korean wave. I’d like to personally thank the President for his kind response letter,” Sarandos said in a statement.

Sarandos said. “I have no doubt that our investment will strengthen our long-term partnership with Korea and Korea’s creative ecosystem.”Sarandos says the sum is double what Netflix has spent in Korea since 2016.

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