Banijay Germany Launches Tech JV
23.03.2022 - 15:23 / deadline.com
Banijay Germany Hires
Banijay’s German labels have made a series of appointments. At Endemol Shine Germany, Panagiota Vafea has joined from ITV Studios Germany as Executive Director. She will be responsible for formats including Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and LEGO Masters. Tom Kühn has joined also joined Endemol as Executive Producer, he was previously at I&u TV. Elsewhere, at Good Times, former RTLZwei head of entertainment Shona Fraser will join Sylvia Fahrenkrog-Petrsen as joint Managing Director, with Creative Director Cornelia Landgraf promoted to Deputy Managing Director. Fabian Tobias, Managing Director of Endemol Shine Germany said: “Panagiota is a trusted award-winning producer and a valuable asset to our Management Board. We also warmly welcome Tom to the Endemol Shine Germany family who brings his wealth of TV expertise to the company. With our strengthened team, we are ideally positioned in the market to further drive success for our existing and upcoming projects and will continue to be at the forefront of shaping the industry.”
Series Mania & TAICCA Deal
Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and France’s Series Mania have agreed a strategic alliance with the aim of offering a fast track for creators, producers, investors and distributors to ensure market access in Asia and Europe. Under the partnership, the two orgs will put on co-production workshops for project teams to present at the annual Series Mania festival. Top European decision makers will also be invited to attend the Taiwan Creative Content Fest and market which is overseen by TAICCA in November. In addition to introducing 56 up-and-coming projects from 24 production companies in the Taiwan Pavilion at Series Mania, TAICCA Chairperson Ting
Banijay Germany Launches Tech JV
LONDON -- Tennis great Boris Becker could face a jail sentence after being found guilty on Friday of illicitly moving thousands of dollars from a bank account after he was declared bankrupt.A jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court convicted Becker on four charges under the Insolvency Act, including removal of property, concealing debt and two counts of failing to disclose estate.The German star was found to have transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds (dollars) after his June 2017 bankruptcy from his business account to other accounts, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker.He was also convicted of failing to declare a property in Germany and hiding an 825,000 euro ($895,000) bank loan and shares in a tech firm.He was acquitted on 20 other counts, including charges that he failed to hand over his many awards, including two Wimbledon trophies and an Olympic gold medal.The six-time Grand Slam champion had denied all the charges, saying he had cooperated with trustees tasked with securing his assets - even offering up his wedding ring - and had acted on expert advice.Becker’s bankruptcy stemmed from a 4.6 million euro ($5 million) loan from a private bank in 2013, as well as about $1.6 million borrowed from a British businessman the year after, according to testimony at the trial.During the trial Becker, 54, said his $50 million career earnings had been swallowed up by payments for an “expensive divorce” and debts when he lost large chunks of his income after retirement.He said he had “expensive lifestyle commitments” including a house in Wimbledon that cost 22,000 pounds ($28,800) in rent each month.
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Manori Ravindran International EditorParamount is the latest studio to plant its flag in the ground at French TV drama festival Series Mania, where international CEO Raffaele Annecchino broke down the company’s international distribution and SVOD strategy.In a keynote moderated by Variety’s Italy and West Asia correspondent Nick Vivarelli, Annecchino detailed plans to focus internationally on premium SVOD service Paramount Plus and FAST offering Pluto TV, which has more than 64 million monthly users. Also in the mix to “compete with our ecosystem,” according to Annecchino, is Paramount’s JV with Comcast, SkyShowtime, which is launching in 20 European markets where Paramount Plus won’t be available.By the end of 2022, both Paramount Plus and SkyShowtime will be in more than 60 markets in Europe.
Paramount International boss Raffaele Annecchino has talked up the streamer for “launching quicker than others” in key European markets, as he unveiled a tied-up with global Lupin and Narcos production house Gaumont and set titles from France, Argentina and Germany.
Marta Balaga The conditions are set for an increase in scripted adaptations, argued Tim Westcott of research organization Omdia at Series Mania.According to the research opening the “With Local Content Going Global, What’s the Future of Scripted Formats?” session on Wednesday, the U.S. has been the biggest and “most enthusiastic” buyer of scripted remakes between 2010 and 2022, with South Korea, Turkey and France also following suit.
Naman Ramachandran “Is bigger generally better?” was one of the hot button topics being debated at a Series Mania panel on Wednesday and the answer in general was there is always room for growth in a rapidly expanding market, albeit with some caveats. Weighing in on the topic were the heads of Europe-based companies, each of which operate several labels across territories.
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent“Game of Thrones” producer Frank Doelger, after executive producing “The Swarm” through his Berlin-based Intaglio Films, now has two new high-end shows for the international pipeline in the pipeline: “Concordia” and “Doing Good.”During a panel at the Series Mania TV festival Doelger described “Concordia” as “a series about a 21st century community which uses cutting edge AI technology to see if it can create a fairer, safer, society.” Twenty years after this community has been a huge success, “countries around the world are approaching the founders of this social engineering experiment to found similar communities in their countries,” he added.And, “as they research the twenty-year history of this community, they discover that this instance of utopia has provided safe homes for immigrants and thousands of refugees seeking a better life. But they also discover the dark secret that led to its founding.” Doelger — whose Intaglio is a joint venture between German outfits Beta Cinema and ZDF Enterprises — said “Concordia” will start shooting in September.
Frank Doelger, who was an executive producer on Game Of Thrones between 2011 and 2019, provided an update on his new company in Germany during a Series Mania panel today.
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Marta Balaga Returning barely six months after its 2021 edition, which wrapped in September, French TV festival Series Mania welcomed Jury President Julia Sinkevych,who arrived in Lille from war-torn Ukraine.“I didn’t know if I would be lucky enough to be here tonight,” said Sinkevych to a standing ovation, with Laurence Herszberg, Series Mania general director, observing that culture cannot be insensitive to what is happening.“The whole world is now admiring our resistance, the resistance of the Ukrainian people. But there is another battlefield, which is culture, and I want us to be noticed, recognized and admired on the cultural battlefield, too,” added Sinkevych.“This [conflict] has been going on for a long time and there have been many episodes in this TV series.