Digital Marketing Impact Report 2023 Presented by Spotify Advertising

Manchester Christmas Markets may have only just opened, but they've already been welcoming thousands of punters over the weekend. And that includes the first sighting of celebrity visitors.

This year's Manchester Christmas Markets have got off to a rousing start - with plenty of festive cheer already filling the city centre.

Sizzling sausages, piping hot mulled wine and hot chocolates with mighty whipped cream peaks can only mean one thing - the Manchester Christmas Markets are back.

AI might be here, but it’s not about to develop the next big TV hit.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Arndale - with the centre unveiling its decorations for this year’s festivities. The shopping centre has a new display this year, called ‘The Flight Before Christmas’.

Ellise Shafer RTL Group, the European broadcasting company that owns Fremantle, reported a 6.9% drop in revenue from January to September, due in part to the “persistent weakness” of TV advertising markets. In Q3 alone, group revenue was down 10.3% to €1.6 billion, with the company saying 9.2% of this happened organically due to “timing effects at Fremantle and lower TV advertising revenue.” Due to the current advertising landscape, particularly in Germany, RTL expects that TV ad revenue will decline by a “mid-single-digit percentage” in the second half of the year, with Fremantle’s yearly revenue also tracking lower than expected because of a decrease in buyer activity.

Sharareh Drury ‘Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has acquired North American VOD rights to documentary feature film “Disorder.” Written and directed by filmmaker Kate Blewett (“Eyes of a Child,” “Slavery,” “The Dying Rooms”), the documentary illustrates the impact of war on veterans, following three former service members as they try to cope as civilians with PTSD. The pic features contributions from war journalist and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sebastian Junger and writer, photojournalist, and filmmaker Lalage Snow.

Sharareh Drury Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has picked up North American VOD rights to teen dance drama “Break the Stage.” Adapted from the novel of the same name by Erik V. Wolter, the pic tells the story of Tia Lewis, a troubled African-American teen at an urban Florida high school who struggles to win her father’s approval and the respect of her step team, only to discover she must confront her own faults before she can lead the team to the Nationals.

Sharareh Drury Freestyle Digital Media, the film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has picked up North American theatrical and VOD rights to “America’s Family.” The immigrant docudrama, written, directed by and starring Anike Tourse, follows the events of an ICE raid of the Diaz family on Thanksgiving day. “As each family member braves their way through the crisis, they discover unexpected reserves of love, faith, and the restorative resilience of community.

The 20th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival has announced its selection, opening with Richard Linklater’s comedy Hit Man. (scroll down for full list of films)

To comply with European regulators after getting on the wrong side of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Meta said today it will be offering users in the EU, EEA and Switzerland the option of paying a monthly subscription fee to use Facebook and Instagram without any ads.

Condé Nast plans to cut 5% of its workforce, acknowledging the toll of digital video’s shift toward short-form fare inspired by TikTok.

Caroline Brew editor Celebrating its 45th anniversary, director Andrew Davis‘ first film “Stony Island” will make its digital debut on major VOD platforms and DVD on Nov. 17. That same day, there will be a theatrical screening of the film at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.

Ethan Shanfeld Matty Matheson, celebrity chef and star of FX’s restaurant dramedy “The Bear,” has released a free digital cookbook via WeTransfer. The book, “Cookin’ Somethin’ for College,” features 12 easy-to-make recipes geared toward Gen Z and college students. The recipes range from the “ultimate” breakfast sandwich to peanut butter instant noodles with sesame fried egg.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor AMC Networks believes it has new technology that will move advertisers closer to their desired goal of being able to buy ad time across linear TV and its digital counterparts. The company, which owns the AMC, BBC America and We TV cable networks, among others, says it has enabled programmatic ad buying on three of its linear outlets after a successful pilot last month.

UFC has struck a multiyear marketing partnership with Anheuser-Busch with the brewer set to become the exclusive Official Beer Partner of the mixed martial arts powerhouse starting in January.

Whitney Cinkala Variety and Spotify will host the 2023 Entertainment Marketing Visionaries Dinner on Thursday, Oct. 26. The invite-only dinner, held in Los Angeles, will bring together top entertainment marketers from the film, TV, music and technology sectors.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “A Haunting in Venice” is getting a digital release just in time for Halloween. Kenneth Branagh‘s third Agatha Christie adaptation, which hit theaters in September, will debut on digital retailers and Hulu on Oct.

Rudie Obias editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Just in time for Halloween, the new “Saw” movie is available to stream online. The tenth installment in the “Saw” film franchise may have just been released in theaters, but the horror film is positioned to find a larger audience, now that it’s available to stream from home.

The 2023 Billboard Music Awards is going digital. Dick Clark Productions and Billboard have teamed with Spotify on a reimagined show that will air on Sunday, November 19 across Billboard’s social media channels and on the awards show’s official website.  The show last year aired on NBC and previously aired on Fox, followed by ABC.