Formats Veteran Siobhan Crawford Launches Distributor Glow Media With ‘Bake Off Belgium’ Producer Free Kings

Emiliano De Pablos In a further step towards its consolidation as a global player of not only fiction but non-scripted entertainment content, international production powerhouse The Mediapro Studio has reached an exclusive deal with Belgium’s Be-Entertainment to produce its formats for Spain and Latin America. The pact also sees The Mediapro Studio developing non-fiction formats for VTM, a Flanders’ leading TV channel with more than 30 years of broadcasting. Like Be-Entertainment, VTM is owned by Belgian giant DPG Media.  TMS will become “the only production company that can exclusively adapt the distributor’s formats for Spain and Latin America,” the European super indie company noted in a press release Monday morning.

BBC Studios Makes Pair Of European Hires

EXCLUSIVE: Children’s TV bosses from all over the world met at Mip Junior last night to discuss major challenges and seek co-production alliances, as the BBC’s Patricia Hidalgo tells Deadline a commercial strategy is the best way to safeguard kids programing.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Eric Welbers, who served as managing director of the production company NDF until the end of March, has set up the internationally focused content company Bravado Media, with headquarters in Munich. Bravado has acquired all of NDF’s shares in Italy’s Viola Film (an 80% stake), headed by Alessandro Passadore, and Belgium-based Bravado Fiction (also an 80% stake), headed by Jan Theys, and Welbers is increasing his stake in NDF Intl. Production, which he will continue to run together with Matthias Walter. The new company will make its first market appearance at next week’s trade fair for audiovisual content Mipcom in Cannes.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After years of Netflix execs spurning the idea of serving up commercials to viewers, the streaming giant is flipping the switch on its first cheaper, ad-supported plan next month. Netflix Basic With Ads will launch in the U.S. on Nov. 3 at 9 a.m. PT, priced at $6.99 per month, the company announced. The cheaper plan will be available in 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. It will first roll out in Canada and Mexico on Nov. 1. Basic With Ads will be $2 cheaper than Netflix’s Basic plan ($9.99/month in the U.S. currently), which provides the ability to stream on one device at a time. Previously, the Basic plan has not supported HD, but with the launch of the ad tier, Netflix will provide video quality of up to 720p HD for both Basic With Ads and the plan with no ads.

Matt Brodlie and Jonathan Kier’s Upgrade Productions has signed up Mediawan and Leonine Studios co-pro exec Caroline Kusser to head up series.

Netflix Among Buyers Of Doc On Dutch Soccer Manager Louis Van Gaal

A new educational resource for budding video gamers and archaeologists, set at the ancient Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland is now available to play.

Married At First Sight UK 's Matt Murray has hit back at fans questioning "where's Whitney" after he posted a photograph with a female friend to his Instagram account. Taking to his social media on Monday night, Matt shared a photo with his friend as he clarified in the caption: "Trying to explain to the general public that I have friends that are female" with a laughing and facepalm emoji. He sarcastically added: "Screams 'where's Whitney?'" with more laughing emojis.

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios has named formats veteran Nicholas Oakley as SVP, Unscripted Development in LA, as the outfit seeks the next generation of hits.

Tom Hardy To Narrate Sky And Netflix Nature Doc ‘Predators’

Anna Marie de la Fuente “Money Heist” star Alvaro Morte is attached to star in “Talkies,” from “Luis Miguel” producer Gato Grande, which will be presented at the Iberseries inaugural Co-Production & Financing Forum on Sept. 28. “Talkies” covers the period between 1930 and 1934, an unusual time when foreign-language versions were shot on the same sets where the original English-language films were shot before dubbing or sub-titling technology existed.  Helmed by “Money Heist” director Alex Rodrigo and co-developed with Catalonia’s Veranda (“Merli”), the 8 x 45” series centers on the making of Spanish-language ‘talkies’ some of which, like the Spanish version of Bela Lugosi’s “Dracula,” were considered far superior. Morte will play the actor Carlos Villarias, who took on the Dracula role in the Spanish version.

Gerhard Zeiler has talked up the “development of franchises” including Harry Potter, DC and Game of Thrones as the key priority for the merged entity six months after he was handed the top international role.

Summer signing Tyrell Malacia has hit the ground running this season.

J Balvin’s newest venture into the wellness space targets the Latino and Hispanic communities. The award-winner star is introducing OYE, a next-level platform poised to disrupt the wellness industry through the revolutionary concept of transforming emotions into creative actions.

BTS have announced that their upcoming ‘Yet To Come’ concert in Busan will be livestreamed on Weverse and on South Korean television for free.The K-pop juggernauts are slated to perform at the ‘Yet To Come’ concert in the South Korean city of Busan on October 15 at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium for free, organised in support of the city’s bid to host the World City Expo in 2030.On September 20, Big Hit Music took to BTS’ official Weverse page to announce that the upcoming gig will be livestreamed on the fan community platform free of cost as well.The concert will be streamed in real-time from October 15 at 6pm KST, with subtitles available in eight languages, including English, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. Fans will have the option of viewing the concert livestream either through Weverse’s mobile or smart TV apps.Other platforms previously announced to be offering complimentary livestreams of ‘Yet To Come’ also include ZEPETO and Naver Now.