Prime Video Cuts Funding in Africa, Middle East in Favor of Focusing on European Originals

Prime Video has picked up the family drama series The Baxters, from LightWorkers Media, the faith and family-focused company founded by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey which is owned by Amazon MGM Studios through Amazon’s the acquisition of LightWorkers parent MGM.

William Earl Amazon Prime Video has acquired the family drama series “The Baxters” starring Roma Downey and Ted McGinley. The faith-infused series is based on the bestselling novels by author Karen Kingsbury. The series has been in the works since early 2018, when Downey announced plans to produce a series based on Kingsbury’s books for her LightWorkers Media streaming platform.

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video has greenlit The Money Game, a docuseries tracking the revolutionary impact of “name, image and likeness” (NIL) policies on college sports.

open letter from the Strike Germany movement, which called for a boycott of state-funded cultural events, claiming that the “use of McCarthyist policies” suppressed “freedom of expression” in relation to displays of solidarity with Palestine and criticism of the Israeli state.The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism cites examples including “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” and “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor”.Strike Germany claimed that the IHRA definition was “increasingly becoming official state policy, effectively censoring criticism of the state of Israel and anti-Zionist perspectives from the German cultural sphere, furthering a dangerous false equivalency that ultimately harms the fight against anti-Semitism”.A post shared by STRIKE GERMANY (@strikegermany)As of Monday (January 22), however, the clause has been dropped. “I must take the legal and critical voices that saw this clause as a restriction on the freedom of art seriously,” said Joe Chialo, Berlin’s culture senator, in a statement (via The Art Newspaper).

‘Searching for Sugarman’ Producer Passion Signs ‘Planet Earth II’ Showrunner

Recently, it was announced that Amazon is joining the ranks of Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services by offering a cheaper, ad-infused tier for its streaming service, Prime Video. This would allow folks to pay less monthly, but they have to deal with commercials during their streaming content.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor MrBeast, the massively popular YouTube creator known for big-money giveaways and outlandish stunts, is nearing a deal for a reality-competition show with Amazon‘s Prime Video, Variety has confirmed. Details of the show, including its title, aren’t known. But the idea is that a MrBeast-hosted show for Prime Video would follow the format of his viral YouTube challenges, including doling out large cash prizes.

Prime Video has slotted Thursday, March 14 for the premiere of the second half of Invincible‘s eight-episode second season. The announcement comes on the 21st anniversary of the inception of Robert Kirkman‘s comic book, illustrated by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, on which the adult animated superhero series is based. Four new episodes will air weekly begining March 14 on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor No more thinking required, Mark! The second half of “Invincible‘s” second season will fly its way into Amazon’s Prime Video on March 14 – the 21st anniversary of the inception of the comic book that inspired it. Prime Video plans to premiere the second half of its eight-episode second season in March – with four new weekly episodes.

Marta Balaga Everyone knows masked avenger Zorro, aka Diego de la Vega, righting the wrongs while trying to keep his identity secret. Then again, maybe they don’t. “I don’t think people were expecting this version of “Zorro.” It’s a completely new take, full of adventure, action, love and diversity,” Renata Notni tells Variety ahead of its Jan.

The Berlinale put out a statement expressing its sympathy for the “victims of the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East” and making it clear that its 74th edition would be a place for filmmakers on all sides of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, at its press conference on Monday.

Nicole Kidman is stunning at the premiere of Prime Video’s Expats!

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video‘s teams in Africa and the Middle East & North Africa region are facing layoffs, as part of a wider restructure that also “rebalances” investment towards Amazon’s European content division.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Diamond Sports Group has put together a plan to emerge from bankruptcy and remain a going concern, helped by a big new streaming deal with Amazon. Amazon has committed to making a minority investment in Diamond Sports Group, one of the largest operators of regional sports networks (RSNs) in the country, as part of Diamond’s bankruptcy reorganization plan, the RSN company announced Wednesday.

Following the success of the official opening season of Aviva Studios, Factory International has announced a captivating line up for its 2024 spring programme at the city's landmark venue.

The British Film Institute has revealed the list of TV, film, and animation companies that have won funding from its latest £3.3M ($4.2M) Global Screen Fund payout.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Jean-Claude Van Damme, the global martial artist turned action hero whose 2021 movie “The Last Mercenary” was a hit on Netflix, has another film on the horizon. He will star opposite Michaël Youn (“BDE”) in “Le jardinier,” another high-voltage action-comedy reuniting him with “The Last Mercenary” director David Charhon.

Ben Croll Capping a growth year that saw Gallic productions draw 37. 4 million global theatrical admissions for a total of $254 million in international receipts, producers and sales agents indicated that geopolitical tensions and eco-responsible transformation would be two of the major stressors on France’s film export business in the months to come.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The best home-theater experience coming to the market is one you’ll be able to strap onto your head, according to Apple. Apple unveiled several new entertainment experiences that will be available on Apple Vision Pro — its expensive new mixed-reality headset — when it begins shipping on Feb.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Shtisel,” the popular series following the lives of a tight-knit ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem, is changing its U.S. home. Previously available on Netflix, all three seasons of “Shtisel” have been acquired by Amazon Prime Video from Yes Studios.