Univision Ad Sales Steady in Q4, Subscription Revenue Rises 15%

Emiliano De Pablos Tenerife-based Bendita Film Sales has taken international sales rights to Nely Reguera’s sophomore outing, drama “La voluntaria” (“The Volunteer”), toplining “Broken Embraces,” “Perfect Life” and Piggy” star Carmen Machi, one of the biggest marquee draws in Spain.World premiering in main competition at this year’s Malaga Festival, “La voluntaria” marks Reguera’s follow-up to her well-received feature 2016 debut, the Bárbara Lennie-starrer “María (And the Others),” which won the best Ibero-American film prize at the Miami Film Festival and earned new director and lead actress nominations at the Spanish Academy Goya Awards.Barcelona-born Reguera forms part of the new generation of exciting young female Catalan auteurs, alongside Carla Simón (“Alcarràs”), Belén Funes (“The Daughter of the Thief”), Neus Ballús (“The Odd-Job Men”) and Meritxell Colell (“Facing the Wind”).  A Spain-Greece co-production, “La voluntaria” is produced by Adriá Monés at Fasten Films, Bteam Pictures’ Alex Lafuente and Maria Drandaki from Homemade Films. The film follows Marisa, a recently retired doctor, played by Machi, who has a big desire to having grand-children, but for an inexplicable reason none of her children has granted her wish.After the sudden death of her only companion, her bulldog, Marisa decides to leave everything and travel to a refugee camp in Greece, where the children seem to need people exactly like her. Itsaso Arana (“The August Virgin”), Arnau Comas (“Yesterday’s Two Nights”),  Dèlia Brufau (“Your Are Not So Special”), Yohan Levy (“Emily in Paris”) and Henrietta Rauth (“Gruber Is Leaving”) complete the cast.“We are very happy to add to our catalog the latest film by Nely Reguera, one of the most promising

GSC Game World has renamed its upcoming game to Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl, and has also announced it will be cancelling physical pre-orders sold to fans in Russia.The change in title reflects how the area’s name is spelled in Ukrainian, and the new title is visible on Steam – however it’s yet to appear on the game’s Microsoft or Xbox storefront pages.GSC Game World, which is based in Kyiv, has not commented on the change. However, yesterday (March 14) the studio shared a post on Russian social media site VK that outlined its position on sales of Stalker 2 in Russia.The post confirmed that although existing digital pre-orders of Stalker 2 would be honoured, no further pre-orders from Russia would be accepted.Furthermore, all physical sales have been cancelled, even for those who have already paid.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPaul Wilson never ran a 10,000 meter race at the Olympics, but he sure must feel like it.Wilson has supervised much of the work that NBCUniversal’s ad-sales team has had to do over the past two decade to make the company’s investment in the Olympics pay off. He is stepping down from his role as senior vice president of Olympics ad sales at NBCU, ending a streak of selling commercial inventory for the past ten editions of the Games, eight as the leader — making him directly responsible for $10 billion in ad revenue.

Pat Saperstein Deputy EditorIndependent finance and production company SSS Entertainment is launching a sales arm dubbed The Syndicate, offering titles including two films starring and directed by Katie Holmes and Neil Labute’s “House of Darkness” starring Justin Long and Kate Bosworth.Shaun Sanghani, owner and CEO of SSS Entertainment, says the company will focus on “using its depth of experience to deliver independent features that are daring and empathetic while being accessible and recognizable to a wide audience.”Among the half dozen titles that SSS Entertainment has recently produced and financed are “Alone Together” and period piece “Rare Objects,” both starring and directed by Holmes.At SXSW this week, SSS Entertainment is premiering Eli Horowitz’s “The Cow” with Winona Ryder and Dermot Mulroney. Sanghani produced and financed “The Fallout,” which won last year’s SXSW Grand Jury and Audience awards.

EXCLUSIVE: Marie Zeniter has joined film distribution and sales company Utopia as VP of Sales.

Manori Ravindran International EditorJake Paltrow’s forthcoming feature film “June Zero” has been picked up for sales by ICM Partners in North America and Films Boutique for the rest of world.Written by Paltrow and Tom Shoval, “June Zero” explores true stories surrounding the 1962 execution of Adolf Eichmann — one of the key architects of the Holocaust — in Israel through three characters intimately involved in the nation-defining event: David, a precocious thirteen-year-old Libyan factory worker looking to belong; Haim, Eichmann’s main prison guard, tasked with protecting this dead man walking; and the Police Investigative officer of the Eichmann trial, Micha, on his first trip back to Poland since surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau — where he tries to make sense of the future of the Jewish homeland’s soul post-execution. “June Zero” was shot on Super-16mm film in Israel and Ukraine under strict COVID-19 regulations, and represents writer-director Paltrow’s first foreign language production.

Films Boutique and ICM Partners have launched sales on Jake Paltrow’s upcoming drama June Zero, with Films Boutique handling international rights and ICM overseeing distribution in North America.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe U.S. recorded-music business continues its upward swing, posting a near-record $15 billion in revenue for 2021, driven by a surge in streaming, solid vinyl and even CD sales, and the inclusion of TikTok music revenue for the first time.In fact, all major formats of music posted growth over the prior year, except digital downloads.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBrussels-based company Best Friend Forever has boarded “Perlimps,” an animated feature directed by Alê Abreu, the Brazilian filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated animated feature “The Boy and the World.”Best Friend Forever will launch international sales on the project at Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux. Now in post, the fantasy adventure film follows the journey of Claé and Bruô, a pair of secret agents from rival kingdoms who must join forces in spite of their differences to search for the Perlimps, mysterious creatures who can ultimately find a way to peace in times of war.

Take-Two Interactive has stopped its business with the Russian market amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine.According to GamesIndustry.biz all game sales, marketing and services have been pulled from Russia and Belarus. According to Newzoo data shared with GamesIndustry.biz, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 5 – which is owned by Take-Two – is the third most popular game in Russia based on monthly users.Take-Two’s decision follows the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24 and sees the company joining the likes of EA, Microsoft, CD Projekt Red and Epic Games in its decision to stop market dealings with Russia.Take-Two vice president of corporate communications Alan Lewis said: “We have watched recent events unfold in Ukraine with concern and sadness.”“After significant consideration, last week, we decided to stop new sales, installations, and marketing support across all our labels in Russia and Belarus at this time.”The Nintendo eShop has also stopped processing payments and gone into what is being called “maintenance mode” in Russia, although as of publication it is unclear if this is Nintendo’s sole doing or that of a third party.Elsewhere, Take-Two has been served a lawsuit concerning the use of loot boxes in its NBA 2K games, with the plaintiff seeking £3.7million in damages.The case says that the “defendant’s unfair, deceptive and unlawful practices, including illegal gambling practices, deceive, mislead and harm consumers”.

EXCLUSIVE: UK sales firm Rocket Science has boarded world sales on Clean, the fly on the wall documentary from Lachlan McLeod (Big In Japan) which premieres in the Documentary Competition section at SXSW.

Fortnite creator Epic Games has announced that it “is stopping commerce with Russia,” joining a growing list of companies that are boycotting the country over its invasion of Ukraine.On Saturday (March 5), Epic Games shared on Twitter that “it is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine.”However, the company added that it is “not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.”Epic is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine. We’re not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) March 5, 2022This means that although fans in Russia will still be able to access titles such as Fortnite, they won’t be able to make any in-game purchases.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAnyone paying even casual attention to the music industry must have noticed the skyrocketing value of song catalogs, which have exploded at such a rate that we’re seeing an average of two or three nine-figure deals per month, with Sting, Neil Diamond and David Bowie’s estate making multi-hundred-million-dollar sales in just the past two months.Thus, it was just a matter of time before performing rights organizations — an often-overlooked multi-billion dollar business that collects royalties when songs are played everywhere from bars and restaurants to stadiums — got into the game, and BMI, which along with ASCAP is the biggest PRO in the U.S., has enlisted unnamed advisors to assist in exploring opportunities for its members and its business, according to an internal letter obtained by Variety. In the letter, BMI president-CEO Mike O’Neill sets the scene described above and writes, “It’s important that we evaluate what this could mean for BMI, both now and into the future.

PlayStation has pulled Gran Turismo 7 from sale in Russia, seemingly joining several other companies that have stopped selling their products in the country due to its invasion of Ukraine.As spotted by Eurogamer, Gran Turismo 7 is no longer available to purchase on the Russian PlayStation Store.The racing game launched today (March 4) and is available to purchase in other regions without issue. Though Sony is yet to comment on the removed title, the studio is likely joining several other companies in halting game sales in the region.On Wednesday (March 2), Mykhailo Fedorov – Ukraine’s vice prime minister – called on PlayStation and Xbox to “temporarily block all Russian and Belorussian accounts” on their platforms, explaining that “such actions will motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.”Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, studios across the games industry have condemned the military action by halting game sales within Russia.

EXCLUSIVE: Australia’s Stan and 9Network have commenced production on Bali 2002, based on the terrorist attacks on the nation’s tourist hotspots 20 years ago, with distributor Banijay Rights launching at yesterday’s London Screenings showcase.

Peter Olsen, president of ad sales, sees a blended future for the ad-supported TV business, but one in which Nielsen will continue to play a central role.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSnap, the parent company of Snapchat, is the latest internet company to weigh in on the Russian attack on Ukraine. The social messaging and media company said it has stopped running all advertising in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and is halting ad sales to all Russian and Belarusian entities as part of “complying with all sanctions targeting Russian businesses and individuals.”The company said it continues to offer the Snapchat application in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia “as it remains an important communications tool for family and friends.”The company noted that Ukraine is the birthplace of Looksery, the company whose technology laid the foundation for Snap’s augmented reality platform, “and has been the home of more than 300 of Snap’s most creative and talented team members.” Snap has pledged more than $15 million in humanitarian aid to support organizations providing direct relief to the people of Ukraine.

EXCLUSIVE: Crystal Bourbeau has exited Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios as President of Worldwide Sales and Distribution after joining the company last October.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAs NBCUniversal’s ad-sales division starts to take on tasks beyond its core business, it is expanding the range of communications executives it has as well.Neil Ripley, who previously was head of corporate communications for media-measurement firm Comscore, has been named a vice president of communications for NBCU’s ad-sales unit. He is charged with promoting the division’s efforts around advertising technology, data and cross-platform media measurement.

BBC Studios And Sky Deutschland Strike Factual Content Deal