ITV

Category: Mipcom

  • Fox International Channels & Keshet strike global rights deal for ‘False Flag’

    Fox International Channels & Keshet strike global rights deal for ‘False Flag’

    MUMBAI: Fox International Channels (FIC) has inked a deal with Keshet International (KI) for the exclusive first window rights to the drama False Flag (8 x 45’).

     

    This follows from the existing format rights deal the two groups have on False Flag, whose US-adaptation is in development at FIC’s Fox International Studios in partnership with Keshet International. The acquisition of the Hebrew language series firms up FIC’s stake in the franchise and positions the group as exclusive broadcaster across its 127 country strong footprint.

     

    The sale of the original Hebrew language series is unprecedented both in the respect of it being the first ever Israeli series to be acquired by FIC and the company’s first non-English series to be acquired on a global scale. 

     

    The gripping espionage thriller, which sees five ordinary citizens implicated in a high profile kidnapping, has been much talked about internationally following its world premiere as part of a special selection at Berlinale 2015 and its award of the Grand Prize at Series Mania 2015 (The Public Prize) jointly with HBO’s Olive Kitteridge.

     

    FIC EVP scripted programming & original development Sharon Tal said, “We couldn’t be more committed to this exciting TV series. We identified this project at an early stage of development and are thrilled be in partnership with KI and own the rights of both the Israeli version and the US remake. Looking forward to bringing both to the world very soon.”

     

    Keshet International managing director – distribution Keren Shahar added, “We’re very proud of False Flag and are delighted it has found a global home on the FIC network. It’s great to see this world-class Israeli drama travelling worldwide.”

     

    The deal for the original language version was negotiated by KI sales director Cynthia Kennedy and FIC EVP global acquisitions Jason Simms.

     

    False Flag was created by Amit Cohen and Maria Feldman, directed by Oded Ruskin and produced by Liat Benasuly and Maria Feldman at Tender Productions for Keshet Broadcasting.

  • Lionsgate and Skydance Media ink global television distribution pact

    Lionsgate and Skydance Media ink global television distribution pact

    MUMBAI: Lionsgate and Skydance have formed a global television distribution pact. The launch of newly-created label Skydance International, which will feature Skydance Media’s current and emerging premium television properties around the world following their initial US broadcast, augments Lionsgate’s worldwide distribution pipeline and permits the two companies to tap opportunities across the global television marketplace.

     

    The global distribution pact will encompass programming led by Skydance’s Emmy-nominated television series Grace and Frankie and the dramaManhattan (produced in partnership with Lionsgate and Tribune Studios), as well as a number of new properties that Skydance is developing for the international television marketplace.

     

    These include Lore, which is executive produced by McG and written by Zack Stentz, and Madness of Angels, which is inspired by Kate Griffin’s six-book fantasy series. The project is executive produced by Neil Burger, who is also slated to direct, and written by rising star UK-based writer Ben Vanstone.

     

    “We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Skydance Media, one of the hottest and most dynamic film and television studios in the industry. The Skydance brand is synonymous with big, bold, quality entertainment events, and their television slate complements our global distribution pipeline. We’re excited to partner with them on all forms of global distribution, from the traditional to the disruptive, and we’ll focus on innovative deals that reflect today’s dynamic television ecosystem,” said Lionsgate president of worldwide television & digital distribution Jim Packer.

     

    “We believe joining together with Lionsgate – one of the most cutting-edge and creative content companies in the world – will strongly position the Skydance Media brand for success as we make our debut in the international television marketplace. We’ve worked hard to create premium, branded content that will resonate with audiences worldwide, and this new partnership with Lionsgate will accelerate our ability to distribute our shows far and wide across platforms and around the globe in conjunction with the launch of Skydance International,” added Skydance Media founder and CEO David Ellison.

     

    As part of today’s announcement, Brandon Zimon has been named as Skydance Media senior vice present of international television sales and co-productions. 

     

    “In this important new role, Brandon will be responsible for collaborating with Lionsgate to expand the reach of our new and existing television properties around the world and for independently executing international television acquisitions for Skydance Media,” said Skydance COO Jesse Sisgold.

     

    Zimon joins Skydance Media from Sony Pictures Television, where he spent over a decade, most recently as vice president of international distribution.

  • SRF to license earthTV’s robotic TV show generator

    SRF to license earthTV’s robotic TV show generator

    MUMBAI: Berlin-based earthTV is all set to launch its brand new production system at MIPCOM 2015. The software system will enable broadcasters and producers, to create new shows for all platforms by re-packaging their existing content in a simple, effective and automated way 

     

    Swiss broadcaster SRF (Schweizer Radio and Fernsehen) has signed an agreement with earthTV and will be the first broadcaster to take advantage of this TV show generator.

     

    The agreement will allow SRF to create short programming using their own sports and music content.

     

    The software can also be adapted to other genres such as entertainment programming, both scripted and non-scripted,

     

    SRF head of TV programming Stefano Semeria said, “The technology fits our purposes excellently, especially our short term need for fillers, which derives from a big amount of live programming in all time slots. SRF will use EPS to automatically create shows of various lengths for programming, it will be operational by the beginning of 2016.”

     

    earthTV managing director Claudius Lohmann added, “The Robotic TV Show Generator offers more scope to provide more targeted content. Numerous scheduling gaps can  be filled with this content in  the future and will enable broadcasters to considerably enrich their schedules with up-to-the-second images  delivered instantaneously via earthTv Cloud.”

  • Is India ready to embrace 4K Ultra HD?

    Is India ready to embrace 4K Ultra HD?

    CANNES: Ever since Star Sports broadcast a few important matches in 4K Ultra HD featuring the Indian team during the ICC Cricket World Cup earlier this year, a question hovering on many a lips is: Is India ready to embrace 4K Ultra HD?

     

    On Day 1 of Mipcom 2015, a panel comprising Videocon d2h deputy CEO Rohit Jain, Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, BT Media & Broadcast VP Mark Wilson-Dunn and Travel XP CEO Prashant Chothani precisely attempted to answer this very question.

     

    Starting out, Jain gave an overview of how the direct to home industry has grown over the years and also how Videocon d2h has been a frontrunner in the recent past in terms of contributing heavily in helping India become a completely digitised country. “The last couple of years have seen some significant changes in how the television and broadcast ecosystem has evolved. India is among the fastest growing economics, and the biggest advantage is having an audience of 670 million under the age of 25 years,” he stated.

     

    “India also has the second largest market for Pay TV connections with 150 million homes. There are challenges of over-the-top (OTT) players coming in globally and India in a big way, but that must not be a hindrance for innovators like us to continue bringing about the best changes and continue being thought leaders in our space,” he added.

     

    Continuing the discussion and bringing a more global perspective to things, BT’s Wilson-Dunn said, “I honestly believe that India is a very strong content oriented market and has the right ingredients to grow as a 4K consuming audience. With the recently successful test of waters with the Cricket World Cup in India, it has certainly given a lot of confidence to us that India and Asia as a whole is ready for 4K consumption.”

     

    The panel agreed that sports would play a major role in establishing the future of 4K as well along with other live events and movies. “We are currently investing heavily in creating only 4K content and are confident that within the next two years, 4K will be huge in India,” said a confident Chothani. “I am currently also looking for the right partners for the distribution of the channel globally and I can already see the benefits of producing in 4K initially than going back and reinvesting in migrating from HD to 4K.”

     

    Indiantelevision.com’s Wanvari was more cautious in his approach on how India will embrace 4K. “I am sure 4K is the natural progression from HD, and with players like Prashant already investing heavily on creating the content pipeline, is an encouraging sign for the future of the content roadmap of the country. Although, the transponder space, which is currently available, is a cause of major concern and could be a downer for the spirits of many content distribution platforms like a Tata Sky and Videocon d2h,” he opined.

     

    The panel also discussed how 4K would ideally be for a niche audience, which would be in a position to generate higher average revenue per users (ARPUs) for distribution platforms that are currently generating anywhere between $3-4 on a monthly basis that could go up to $10-15 with 4K being introduced.

     

    At the end, the consensus amongst the panelists was that in the next five years, India will see a sizeable growth in the number of 4K content available on linear platforms, but these are still early days and one can only play the waiting game as the bigger challenge that still lies ahead is complete digitisation and accountability of users of content in the country.

  • Japan’s Wowow acquires two shows from Sony Pictures Television & CBS

    Japan’s Wowow acquires two shows from Sony Pictures Television & CBS

    MUMBAI: Japanese pay TV broadcaster Wowow has acquired exclusive Japanese broadcast rights to two new US TV series namelyThe Player from Sony Pictures Television; and Zoo from CBS Studios International. 

     

    Set to premiere in Japan on Wowow in Spring 2016, The Player debuted in the US this month. Zoo will debut on Wowow later this year.

     

    The Player had its US network premiere on NBC on 24 September, 2015. The story tracks former FBI agent Alex Kane, who becomes a reluctant player in an age-old secret society’s perverse game of chance, where the stakes are measured in criminal acts and human lives.

     

    The lead cast of The Player includes Philip Winchester, Charity Wakefield, Damon Gupton and Wesley Snipes.

     

    The Player is written by John Rogers, who is also executive producer alongside John Davis, John Fox and director Bharat Nalluri. The series is produced by Kung Fu Monkey and Davis Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television.

     

    The CBS series Zoo will premiere exclusively in Japan beginning this New Year holiday season and will be presented as an ‘every night marathon,’ giving the audiences the opportunity to ‘binge view’ the popular program. Wowow will screen the 13-episode debut season over four nights – starting at 10 pm each night from 30 December to 3 January.

     

    Zoo, based on the #1 bestselling novel by James Patterson, is a global thriller about a wave of violent animal attacks against humans sweeping the planet. Among principal cast of Zoo are James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Billy Burke, Nonso Anozie and Nora Arnezeder.

     

    Creators of Zoo are Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, who also serve as executive producers with Michael Katleman, James Mangold, Cathy Konrad, James Patterson, Bill Robinson, Leopoldo Gout and Steve Bowen. The series is produced by CBS Television Studios and the first season aired on CBS in the US Summer 2015.

  • Eutelsat to present key UHD trends at MIPCOM

    Eutelsat to present key UHD trends at MIPCOM

    MUMBAI: The television business is dramatically transforming as broadcasters scale up production of premium content and delivery of an enhanced viewing experience. As the industry lines up to adopt Ultra HD (UHD) TV, the new quality benchmark in broadcasting, Eutelsat Communications will share research at MIPCOM on consumer appetite in key European TV markets for this latest evolution.

     

    The pulse of UHD will be presented by Eutelsat today at the MIPCOM show in a ‘4k focus welcome address.’ It will include key findings of new qualitative consumer research conducted for Eutelsat by market research firm TNS, and fresh data from GfK on Ultra HD screen sales.

     

    Eutelsat head of market research and customer experience Claudia Vaccarone and Eutelsat director of marketing innovation and digital cinema Michel Chabrol will share insight on how to anticipate UHD mass-market deployment. 

     

    They will be joined by Sony Corporation senior producer, visual entertainment Joe Nakata and well-known journalist and broadcast industry expert Chris Forrester.

     

    Since its first broadcasts of Ultra HD in January 2013, Eutelsat has amassed industry-leading expertise on the conditions for successful transition to this new format. Two Eutelsat satellites are broadcasting permanent channels in Ultra HD, showing Eutelsat co-productions and content produced by independent programme-makers who have sought out Eutelsat’s satellite platforms to promote their work.

  • FremantleMedia sells ‘Deutschland 83’ to multiple countries at MIPCOM

    FremantleMedia sells ‘Deutschland 83’ to multiple countries at MIPCOM

    MUMBAI: FremantleMedia International has sold its gripping German language spy thriller Deutschland 83 (8 x 60) to multiple countries at Mipcom 2015. 

     

    So far the show has been acquired by 20 broadcasters and SVOD services around the world.

     

    Following its US success, the series has now been placed by FremantleMedia International with Channel One (Russia), Sky Italia (Italy), Hulu (US), Sundance TV (English-speaking Canada), Super Ecran (French-speaking Canada), RTE (Eire), Stan (Australia & New Zealand), Telenet (Belgium), RTL Klub (Hungary), Hotvision (Israel), TV4 (Pan-regional Scandinavia) and Kino Lorber (US – DVD and iTunes).

     

    FremantleMedia International CEO Jens Richter said, “Deutschland 83 has become the must-have European drama series of the year. Having attracted critical acclaim in the US and now the attention of this impressive list of buyers, the compelling series is all set to captivate viewers around the world.”

     

    The above acquisitions follow on from the previously reported deals with Sundance TV (US), CANAL+ (France), Channel 4/Walter Presents (UK), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), DR (Denmark), YLE (Finland) and RUV (Iceland).

     

    Deutschland 83 is a suspenseful coming-of-age story set against the real culture wars and political events of Germany in the 1980s. The drama follows Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay) as the 24 year-old East Germany native is pulled from the world as he knows it and sent to the West as an undercover spy for the Stasi foreign service. Hiding in plain sight in the West German army, he must gather the secrets of NATO military strategy. Everything is new, nothing is quite what it seems and everyone he encounters is harbouring secrets, both political and personal.

     

    The series is produced by UFA Fiction, the creators of Generation War, for RTL Television in Germany. Created by Anna Winger and Joerg Winger, and executive produced by UFA Fiction’s Joerg Winger and Nico Hofmann. The series is directed by Edward Berger and Samira Radsi.

  • Cartoon Network, Turner, Disney, ABC acquire Portfolio’s ‘Freaktown’

    Cartoon Network, Turner, Disney, ABC acquire Portfolio’s ‘Freaktown’

    MUMBAI: Portfolio Entertainment has signed its first set of international sales deals for the series Freaktown (52 x 11’) with leading kids’ networks – Cartoon Network in Asia Pacific, Turner’s Kids Networks in EMEA, The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia and ABC Australia.

     

    Freaktown is the first series to be wholly created and produced inside Portfolio’s new animation studio. The series was commissioned by TELETOON Canada and will debut in 2016. 

     

    The series will premiere on Cartoon Network in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. Turner France has taken the series for Boing in France and in its French-speaking territories in Europe and Africa. It has also been sold to The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia and ABC Australia.

     

    “While still in production, Freaktown has grabbed the attention of buyers globally and we are thrilled to land international deals with world-renowned broadcasters right out of the gate. This series is crammed with laugh-out-loud moments and unpredictable twists that will perfectly complement the highly-entertaining programming available on these major kids’ networks,” said Portfolio Entertainment CEO and co-founder Joy Rosen.

     

    Freaktown, a kids 6-11 animated series, follows the adventures of skeleton Ben Bones and his freaky friends as they protect their town from takeover by Princess Boo Boo the Bouncy of Sweetlandia.

  • Fox Asia to air second season of ‘Fit for Fashion’ in January 2016

    Fox Asia to air second season of ‘Fit for Fashion’ in January 2016

    MUMBAI: Singapore-based production and distribution agency Bomanbridge Media has inked an international distribution deal with Imagine Group Entertainment, which created and produced Fit For Fashion, a transformational fashion-fitness format. Fox Channels Asia aired the initial launch season of the show in 2014 and will be premiering the second season beginning January 2016.   

     

    “Bomanbridge is constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to reality entertainment. We had the opportunity to take Fit For Fashion to broadcasters internationally, and we jumped. Fox International Channels Asia has done a tremendous job with the launch and we look forward to extending that success to other audiences,” said Bomanbridge Media CEO Sonia Fleck.

     

    Fit for Fashion is not only a reality fashion/fitness TV show but also a format. The first season was filmed in Malaysia and hosted by Louise Roe, who hosts MTV International’s Plain Jane and Fashion Star on NBC (USA). She is joined by fashion photographer and former model Todd Anthony Tyler, whose fashion credits include capturing rising stars of Asia’s freshest faces — Liu Wen, Fei Fei Sun and Kiki Kang amongst others. Roe and Tyler work with top fitness trainers Christine Bullock and Mitch Chilson to put contestants to work. 

     

    “Imagine Group has a proven track record in creating ground breaking original formats in Asia for the last decade and Fit for Fashion is one such format that will appeal to audiences around the world. We are truly excited about our partnership with Bomanbridge and are looking forward to working together with them to make Fit for Fashion an international success story. Imagine Group trusts Sonia and her team to take our format to the next level,” said Imagine Group Entertainment GM Dave Gunson.

     

    The professional team helps transform this group of ordinary men and women into extraordinary catwalk worthy versions of themselves over ten weeks. The contestants build confidence while learning to dress well, look good and feel great.

     

     “Fit for Fashion launched on StarWorld Asia as we recognized that the show would be a great fit for the discerning audience of our channel. We are thrilled that Fit For Fashion will now reach a wider audience around the world with Bomanbridge and Imagine Group. We look forward to a fantastic second season,” added Fox International Channels EVP content and communications Keertan Adyanthaya.

  • Exclusive: SPT chairman Steve Mosko plans India visit on Sony’s 20th Anniversary

    Exclusive: SPT chairman Steve Mosko plans India visit on Sony’s 20th Anniversary

    CANNES: Even as the picturesque French Riviera was hit by deadly flash floods, the global market for entertainment content across all platforms – Mipcom 2015 kicked off in Cannes. 

     

    As Sony Entertainment Television completes 20 years in India this October, Sony Pictures Television chairman Steve Mosko is planning a visit to the country.

     

    Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of Mipcom, Mosko said that he would be coming down to India soon to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sony Pictures Television in the country and possibly even make a few big announcements around that time. Sony Entertainment Television (SET) launched in India in October 1995.

     

    At Mipcom this year, the company unveiled a sneak peek preview episode of Sony Pictures Television’s The Art of Morestarring Dennis Quaid, Christian Cooke, Kate Bosworth and Cary Elwes.

     

    For the Indian market, The Art of More has been acquired by Colors Infinity.  

     

    Mosko said, “This is just the beginning. There are very big plans going ahead and we are very confident that our future slate of shows is going to be loved by one and all around the world.”

     

    This new series will unveil the truth behind how the world of auctions work. Samuel Brukner (Dennis Quaid) is a man with the money and has the thirst to collect the most exquisite art from around the globe. While Graham Connor (Christian Cooke) is the man who wants to make it big in life and has to win the trust of Brukner to get there. 

     

    The preview at Mipcom was followed by a discussion by the cast along with Sony Pictures Television president – international distribution Keith Le Goy and Sony Pictures Television EVP – digital networks and Crackle GM Eric Berger.

     

    “The story was the biggest hero for me and the way my character has been written is simply amazing, I couldn’t say no,” said Quaid.

     

    The first episode, which was screened at Cannes tonight, was well received by the audience in attendance. 

     

    The stellar cast, crisp editing, gripping storytelling and a plot that keeps thickening as the show proceeds is everything that works in the favour of this series, which is set to premiere on various networks globally mid November this year.

     

    The show makers are confident that the series will be a certain hit and have major plans in rolling out more seasons based on the response received in its first season.