international
Sky Studios CEO on AI “as a Real Opportunity,” Dual Strikes Impact and a “Particularly Difficult” Year
Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios, the scripted production arm of Comcast’s European giant Sky, has been busy. The French industry leader has continued to expand her purview since taking over management of Sky Studios (Gangs of London, The Lazarus Project) in September 2021. In February, former CBS News president David Rhodes was named executive […]
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Three Questions With Netflix U.K. Content VP Anne Mensah
Whether Sex Education or a doc lens on Robbie Williams or David Beckham, whether The Crown or Black Mirror — London-based TV veteran Anne Mensah, vp, U.K. content at Netflix, has kept bringing global fans the Brit hits since joining the streamer in 2018. “The future is even stronger,” the former BBC and Sky exec […]
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Bad Wolf CEO Jane Tranter on ‘Doctor Who,’ Dual Strikes and the “Pandora’s Box” of AI
Jane Tranter, the CEO and co-founder of production company Bad Wolf, knows how to get the industry buzzing with hit titles. The Wales-based production juggernaut, majority-owned by Sony, continues to go strong with the likes of epic The Winter King, based on Bernard Cornwell’s best-selling Warlord Chronicles books, and Russell T. Davies’ Doctor Who series. […]
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The 35 Most Powerful Women in International Television
The writers and actors strikes in Hollywood, and the related issues of AI and the disruption of business models brought on by global streaming platforms, have dominated industry discussions this year, overshadowing debates over gender equity, diversity and inclusion. But the progress in those areas continues, noted by groups like the 50:50 Equality Project, a […]
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ITV CEO on Trialing AI, the Impact of Dual Strikes and How ITVX Has “Accelerated” Her Streaming Ambitions
Carolyn McCall, CEO of ITV, has led the U.K. TV giant since 2018, driving its transformation for the digital age. Freemium streaming service ITVX launched in late 2022 with such originals as Cold War drama A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce. It has brought the company “over 2 billion streams and […]
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Three Questions With All3Media CEO Jane Turton
Global production juggernaut All3Media, led by veteran CEO Jane Turton, produces 4,000 hours of content annually. It has not only made headlines with such hit productions as The Traitors, The Tourist, Life on Our Planet, Boat Story and the upcoming Squid Game: The Challenge, but also the fact that co-owners Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty […]
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The MIPCOM Hot List: Buyers Brace for “Fewer, Better, Bigger Shows”
Bye-bye, Peak TV. After more than a decade of unprecedented production growth, the international television industry is bracing for an era of tighter budgets and more bean counting. “Instead of subscriber growth at all costs, now the focus is on production and investment and getting the balance sheet right,” says Cathy Payne, CEO of Banijay […]
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Netflix Earnings Preview: Analysts Cut Stock Price Targets As Wall Street Resets Expectations
Netflix is expected to post strong subscriber gains when it reports its latest quarterly results on Oct. 18, but you couldn’t tell that from the stock’s performance since the global streamer’s July earnings update, when it added 5.9 million subscribers to total 238.4 million global paid memberships. That is because shares in the streaming giant, […]
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Iranian Director Dariush Mehrjui and Wife Killed in Stabbing Attack (Reports)
Famed Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui (The Cow, The Pear Tree) was murdered, along with his wife, in a stabbing attack by an unknown assailant at their home in Iran, Iranian state media reported on Sunday. The official IRNA news agency quoted Hossein Fazeli, a judiciary official, as saying that Mehrjhi and his wife, Vahideh […]
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Microsoft Closes $69B Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Creating Video Game Powerhouse
Software and technology giant Microsoft has reached the end of a long and rocky road, closing its $68.7 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard, led by CEO Bobby Kotick, on Friday, 21 months after it had unveiled the mega-deal. Activision unveiled the close of the transaction in a regulatory filing early on Friday. […]
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Warner Bros. Discovery President of Content Sales David Decker Takes on Expanded Global Role
Warner Bros. Discovery international president Gerhard Zeiler has unveiled an expanded global remit for David Decker, the conglomerate’s president of content sales as the company continues to streamline and fine-tune its organization. “David will, besides his domestic remit, oversee global opportunities for content licensing to major platform clients, like Netflix, Amazon, Roku and Paramount who operate worldwide,” […]
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Busan Film Festival’s Market Notches Record Attendance Despite Reduced Budget, Headwinds
The Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents and Film Market wrapped up its 2023 edition with record attendance from over 2,479 industry representatives, according to organizers. Despite industry-wide headwinds, attendees from sales and licensing companies, buyers, producers and investors gathered in Busan in an expanded exhibition hall at BEXCO, the main venue, to trade content […]
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