Advanced Television

Production

Downey Jr creating AI docu-series for YouTube

Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr, along with his wife Susan, have revealed plans to create an 8 episode docu-series exploring the rise of AI for YouTube Red, the US SVoD service. Downey Jr will host and narrate the series, which will feature interviews with researchers and experts on science, philosophy, engineering, medicine, futurism and entertainment, […]

May 16, 2018By Nik Roseveare

Analyst: Lack of local content stifling French SVoD

The adoption of SVoD services in France has so far been slower than other major western markets. Consulting firm Ampere Analysis’s comparison of the content catalogues of SVoD players in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US reveals that of the six markets, France has less content and far lower levels of localisation […]

May 15, 2018

twofour54, Arabsat boost for MENA satellite

Broadcasters will now be able to stream their shows to millions of Arabsat viewers around the world after the organisation agreed to establish a satellite uplink platform from TV and movie production facility twofour54 Abu Dhabi. The agreement will see Arabsat and twofour54 launch a new set of satellite TV channels on the Arabsat Badr-4 […]

May 14, 2018

YouTube commissions Cobra Kai season 2

YouTube has confirmed that it will be renewing Cobra Kai for a second season just over a week after the show premiered on YouTube Red, its US subscription platform. The Karate Kid movies spin-off has proven a hit with viewers and critics alike. YouTube’s Global Head of Original Programming Susanne Daniels commented: “The series had […]

May 11, 2018

Discovery’s Zaslav: “We’re not renters”

Discovery’s President & CEO, David Zaslav took a swipe at the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime, telling analysts that the factual – and now sports – producer were not renters of programming. Speaking on the company’s Q1 Earnings Call, Zaslav said: “We own the vast majority of our content across regions, platforms and formats, […]

May 9, 2018By Chris Forrester

BBC Three creating short-form videos for Royal Wedding

In the week leading up to the Royal Wedding of HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, BBC Three and US-based network Vox will be co-producing three short-form videos. For this new collaborative partnership, BBC Three and Vox will release videos that explore the questions you’ve always wanted to know about the Royal Wedding but have […]

May 9, 2018

Netflix spending $1bn to meet EU programming quotas

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, speaking at last week’s Series Mania festival and conference in Lille, France, said that he will spend €1 billion this year in boosting European production and to start meeting the planned European 30 per cent quota on local content output. The EU ruling come in three years from now. Hastings told […]

May 8, 2018By Chris Forrester

Europe’s PSBs ally to combat Netflix influence

Responding to what they describe as the arrival of new international players in the drama market, in particular the SVoD market, and its disruptive effect on the European audiovisual landscape, European public service broadcasters France Télévisions, Germany’s ZDF and Italy’s RAI are taking what they say is a new era in their collaboration. In an […]

May 4, 2018By Colin Mann

NBC, Google VR content partnership

NBCUniversal has teamed up with Google to produce VR content that gives audiences a unique way to experience some of their favourite networks and shows. These VR projects include original content from Saturday Night Live, Bravo Media’s Vanderpump Rules and SYFY WIRE, with more NBCUniversal networks, channels and shows to follow in the coming months, […]

May 1, 2018

EU SVoD quotas: How dare they?

The news that Europe (collectively its Parliament, Council and European Commission) is contemplating ruling that OTT platforms such as Amazon and Netflix must face tough new ‘made in Europe’ 30 per cent quotas, is infuriating. As we reported last week, and according to Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip, the new rules “reflect […]

April 30, 2018