Advanced Television

Production

Apple TV plans original content

Apple may well follow Netflix and Prime as producer of original video programming, according to US reports. The company is said to gave held meetings with Hollywood executives in recent weeks to gauge their interest in helping make original movies and TV shows, enabling them to take on the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. […]

September 1, 2015

Fear the Walking Dead #1 US cable series premiere

The global premiere on August 24th of Fear the Walking Dead has made US television history, delivering 10.1 million live/same day viewers and becoming the #1 series premiere in US cable television history for total viewers and all key demographics. The episode delivered 6.3 million adults 18-49. In that coveted demographic, AMC now is home […]

August 25, 2015

Quickflix drops Chinese acquisition

Australian TV and movie streaming service Quickflix is not going ahead with the potential acquisition of a Shanghai-based film and television company. In a notice to the Australian Securities Exchange, it said that based on due diligence of the Shanghai-based company and advice received in relation to Chinese regulations and restrictions, it had decided that […]

August 24, 2015By Colin Mann

Amazon: Clarkson show “very, very, very expensive”

Proclaiming a “golden age of television”, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has suggested the planned motoring show to be presented on its Prime Instant Video TV streaming service by the ex-Top Gear trio of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond will be loved by viewers in the UK and around the world. Interviewed by UK […]

August 17, 2015By Colin Mann

NBCUniversal invests in Vox Media

NBCUniversal is making a $200 million equity investment in Vox Media, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing digital media companies. The eight Vox Media brands are SB Nation, Polygon, The Verge, Vox.com, Eater, Racked, Curbed, and Re/code. “Vox Media has a great portfolio of premium digital brands that deeply engage broad audiences,” said […]

August 13, 2015

Sky orders darts gameshow

Sky is resurrecting the darts-based gameshow this September with One Hundred and Eighty. Davina McCall and Freddie Flintoff will co-host the series, which will see professional darts players team up with members of the public to compete for big money prizes. Adam MacDonald, Director of Sky 1, commented: “Darts is a sport close to the nation’s […]

August 13, 2015

Discovery’s Betty launches US arm

Production company Betty has launched a US arm headed up by Discovery exec Jon Sechrist as it attempts to crack America. Sechrist, the vice-president of production and development for Discovery Networks International, will join Betty later this month. He will be tasked with overseeing the Discovery-owned producer’s development slate which includes US versions of The […]

August 10, 2015

BBC: ‘Red Alert’ on funding

The BBC’s licence fee will be under severe pressure come 2020/2021, according to an analysis of the UK government’s ‘Green Paper’ proposals for funding the public broadcaster. Enders Analysis’s Toby Syfret and Gill Hind, in a report published August 1 by the ‘Our Beeb’ website and which originated as a study by Enders, are blunt […]

August 4, 2015By Chris Forrester

Viacom Sky Italia channel boost

Further to Viacom International Media Networks’ (VIMN) deal with Sky Italia for the sale of its MTV Italia DTT channel to the pay-TV operator, it has extended its partnership with Sky, further enriching its offering of TV channels and multimedia content for Italian audiences. As part of a new multi-year arrangement with Sky Italia, Viacom […]

August 3, 2015

Ex-Top Gear trio motor into Amazon Prime Video

Former Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have signed a deal for a motoring show on Amazon Prime Video. UK commercial broadcaster ITV and Amazon’s rival entertainment streaming service Netflix had been considered more likely destinations for the show after May and Hammond declined to accept new contracts with the BBC […]

July 30, 2015By Colin Mann