10 Stories You Should Know: 01/31/2023

Here are the stories that should be on your radar.

Here are the ten global TV and streaming stories that should be on your radar for Tuesday, January 31st, 2023:

Nate Burleson & Charli D’Amelio To Host Nickelodeon’s Kids‘ Choice Awards; ’Stranger Things’ Leads 2023 Nominations (Deadline)
Nickelodeon has unveiled the nominees and hosts for its 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards. CBS Mornings co-host and CBS Sports Analyst Nate Burleson and social media star Charli D’Amelio, who also is nominated in the Favorite Female Creator category, will share hosting duties for the show.

Fremantle to Use AI Dubbing for Arabic Localization (World Screen)
Fremantle has partnered with the artificial intelligence start-up Papercup, which will localize hundreds of hours of video entertainment content from the company’s catalog of talent shows into Arabic.

Peter Smith To Depart From MBC Studios (Arab News)
“Pete has made invaluable contributions to the growth of MBC Studios during his four-year tenure, leading the production of numerous flagships, including ‘Rashash,’ ‘Rise of the Witches,’ ‘The Devil’s Promise,’ ‘Slave Market,’ and the launch of MBC’s slate of long-running dramas including ‘Al Mirath’ and ‘West Al Balad.’ 

SkyShowtime Sets Feb. 14 Launches In 8 Markets (The Hollywood Reporter)
SkyShowtime, the European streaming joint venture of Comcast and Paramount Global, will continue its rollout with its biggest expansion to date via its launch in eight new markets across Central and Eastern Europe on Feb. 14. The streamer said on Tuesday that it would debut on that day in Albania, Czechia, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. This will bring its reach to 20 of its 22 targeted markets.

African VOD Showmax Inks Slate Deal With South Africa’s Emmy-Nominated Tshedza Pictures (Variety)
African streaming service Showmax has inked a two-series slate deal with Tshedza Pictures, the South African production company behind the International Emmy-nominated telenovela “The River,” the company announced Tuesday at the start of the Joburg Film Festival.

Lionsgate+ Comes To Samsung-Tizenin UK, Ireland And Latin America (Broadband TV News)
Lionsgate+ is now available on Samsung Smart TVs, smart monitors, projectors and other Tizen OS-powered devices in the UK, Ireland, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia.

Mediaset to Merge Spanish Unit Into Rebranded MediaForEurope, Touts Pan-European Plan (Variety)
Top Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset, which is being rebranded as MediaForEurope (MFE), is merging its Spanish subsidiary Mediaset Espana into MFE in a move long touted as the first step in its stated plan to gain scale in Europe.

Change Of CEO For Orange France And Orange Spain (Digital TV Europe)
Telecom giant Orange has named current Orange España CEO Jean-François Fallacher as CEO of Orange France from April 3. He will replace Fabienne Dulac, who after eight years at the helm of the French operation, is to move to another position within the Group.

South Africa’s Showmax Launches Open Call For Live-Action Films From First-Time African Filmmakers (Deadline)
South African streamer Showmax has partnered with the Joburg Film Festival to launch an open commissioning brief to the African film industry, calling for pitches to fill a slate of 10 live-action films. All submitted proposals must have a first draft screenplay and be set in contemporary Africa.

Ukraine’s Lanet Wins Legal Decision (Broadband TV News)
The Ukrainian Supreme Court has ordered the competition regulator AMKU to conduct an investigation into monopoly in the country’s TV market.