10 Stories You Should Know: 03/13/2023

Here are the global TV stories that should be on your radar

Here are the global TV and streaming stories that should be on your radar for Monday, March 13th, 2023:

Why The Success Of Netflix’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Will Add Momentum to Germany’s Film Funding Reform (The Hollywood Reporter)
But within the German industry, the fact that All Quiet was a Netflix film — fully financed outside Germany’s state subsidy system — was the cause of some handwringing. That the most successful German film ever at the Academy Awards was bankrolled by a U.S. streamer suggests something is broken in Berlin.

Forecast: West European Pay-TV Revenues To Fall By $5bn (Advanced-Television)
Western European pay-TV revenues will decline by nearly $5 billion (€4.7bn) between 2022 and 2028 to $22 billion – down by 18 per cent, according to the Western Europe Pay TV Forecasts report from analyst firm Digital TV Research.

Finland Bets On Black Humor And ‘Bold, Risky’ Topics At Series Mania (Variety)
“It’s mainly due to the fact that budgets for dramas have at least tripled over the past five or six years, thanks to Business Finland’s production incentive and foreign investments,” says Kuulasmaa.   

“We have been able to increase shooting days and production value. It’s appealing to all these producers, because there is enough financing now to make a good drama series. In 2014, 2015, that wasn’t really the case. We had 35 drama series released last year. In a country of 5 million people, it’s quite impressive.”

Sky Italia Announces Further Staff Cuts (Advanced-Television)
Sky Italia is planning voluntary redundancies or job changes for 800 employees, on top of the 400 announced in 2021.  The reorganisation plans were announced by Sky Italia CEO Andrea Duilio at the annual meeting with trade union representatives.

BBC Reinstates Gary Lineker as TV Soccer Host After U.K. Refugee Policy Criticism (The Hollywood Reporter)
Gary Lineker, the highest-paid TV host at the BBC, has been reinstated. Last week, the U.K. public broadcaster pulled him from presenting soccer show Match of the Day after he criticized the British government’s refugee and asylum policy on Twitter. The BBC — which had been under severe pressure since the situation erupted — announced Monday that he would return.

'Island' Makes Top 10 Global Shows On Amazon Prime In 26 Countries (Korea Joongang Daily)
Tving’s original drama series “Island” made it into the top 10 global shows on Amazon Prime Video in 26 countries over the weekend. “Island” entered the top 10 for global shows on Amazon Prime Video and ranked No. 1 in four countries Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Vevo Launches Linear-Programmed Freevee Channels In The UK, Germany (Rapid TV News)
In the latest addition to the catalogue of the former IMDb TV streaming video service, leading music video network Vevo has expanded its partnership with Amazon to launch new FAST channels on Freevee in both the UK and Germany.

Asian Content Bigwigs Discuss Co-production at FilMart: ‘We’ve Been Looking For This Formula for Decades’ (Variety)
Kim, noted, however, that mixed casting from different countries don’t work because of a lack of market focus. “Thai actors are for the Thai market and Korean actors are for the Korean market, when you mix it together, then it becomes like a nowhere target market,” Kim said. “I have not seen a great success of mixed casting working within Asia.”

Showmax & Peacock Partner To Claim Streaming Throne In South Africa (Fortress)
To start this “super aggregation strategy”, MultiChoice managed to sign a deal with Netflix and Amazon in 2020 (which now also includes Disney+), which offers their streaming services through its new decoder — what they are calling their “one-stop shop+”. This unique service allows users to subscribe to one service but have access to a variety of content from different platforms, being able to watch DStv, Showmax, Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ content all on one account.

Skylink To Launch Canal+ Streaming Service (Broadband TV News)
M7 Group’s Czech and Slovak operator Skylink is preparing to launch a streaming service under the Canal+ brand.