10 Stories You Should Know: 04/18/2023
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 Tuesday, April 18th, 2023:
Johnny Depp, Amber Heard Documentary & Partygate Scandal Drama On Channel 4 Slate (Deadline)
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s blockbuster legal bust-up will be the focus of a three-part Channel 4 documentary, as the British broadcaster unveiled a “provocative” slate of new titles.
Forecast: Japan Telco, Pay-TV Revenues Over $130bn In 2027 (Advanced-Television)
The total telecom and pay-TV services revenue in Japan is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7 per cent over the forecast period 2022-2027, exceeding $130 billion (€118.4bn), mainly supported by the mobile data and fixed broadband service segments, according to GlobalData, the data and analytics company.
Writers’ Guild Of Great Britain Stands In Solidarity With WGA Strike Authorization Vote (Variety)
“Their fight is our fight. We hope that the WGA reaches a deal but we are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with our sister union and their members in support of every writer’s right to be paid a decent rate for their work, to be treated with respect and to be financially rewarded for the success of their work – including subsequent use and sales.”
BBC Accused Of ‘Impartial And Unbalanced’ Royal Coverage (Arab News)
In a letter sent to David Jordan, the BBC’s director of editorial and policy standards, the campaign group Republic said the broadcaster made “no attempt to be impartial or balanced” in its coverage in the lead-up to the event next May.
The group’s CEO Graham Smith accused the broadcaster of failing “to tackle the serious questions surrounding the royals” and “most shockingly, (the BBC) openly colludes with the Palace in its coverage.”
MIPTV: Belgian Real-Life Thrillers ‘The Crash,’ ‘1985’ Sell for Europe, Australia (The Hollywood Reporter)
Things have been almost frighteningly quiet at this year’s MIPTV international television market, which runs through Wednesday in Cannes, but a trickle of deal announcements suggests that while cutbacks and cost-cutting may be the order of the day, some business is still being done.
Stephen Fry Confirmed For Australian ‘Jeopardy!’ Reboot (Deadline)
Jeopardy! is officially heading Down Under. The iconic NBC gameshow’s international revival continues apace and Stephen Fry, the host of ITV’s upcoming British version, has been confirmed to helm for Channel 9.
Zaslav: Poland’s TVN “Not For Sale” (Broadband TV News)
According to various local reports, he added that prior to coming to Poland he had a meeting at the White House and obtained support for TVN.
Interestingly, he is also reported as saying that he hopes Warner Bros. Discovery will be able to overtake Netflix in Poland. In addition, it was reported that Zaslav was due to meet with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda.
Tongue Fighters, ‘Gganbu’ Players and Demons Unite As South Korea Introduces Potential Next Big Hits at MipTV (Variety)
As the search for the next “Squid Game” continues, South Korea brought out the big guns at MipTV, introducing several scripted and unscripted offerings. These includes FormatEast’s intergenerational game show “Gganbu Race,” inspired by the Netflix smash hit.
Dutch Operators Plan Joint Football Bid (Advanced-Television)
Four leading Dutch operators – Delta, KPN, T-Mobile and VodafoneZiggo – have joined together for a bid for domestic broadcast rights to Eredivisie, Dutch football’s top flight league The Eredivisie is currentlys tied into a 12-season deal with Disney-owned ESPN running from 2013-14 to 2024-25 and worth an average of €80 million per season.
ITVX Breaks Billion Streams Barrier (Rapid TV News)
Just over four months after the service’s launch on 8 December 8th in 2022, the streaming hub of the UK’s leading commercial broadcaster ITV, ITVX, officially hit the one billion streams mark on Easter Sunday 2023.