10 Stories You Should Know: 09/28/2022

Some interesting news coming out of the APOS conference in Singapore.

Here is a rundown of the stories that should be on your radar this morning:

NBCUniversal Reality TV Streamer Hayu To Launch In Central And Eastern Europe (The Hollywood Reporter)
Hayu offers more than 300 shows and more than 9,000 episodes of reality TV content, including such franchises as The Real Housewives, Below Deck and Million Dollar Listing. It also provides programming in the English language in such unscripted sub-genres as home and design, dating, cooking, crime and fashion. “Subscribers don’t have to worry about spoilers as the vast majority of U.S.A. shows are available on Hayu the same day as their U.S.A. broadcast,” the company highlighted.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sets Out Leadership in France, Benelux and Africa Under Pierre Branco (Variety)
Branco, who reports into EMEA boss Priya Dogra, was previously country manager for WarnerMedia in France, Benelux, Middle East and Africa and head of affiliates and ad sales for EMEA. The changes on his team take effect immediately.

Warner Bros. Discovery And SRMG Partner To Launch ‘Asharq Discovery’ (Arab News)
Warner Bros. Discovery, the global leader in media and entertainment and SRMG, the MENA region’s largest media group, announced today their long-term partnership to launch ‘Asharq Discovery’, a new free-to-air (FTA) Arabic language channel, exclusively for audiences in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. Asharq Discovery will be the newest addition to SRMG's fast-growing media and international offerings.

Dish And Game Show Network Reach Deal To End Blackout (Deadline)
Dish Network and the Game Show Network said Tuesday that they have reached a multi-year deal on a new carriage agreement, restoring the channel to the satellite service after it went dark in early September after talks had broken down. The deal is for both Dish TV and Sling TV services, Dish said.

Starz Rebrands International Streaming Service Starzplay As Lionsgate+ (Press Release)
The new brand look with graphics package, color palette and design elements will deploy in the U.S. and begin rolling out in the majority of Starz’s footprint. StarzPlay will rebrand to Lionsgate+ in 35 Starz markets excluding the U.S. and Canada where it will remain Starz. Brand names for StarzPlay Arabia along with South and Southeast Asia’s Lionsgate Play will also remain in place. 

Robert Cormier Dies: ‘Heartland’ And ‘Slasher: Solstice’ Actor Was 33 (Deadline)
Robert Cormier, a TV and film actor whose credits include playing Finn Cotter on the long-running Canadian series Heartland as well as the Netflix horror series Slasher: Solstice died at age 33. No cause of death was given.

The Response Of TF1, France Télévisions And M6 To Disney "Blackmail" (Pure Medias)
Like Amazon Prime Video, the platform with big ears must, in fact, wait 17 months after the theatrical release of the films it finances (compared to 15 months for Netflix) to be able to offer them to its subscribers. It must also, and this is the main sticking point between Disney + and the free channels, remove them from its online service temporarily when they pass on unencrypted channels such as TF1, France Télévisions and M6. But Disney opposes this obligation. Disney's exclusivity window, Hélène Etzi explained in June in "Les Echos", " is the shortest of all with only 5 months ".

Sky Signals End Of Satellite Dishes On Homes Amid Move To Streaming (The Guardian)
The end of the satellite television dish is in sight after Sky said it would start offering most of its services via a set-top streaming box.

Although Sky has denied claims it will stop installing new satellite dishes next year, one source at the company suggested it is ultimately a matter of “when, not if” the company ultimately decides to move to internet streaming as standard.

‘Good Recession’ Is on its Way, Warns Media Financier Joe Ravitch (Variety)
Asia is leaping ahead of the U.S. in some ways, he said, because it is not tied down by a legacy cable and pay-TV business. Examples include social commerce and livestreaming. “Livestreaming will come into the west having been developed in Asia,” he said.

Asian media firms, however, may face a challenge from (mostly U.S.-based) global consortia, even in something as granular as local TV. “We are getting to a new level. Local broadcasters don’t have the balance sheets to compete. They also don’t have the direct customer access [that the giant tech firms now possess,” he said.