10 Stories You Should Know: 10/03/2022

Apparently this is mergers and exits Monday in the TV industry...

Here are the stories that should be on your radar for Monday, October 3rd, 2022:

Fandom Buys TV Guide, Metacritic, GameSpot And Other Brands For About $50 Million (Variety)
Fandom is rolling up a suite of entertainment and gaming content properties — including TV Guide and Metacritic — in a deal with digital-marketing company Red Ventures worth about $50 million.

San Francisco-based Fandom acquired GameSpot, Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs, Giant Bomb, Cord Cutters News and Comic Vine under the deal. The sites collectively attract 46 million monthly active users, according to Fandom.

MultiChoice And Canal+ Merge Could Create African Pay-TV Powerhouse (MyBroadband South Africa)
Canal+ is the pay-TV arm of French media giant Vivendi, which has interests in television, film, video games, book publishing, and video hosting.

Over the last two years, Canal+ gradually increased its stake in MultiChoice — from 6.5% in October 2020 to its current level of over 26%.

Jeffrey Dahmer: Production Assistant Says Netflix Series Was ‘One Of The Worst Shows I’ve Ever Worked On’ (Daily Mirror)
Kim Alsup also claimed she was left suffering PTSD after watching the trailer for the movie.

She said in a now deleted tweet: "I worked on this project and I was 1 of 2 Black people on the crew and they kept calling me her name. We both had braids, she was dark skin and 5’10. I’m 5’5.”

"Working on this took everything I had as I was treated horribly."

Studiocanal Boss Anna Marsh Promoted To Deputy CEO Of Canal+ Group (Screen Daily)
Marsh has nearly 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry including roles at Marathon Group’s Tele Images Productions and TF1 International before jumping ship to steer Studiocanal through more than a decade of production, distribution and international sales for feature films and TV series. Earlier this year, Studiocanal acquired a majority stake in Dutch FilmWorks in Benelux.

The Imperfects: How Netflix Sets Shows Up For Failure (GameRant)
Netflix seems to have spent absolutely no money marketing this series. It dropped on a Thursday with almost no ads. People who pay attention to Netflix's monthly release blocks might have seen the show's name on the list, but that's about all the company was willing to say about it. This is a streaming service that took out TV spots for Bright or Death Note, both terrible films. The Imperfects is better in its worst episode than a ton of the films that make it to the service. But, as Netflix has proven time and time again, quality is not the issue. If a show or a movie doesn't have something that Netflix sees worthy of marketing, it'll languish in obscurity, regardless of its quality.

The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz Exits As Nexstar Sets New Leadership (The Hollywood Reporter)
Mark Pedowitz, the CEO of The CW, is stepping down from his role with the younger-skewing broadcast network, effective immediately, following its sale to station group Nexstar. The news was announced Monday as Nexstar, which officially took control of The CW on Oct. 1, unveiled its leadership team for the broadcast network. Pedowitz’s split with Nexstar is said to have been amicable as the beloved exec will assist as needed going forward. Next up, Pedowitz is reviving his Pinestreet Entertainment production company as he looks to return to producing.

‘Got Talent’ Creator Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment Strikes ‘Groundbreaking’ $125M Securitization Deal For Reality Format (Deadline)
The agreement, billed by advisor ACF as “the first of its kind” and “groundbreaking,” securitizes the intellectual property behind Got Talent, including the U.S., UK and international versions of the format, which is in 72 territories worldwide. In effect, production margins and fees, digital income, franchise and original content sales and sponsorship income have been pooled as securities.

This type of deal structure is more commonly commonly applied in the music industry, for royalty income streams. In general, it’s used to raise capital through equity, debt or a mixture of both.

Natalie Morales Joins CBS News (Variety)
Morales has proven a durable TV-news figure. She left “Today” in 2016 after working as the show’s news anchor, West Coast correspondent and co-host of its third hour. She also logged a stint as host of the long-running entertainment-news program “Access.” She joined “Today” in 2006 as a national correspondent, reporting for all of NBC News’ platforms including “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” and MSNBC.

South African Streaming Platform Viu Signs Bulk Licensing Deal With BBC (World Screen)
The pact marks the first sale of the BBC Lifestyle South African commission Homegrown Tastes South Africa, a ten-parter from Rapid Blue featuring award-winning chef and TV personality Lorna Maseko. The deal also includes Luther, Orphan Black and Steve McQueen’s Small Axe, as well as the animated series JoJo & Gran Gran, among others.

Download Data Shows Netflix Drop, Disney Gain, Record For Paramount (Next TV)
Global downloads of the Netflix app fell in September, while Disney Plus saw gains and Paramount Plus recorded records, according to a scorecard published by analyst Vijay Jayant of Evercore ISI.

Overall SVOD downloads were up 13% from a year ago in September, with Netflix taking a 26% share, topping Disney’s 25% share.AVOD downloads were up 30% in September, with Pluto TV having the largest share at 37%.. Virtual MVPD downloads were up 42% in the quarter, led by YouTube TV.