Here are the global TV and streaming stories that should be on your radar for Monday, March 11th, 2024:
Hirokazu Kore-eda On His Next Project, A Samurai-Focused Streaming Series & Why Japan’s Film Industry Is In Danger: “Staff Are Not Making A Living” (Deadline)
With four TV and film projects in as many years, few filmmakers right now are more prolific than Hirokazu Kore-eda. “Staff are not making a living in the industry, and it is very hard to keep them working on films,” he said. “There are now a lot of shows, but they’re not making a living at all. That is the point we have to work on and improve, otherwise it will be very difficult to keep making Japanese movies in the future.”
DF1 Picks Up MotoGP Rights In Germany From ServusTV (Sportcal)
DF1, the newly launched commercial channel operated by DF1 Medien, has secured free-to-air rights to motorcycling's MotoGP World Championship in Germany through a sub-licensing agreement with Servus TV.
‘Good Girls’ Gets Arabic Adaptation With Egyptian Stars And Ramadan Launch (Variety)
Titled “Lunch Box,” the Arabic “Good Girls” redo features Egyptian stars Ghada Adel, Jamila Awad and Fadwa Abed in the main roles as three women — two sisters and their friend — who, faced with sudden economic hardship, decide to pull an unlikely heist. Just like in the U.S. original, starring Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman and Retta, they presume this will improve their lives, only to find themselves spiraling deeper into the criminal world.
Forecast: Cord-Cutting To Hit Western Europe Pay-TV (Advanced-Television)
Western Europe will lose nearly 9 million pay-TV subscribers between 2023 and 2029 to reach 93 million – down by 8 per cent, according to the Western Europe Pay-TV Forecasts report from analyst firm Digital TV Research.
Did Telugu & Tamil Content Disappoint Hotstar? (M9 News)
Some OTT platforms, especially in Telugu, failed because they couldn’t create a library of their own and depended only on buying films and outside content. As they couldn’t compete with national and international players in that department, they had to fail at some point in time.
China’s Alibaba To Invest $640M In Hong Kong Content Industry; Signs Strategic Partnership With Media Asia (Deadline)
Chinese tech and media giant Alibaba is investing $640M (HK$5BN) into Hong Kong's creative industries over the next five years. The funding will come via multiple divisions in Alibaba's Digital Media and Entertainment Group, including Alibaba Pictures and streaming platform Youku.
South Africa’s DoJ And MultiChoice Team Up To Fight Piracy (Digital TV Europe)
South Africa’s Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and pay TV operator Multichoice Group have signed an anti-piracy memorandum of understanding to develop measures to combat piracy.
Portugal’s Pay-TV Growth Slows (Broadband TV News)
The total number of subscribers receiving a pay-TV service in Portugal at the end of 2023 was 4.6 million, 96,000 more than in the previous year. According to regulator Anacom, the 2.1% increase was the lowest annual growth since 2013.
Paramount+ Links With Buccaneer To Adapt Crime Thriller ‘The Crow Girl’ (TBI Vision)
Paramount+ UK & Ireland has ordered The Crow Girl, a new original crime thriller series based on the novel trilogy by Erik Axl Sund. Produced by Irvine Welsh’s Crime and Marcella team Buccaneer, the 6 x 60-minute psychological thriller begins with the discovery of a teenage boy’s body discarded in plain sight.
“We’re Up And Up:” Asian Streamer Bosses On How Creative & Financial “Discipline” Has Promoted Local Growth — Filmart (Deadline)
"We don’t need a lot of content, we just need lots of really good content," Kelvin Yau, President of Asia Pacific and Marketing iQIYI, concluded when quizzed on his company's editorial strategy during a keynote session on streaming this morning at Filmart in Hong Kong.