10 Global TV Stories You Should Know: 04/23/2024

Here are the global TV and streaming stories that should be on your radar for Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024:

Mia Desroches: ‘Zenith Is The Next Great Music Competition’ (Senal News)
“Zenith” takes the stage as a larger-than-life musical competition, set in a grand arena where four artists from different generations compete weekly in a 60-minute extravaganza. The format unfolds in front of 100 spectator-judges representing Gen Z, Gen Y, Gen X, and the Boomers.

Pluto TV Expands South Park Content Globally (Advanced-Television)
Pluto TV, the free ad-supported streaming television service, is providing South Park fans around the globe with a new way to enjoy the hit franchise, as the platform launches a special category dedicated to the celebrated animated series.

Vectra Launches Package For Ukrainians In Poland (Digital TV Europe)
Polish cable operator Vectra has launched a package aimed at Ukrainian viewers residing in the country. The new Ukraine package includes 10 channels in Ukrainian on a variety of genres spanning news, entertainment, sports, education and children’s programmes.

BBC Three Greenlights First Animation In 20 Years (Deadline)
BBC Three has greenlit a Eurovision-themed animation, its first in two decades. Galaxy Dance is the youth-skewing RuPaul’s Drag Race UK network’s first animated show since Harry Thompson and Shaun Pye’s irreverent sketch series Monkey Dust, which ran from 2003 to 2005.

Super RTL Wants To Take Over Nickelodeon In Germany (BroadbandTVNews)
According to the agreement, Super RTL will take over Nickelodeon’s established satellite frequency on Astra (19.2° East) and operate the channel under its own Toggo brand after a transitional period, while continuing to show popular Nickelodeon series such as Paw Patrol and SpongeBob SquarePants. The Nickelodeon channel brand will disappear from German free-TV. Paramount intends to focus entirely on its streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV in the children’s sector in Germany in future.

Data: Fallout Is Prime Video’s Biggest Premiere (Advanced-Television)
Fallout, Prime Video’s latest big-budget series, premiered on April 11th. Available globally, this creation by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy is inspired by the celebrated Fallout video game series. Fallout draws heavily from Cold War and 80s classics such as Mad Max, The Postman and A Boy and His Dog.

Viaplay Sales Up, Subscribers Down In Q1 (Sportcal)
Viaplay Group, the embattled Nordic over-the-top (OTT) streaming service operator, has reported a 4% growth in net sales for the first quarter of the year, but a 20% drop in subscribers. In its Q1 financial results released today, the company posted group net sales of SEK4.76 billion ($422.3 million), slightly up from SEK4.53 billion in 2023.

Apple Plans ‘World Cup’ Style Competition With FIFA Backing (BroadbandTVNews)
Football’s world governing body is reportedly close to an agreement with Apple that would give the streamer global rights to a new ‘World Cup’ style tournament being played in the United States next summer.

BBC First Joins Sky New Zealand In BBC Studios Deal (Digital TV Europe)
Sky New Zealand and BBC Studios have inked a new multi-year deal, with the drama-focused channel BBC First to launch on the pay TV operator. BBC First will be available to Sky customers in New Zealand from October 2024. The channel is home to some of the UK biggest dramas, premiering new titles and the latest seasons of audience favourites, says BBC Studios.

NBA Breaks Records Across Social And Digital In Europe And Middle East (Sportcal)
North America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that the 2023-24 regular season delivered record-breaking engagement in Europe and the Middle East (EME) across the NBA App, NBA League Pass, and the league’s 18 localized social media accounts. The NBA had its most-viewed season ever across the league’s social and digital platforms in EME, passing 1 billion video views in the region for the first time.