Here are the global TV and streaming television stories that should be on your radar for Monday, February 17th, 2025:
“Montoya, Por Favor!”: The Story Behind ‘Temptation Island’ Spain’s Viral Sensation (Deadline)
If you’ve been anywhere near social media in the past couple of weeks, you will be familiar with José Carlos Montoya. He’s the Spanish hunk making the desperate charge across a moonlit beach to confront his girlfriend as she slips between the sheets with another man.
Saudi Invests $1bn In DAZN (Advanced-Television)
Saudi Arabia is to invest $1 billion (€0.95bn) in DAZN and a forming new JV with the sports streaming service owned by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, as the country doubles up its bet on the global sports market. Surj Sports Investment, the sporting arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), will acquire a “single-digit” minority stake in DAZN, just weeks after the loss-making broadcaster secured the rights to show this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup tournament for $1 billion.
In Estonian-Ukrainian Series ‘My Dear Mother,’ Love Is a Crime: ‘It Will Leave You Breathless’ (Variety)
In the Estonian-Ukrainian six-episode show, produced by Zolba Productions in collaboration with Ukraine’s Film.UA Group, the audience is put in the role of a judge and a journalist – both trying to understand what happened in the life of a girl accused of killing her own mother.
Ampere: Streamers Will Spend $12.5bn On Sports Rights In 2025 (Broadband TV News)
Streamers are forecast to account for a fifth of global sports rights spend in 2025 according to Ampere Analysis sports media rights data. It’s anticipated that the combined spend will reach $12.5 billion this year with much of the growth driven by the expanding sports budgets of Netflix and Amazon. However, sports streamer DAZN will maintain its position as the world’s top spender on sports rights.
Life After Peak TV: “It’s A New World Order… There’s A Rethink Required” – Berlin (Deadline)
Berlin tuned into TV, Monday, and the drama crowd in Germany were told that after scaling the peaks, it's time to survey the “open plain.” Ampere's influential analyst Guy Bisson broke out key data in a presentation titled: ‘The Open Plains After Peak TV’. "What do you land on after a peak?
JioHotstar Launched: What Happens To Existing Disney+ Hotstar, JioCinema users (India TV)
JioHotstar has finally launched in India, after the dispute over domain ownership got over. Now, you might have heard about the merger between Viacom18 and Star India, which has resulted in JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar content being available on a single platform and JioHotstar. Naturally, this raises concerns for existing subscribers: What happens to their current JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar plans? What are the new pricing options for JioHotstar, and what content will be available?
FAST Channels Make Big Splash In Indonesia As Wedotv Partners With Dens.TV (Variety)
In a major push into the Asian streaming market, global FAST network wedotv has inked a deal with Indonesian platform Dens.TV to launch four of its flagship channels, marking wedotv’s first foray into the region’s television landscape.
Dutch Viewers Get Two Viaplay Linear Channels (Broadband TV News)
The channels, Viaplay TV and Viaplay TV+, will initially be available through television providers Delta and Odido. Last year, Viaplay ran a pilot where it rebranded SBS9 as Viaplay TV, and showed a mix of content from both Viaplay and SBS6. From March 14, SBS9 will return in its own right, and the two Viaplay channels will go it alone.
Biggest NOW TV Shake-Up In Decade Kickstarts Tomorrow, Bringing All-New Design And Features At No Extra Cost (GB News)
NOW is poised to undergo its biggest overhaul in years. The streamer, previously known as NOW TV, will enjoy a fresh coat of paint across every corner of its interface. It follows similar redesigns to rivals like Netflix and Prime Video in the UK in recent years.
German Industry At A Crossroads Amid Political Upheaval & Thirst For Film Reform (Deadline)
As Germany heads into a key general election on February 23, there’s a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the country’s film industry. Europe’s largest economy is facing a third consecutive year of recession, which is having a stark knock-on effect on the German media landscape as inflation and cost of energy prices hit the production sector.