Weekly Wrap: What the industry was really talking about this week...

Welcome to Dealmakers with Alex Segal ✍️, a Substack on the realities of being a talent agent, packed with weekly insights to keep you ahead of the game 🚀.

Having negotiated £40m+ in talent deals 💼 and grown company turnover 5x in 5 years 📈, I am sharing my experiences and knowledge of 17 years representing some of the biggest stars in the UK.

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Dealmakers Weekly Wrap

Every Sunday, I drop the biggest industry news from the past week straight to your inbox.

This is the stuff we are actually talking about.

Let’s go. ↓

Your weekly intelligence briefing…

ENTERTAINMENT:

• 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup is exciting Netflix: The streaming platform said demand was particularly high for the Women’s World Cup, with game sponsorships sold out and in-game inventory nearly gone.

• Disney+ are now in the podcast game: Disney has struck a deal with iHeartMedia to bring a number of its video podcast shows to Disney+ and Hulu. The initial shows include Hey Jonas! hosted by The Jonas Brothers, Desperately Devoted (Desperate Housewives) and Pod Meets World (Boy Meets World).

• Disney+ inks deal with The Overlap: Gary Neville’s The Overlap has signed a sponsorship and distribution deal with Disney+, bringing its flagship show, Stick to Football, to the platform. The partnership will also launch Stick to United with Wayne Rooney & Mark Goldbridge.

• BBC wants YouTube sports content: The BBC is putting up to £1.2m worth of YouTube-first sports content out to tender, which will form part of BBC Sports’ Sport+ service.

• TIFF: YouTube’s partnership with Variety to screen creator-led programming at Toronto International Film Festival’s new content marketplace underlines the merging of digital creators and traditional film festivals.

CULTURE & CREATIVITY:

• YouTube gets tough: YouTube is doubling the eligibility requirements for creators hoping to monetise their content. From 1 February 2027, creators will need at least 1,000 subscribers, plus either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the previous 12 months or 20 million qualified Shorts views within 90 days.

• Spotify stamps down on AI: Spotify is starting to label AI-generated musical ‘artists’ with an AI Persona profile tag. AI music will also be banned from its editorial and recommendations.

• Amazon heads to Liverpool: Jeff Bezos is buying a minority share in Liverpool FC. Fenway Sports Group (FSG) confirmed it had entered into a "definitive agreement". FSG investors include LeBron James. The consortium is acquiring roughly 30% at a valuation above $7 billion. The deal gives Liverpool the highest valuation ever for a football club investment.

• The end of Subscription ‘traps’: The government is bringing forward plans to end so-called subscription traps. Under the proposals, from Jan 2027 businesses will have to provide clearer information upfront, issue regular reminders and make it simpler for customers to exit.

• Unwell is very well: Unwell, the media company founded by popular podcast host Alex Cooper, has received an investment from Hollywood super agent Patrick Whitesell that values Cooper’s business at $500 million.

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📥 Get in touch with me alex@intertalentgroup.com