Europe’s Broadcasters Race to Consolidate Against Global Streamers — Sky, RTL and MFE are driving a wave of European consolidation as traditional broadcasters seek the scale needed to compete with Netflix, Amazon and YouTube, despite formidable regulatory hurdles.
YouTube and Variety Bring Creator Premieres Into the Heart of TIFF — YouTube’s partnership with Variety to premiere creator-led programming at TIFF’s new content marketplace underlines the accelerating convergence of digital creators, traditional film festivals and the established screen business.
Netflix Expands Outside Los Angeles as California’s Production Crisis Deepens — Netflix says LA remains its production base, but its expansion in New Jersey and New Mexico highlights intensifying competition between jurisdictions for production as LA location filming falls 13 per cent.
Banijay Rights Reshapes Global Sales Following $8 Billion All3Media Merger — Matt Creasey’s expanded remit outside EMEA illustrates how Banijay is integrating the two distribution businesses and reorganising one of the world’s largest television sales operations.
Brands Emerge as an Alternative Source of Television Commissioning Finance — Curly Media argues that brand budgets are increasingly capable of funding sophisticated entertainment, including scripted projects commissioned by broadcasters while retaining editorial control.
Locarno’s Record Industry Turnout Masks a Growing Arthouse Financing Crisis — Record attendance coincides with mounting pressure on traditional independent-film financing, pushing producers towards venture capital and alternative sources of investment.
Netflix Makes a Major Push Into YA Television — The streamer has ordered supernatural romance Sid & Zoey as part of a broader YA strategy and dedicated content hub, signalling renewed investment in the strategically important younger audience.
TikTok Elevates Content Strategy as It Moves Closer to Traditional Entertainment — The appointment of a global head of content across entertainment, sport and news accompanies TikTok’s growing partnerships with media companies and its move into original entertainment formats.
Stan Drama Becomes a Breakout Australian Global Export — The F Ward has sold into 100 markets, including Channel 4, SkyShowtime, HBO Asia and JioHotstar, becoming Stan’s fastest-selling Australian drama and demonstrating the international appetite for Australian scripted content.
AI Moves Deeper Into Content Production Through COL AI Studios — COL Group has created a dedicated AI production operation that uses its 5,000-title library to test and develop IP across animation, short-form, long-form, advertising, and branded entertainment.
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Michael Sheen and debut director Simon Ryninks discuss the personal inspirations behind Out There, a Welsh sci‑fi caper premiering in competition at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Blending grief and UFO folklore, the 1999‑set film follows teen Maz (Nerys Amber Stocks) as she investigates her father’s disappearance with help from eccentric locals, including Sheen’s psychic Shifty Gruff. Ryninks drew on his mother’s passing and Wales’ rich UFO history, while Sheen connected the project to memories of his late father and his own childhood sightings. Read More
Megan Park discusses her rise from actor to filmmaker and the success of Sterling Point, her YA Prime Video series that hit number one after its August 5 launch. Drawing on her family’s adoption history, Park crafted a story about sisterhood and identity, saying she aims to create “authentic and elevated content for young people” without talking down to them. She’s now shifting beyond YA with Die Alive, a Zoë Kravitz‑led romantic comedy for Apple. Read More
Master control veteran Clint Rolfe has launched Long Play, a video‑hosting platform built to broadcast standards and designed as a creator‑first alternative to YouTube and Vimeo. Rolfe says the service rejects algorithmic feeds, platform advertising and data harvesting, instead offering byte‑exact master preservation, non‑destructive correction tools, minimal analytics and a permanent commitment not to train AI on uploaded content. He built the entire platform alone, applying 23 years of broadcast QC and MCR experience to every technical decision. Read More
European broadcasters are pursuing rapid consolidation to compete with global giants like Netflix, Amazon and YouTube, as declining linear viewing and rising production costs squeeze traditional models. Recent deals, Sky acquiring ITV’s broadcast assets, RTL merging with Sky Deutschland, and MFE expanding across Italy, Spain and Germany, reflect a push for national and pan‑European scale. Yet regulatory barriers, especially in France, and concerns over concentrated news power complicate efforts to build the larger champions needed for survival. Read More
X is testing a feature that shows users how the algorithm treats their posts, including any visibility-limiting labels. Available to a small group of testers via a new “under the hood” settings page, it lets people download account data and inspect restrictions. The platform announced it alongside an update that opens up more of the “for you” ranking algorithm, which VP of Product Keith Coleman called unprecedented algorithmic transparency. Read More
Trade body Filmverband Südwest says Baden-Württemberg’s film industry is at risk after broadcaster SWR moved several productions elsewhere. Quiz show “Sag die Wahrheit” shifts to Leipzig, while Riverside Entertainment in Cologne takes over segments of “Tigerenten-Club.” SWR cited synergies and cost savings. The association reports disillusionment among regional producers, questioning why no southwestern partners were sought, and warns that the state is becoming merely a training ground. Read More
Tony director Matt Johnson and star Dominic Sessa discuss why the A24 biopic centres on Anthony Bourdain’s formative teenage summer in Provincetown rather than his later fame. Johnson says the film explores the raw beginnings of Bourdain’s relationship with food, kitchen culture and creative ambition, capturing a period when he was still “Tony,” not yet the global icon.
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Austria has chosen Markus Schleinzer’s black-and-white period drama Rose as its international feature entry for the 2027 Oscars. Sandra Hüller stars as a 17th-century woman in rural Germany who lives as a male farmer, a composite character drawn from hundreds of documented cases. The film premiered at Berlin, where Hüller won the Silver Bear for Best Lead Performance. Mubi handles North America and several territories; The Match Factory manages worldwide sales. Read More
Tanzania-born filmmaker Neema Ngelime is developing her first feature documentary, the essayistic The Ones With the Tempered Flowers, a Tanzania-Kenya co-production produced by Ivy Kiru. Previously known for shorts including A Country In A Corner and Hooyo, Ngelime presented the work-in-progress at Locarno’s 2026 Open Doors, the festival’s co-production and talent platform, where the project took both the Sørfond Award and the ARTEKino International Award. Read More
Mozambican director Ique Langa, whose debut feature The Prophet premiered at Rotterdam this year, presented surrealist love story Chapa 100 as a work-in-progress at Locarno’s 2026 Open Doors. Produced by Lara Sousa of Kulunga Filmes, the project won the CNC Development Grant. Open Doors, the festival’s co-production and talent development platform, is in its second edition, focused on African filmmaking. Read More
Netflix insists Los Angeles is still its production base, reporting 46 LA productions last year and expecting similar numbers in 2026. But the streamer is expanding aggressively in New Jersey and New Mexico, where incentives are richer and logistics are simpler. The tension comes as California battles runaway production: FilmLA reports on-location filming in Los Angeles fell 13 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, hitting crews, vendors, and stages. Read More
Startup Shamel Studio is challenging Movie Magic Scheduling and Budgeting, the Entertainment Partners-owned applications that have been Hollywood’s planning standard since the mid-1980s. While film gave way to digital, flatbeds to Avid, and AI now touches visual effects and localisation, the production office has barely changed. Generations of assistant directors, line producers and unit production managers have been trained on the software, making it deeply embedded in industry infrastructure. Read More
Milan is seeing a measurable boost from The Devil Wears Prada 2, released theatrically in May and partly shot in Italy’s fashion capital, which provides the glitzy backdrop for the sequel’s third act. According to a Cities Analytics study, international visitor foot traffic at the film’s main Milan locations has climbed 18 per cent compared with the previous period. Read More
Comic writer Tom King explains how HBO’s Lanterns emerged from early DC Studios brainstorming, where he pitched a True Detective‑style “space cop” Green Lantern series. Working with Damon Lindelof and Chris Mundy, King helped craft a grounded, multi‑timeline drama led by Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre, aiming to make superheroes feel human again. He also reflects on Supergirl’s reception and previews his upcoming animated Mister Miracle, shaped by a decade of audience feedback. Read More
YouTube is deploying AI-assisted age verification designed to identify users who misrepresent their age. The platform first announced the initiative in late July, and 9to5Google reported that the system took effect on August 13. YouTube says the technology will help deliver the most age-appropriate experiences and protections, extending its built-in safeguards to more teenage users across the service. Read More
LuckyChap’s YA hit Sterling Point has become Prime Video’s most‑watched global series since its Aug. 5 debut, reinforcing the company’s strategy of artist‑driven, emotionally grounded storytelling. As Megan Park’s show anchors LuckyChap’s push into ongoing TV, the company is scaling up with Sex Criminals, Life Is Strange and Retrievals, all led by female filmmakers. Exec Dani Gorin says the brand’s signature remains authored, left‑of‑centre stories with emotional depth, and music‑driven projects are next. Read More
Scottish filmmaker Paul Wright premieres Mission at Edinburgh, a sensory, psyche‑driven drama starring George MacKay as Dylan, a man chasing extreme experiences to break through modern numbness. Wright frames Dylan’s quest as a search for transcendence that blurs ecstasy, danger and self‑destruction, drawing on performance art, outsider culture and his own archive film Arcadia. Anchored by Rosy McEwen as Dylan’s estranged sister, the film explores connection, meaning and the thin line between revelation and ruin. Read More
Luigi Del Plavignano, director of documentaries at Rai, says the pubcaster is prioritising biographies, recent-history subjects, and youth-focused stories, with a strong Italian perspective and an unconventional narrative style. He emphasises a clear preference for singles over series, avoiding current affairs, geopolitics and wildlife. Rai is also launching an English‑language portal for early‑stage pitches and continues backing standout titles like The Story of a Legend: Pininfarina. Read More
Jane Schoenbrun dissects a pivotal early moment in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, where director Kris (Hannah Einbinder) visits reclusive slasher icon Billy (Gillian Anderson) at her cabin. Schoenbrun says the bizarre, funny encounter, complete with an absurd amount of KFC, signals the film’s tone: a slow, intimate, 20‑minute hangout where two women “match each other’s freak” over chicken, weed and feelings.
Emma Walker, founder of Curly Media, explains why brand-funded content has become a viable alternative to traditional TV commissioning. She outlines how brand budgets actually move across social, PR, marketing and OOH, and why understanding internal politics matters as much as creative. Walker breaks down Spotify Wrapped UK’s multi‑artist strategy, the economics of project vs. retainer work, and a new frontier: a scripted mini‑series funded by a brand but commissioned by a broadcaster retaining editorial control.
Why Europe’s broadcasters are racing to consolidate as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube rewrite the rules of scale
How brands are starting to behave like commissioners & why branded entertainment could become a serious alternative to shrinking traditional TV budgets
Why Asia’s streaming advantage increasingly rests on hyper-local storytelling, global IP and new distribution models
How an Australian drama became a record-breaking international seller, reaching 100 markets across Europe, Asia and the Americas
Why a nearly 40-year-old piece of Hollywood production infrastructure suddenly has a challenger & what that says about an industry ripe for disruption
How AI is moving deeper into entertainment, from production pipelines and audience testing to YouTube’s new age-verification system
Why microdramas continue to attract serious money, talent and brands, including a major fashion house launching its own scripted series
How creators are moving further into traditional entertainment territory, from festival premieres and sports broadcasting to Twitch-native formats
Why the global arthouse financing squeeze is pushing filmmakers and festivals towards new sources of capital
And where the opportunities are opening up: from a major European broadcaster inviting early-stage international documentary pitches to a new feature-film development scheme for underrepresented storytelling
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