DIFFUSION

AppleTV+ and Disney+ were the biggest gainers in the UK subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market, according to a survey by BARB, the currency for measuring the country’s television audience, found. BARB’s establishment survey for the first quarter of the year indicates that the number of UK households with access to a streaming service reached 19.57 million UK households (68.5% of households), in the first quarter of the year, an increase of nearly 500,000 households since the fourth quarter of 2021. Of these, 1.57 million households had access to Apple TV+, up 27% from 1.24 million in the previous quarter and 6.53 million households had access to Disney+, a quarterly increase of 19% compared to 5.49 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Sky’s now tv posted weaker quarterly gains with 17.29 million households having access to Netflix in the first quarter of 2022, up 3% from 16.79 million in the previous quarter; 13.35 million households with access to Amazon Prime Video, a growth of 6% compared to 12.57 million in the fourth quarter of 2021; and 2.13 million households with Now TV, an increase of 4% from 2.06 million in the previous quarter.

The number of UK households with two or more services is now 13.2 million households (46.3% of households), up from 12.4 million households in Q4 2021.

FEES

British broadcaster Channel 4 added “Unapologetic” and “Crazy Rich…” to the orders from his landmark Black to Front project. On September 10, 2021, Channel 4’s entire programming schedule was showcased by black talent and contributors from across genres and advertisements, with the aim of amplifying black voices on television.

Yinka Bokinni and Zeze Millz will present six more episodes of the late-night topical talk show “Unapologetic”, produced by SBTV and Cardiff Productions, which had already been re-commissioned after its debut on The Black To Front Project. “In Crazy Rich… (working title), produced by Rumpus Media, Eddie Kadi who was featured in “Celebrity Gogglebox” during Black To Front, will act as a tour guide to show a famous comedian a rarely seen side of Ghana. Channel 4 revealed in May that “The Big Breakfast”, produced by Lifted Entertainment, part of ITV Studios, would have a summer broadcast, with hosts AJ Odudu and Mo Gilligan, which was first seen in a special episode of Black to Front Project. . Spring Films’ “The Defenders” and Spun Gold’s “Billionaires’ Paradise” were also commissioned as part of the project.

Scarlette and Stuart Douglas (“Worst House On The Street” and “George Clarke’s Flipping Fast”) and Jean Johansson (“Dream Life for Same Price” pilot and “Keys to a Fortune”). Other shows with Judi Love , AJ Odudu, Zeze Millz, Yinka Bokinni and Munya Chawawa will be unveiled shortly.

SHORT FILM

Laurence Olivier Prize Winner Michael Jibson (“Hamilton”) and Louis Ashbourne Serkis (“The Kid Who Would Be King”) directs the short film “Path to Ecstasy”, alongside Laura Main (“Call the Midwife”), Tom Taylor (“The Dark Tower”), Georgia Pemberton (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”), Amir Wilson (“His Dark Materials”), Ken Christiansen (“It’s a Sin”) and Mimi Slinger (“Masters of the Air”).

The short, the second of Abdullah Khan after “Find the Light”, follows Adam (Serkis), a lost teenager who, during one night, is abandoned by his alcoholic stepfather (Jibson) and stimulated by a desperate search for human connection, within the same crowd he also wishes to escape from.

The film, produced by Lucas A. Ferrara and Khan under the Rosebud Movies banner, has completed principal filming in London and will be heading to film festivals later this year. Rosebud Films is developing several feature film projects, one of which is an occult-focused psychological period piece.

SALES

Cineflix Rights concluded several international agreements with broadcasters in Central and Eastern Europe and the Southern Mediterranean before NATPE-Budapest 2022. Tanweer bought all three seasons of the thriller Marcella (24×60′, Buccaneer Media for ITV, UK, and Netflix, worldwide) for ERT (Greece), and Disney+ picked up season 1 of “Coroner” (8×60′ , Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios for CBC, Canada) for its streaming platforms covering the Balkans and Bulgaria.

“John Wayne Gacy: Killer Clown’s Revenge” (4×60′, Hoff Productions for Reelz, US) is acquired by TV JOJ (Czech Republic); “Battle of Alcatraz” (2×60′, Hoff Productions for Reelz, US) is bought by AMCNI for the Spektrum channel (Central Europe) and FTV Prima (Czech Republic); and “Killer Cases” (season 2, 10×60′, Law&Crime Productions for True Crime Network, US) was sold to AETN (Poland). Kino (Poland) acquired “Secret Nazi Expeditions” (6×60′, Go Button Media for Super Channel, Canada) for its Stopklatka channel and “Smart Home Nation” (10×30′, Efran Films for FYI and Crackle, US ) for Zoom TV.

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Meanwhile, India GoQuest Media signed an exclusive AVOD rights agreement with Australian’s SBS for the series “Traitor” (6 x 58′), produced by Elisa Estonia and the Estonian public channel ERR.

EXPOSURE

Indian multiplex channel PVR Cinemas revealed an expanded partnership agreement with laser cinema solutions provider Cinionic to equip 500 screens with Barco Series 4 4K laser projection that supports sustainability with reduced waste, lower energy consumption and longer life. Upon completion of the rollout to new and existing screens, PVR will be the first exhibition chain in India to switch to 100% 4K RGB laser projection. The announcement was made at the ongoing conference CineEurope convention in Barcelona.

VIP+ analysis: what the evolution of the SVOD market means for streamers