BBC Studios & ZDF Renew Partnership; ITVX Hits Growth Record; Priyanka Chopra Jonas Added To Red Sea Talks Lineup; Tin Roof Media Opens Distribution Wing — Global Briefs

BBC Studios & ZDF Renew Partnership

BBC Studios and Germany’s ZDF today announced at Content London that they’ve renewed their long-term strategic partnership on scripted content. The two broadcasters have said the multi-year deal will extend co-productions on scripted TV content, with ZDF and BBC Studios partnering to co-produce titles across the BBC Studios’ content pipeline. The new agreement also extends to first option on pre-sales and acquisitions across BBC Studios’ catalog available in Germany. Acquisitions already confirmed include Death in Paradise S13-14, Beyond Paradise S1-2, and The Outlaws S2-3. The original partnership with ZDF was forged in 2019. Ther collaborations include A Good Girls Guide to Murder, The Famous Five Series 1, Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story, and The Chelsea Detective.

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ITVX Hits Growth Record 

ITV’s streaming platform ITVX has hit a new audience record, according to the broadcaster. The streaming platform has become the UK’s fast growing platform, according to figures reported by ITV. The broadcaster has said ITVX has outpaced all other major streaming platforms in terms of growth in viewer hours since its launch — with a 35% growth in viewer hours in two years, ahead of BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Disney+, Channel 4 and Amazon Prime. The biggest UK audience of 2024 was ITV’s coverage of Euro 2024 match between England and The Netherlands, which peaked with 21.6 million viewers across ITV1 and ITVX. Mr Bates vs The Post Office is the biggest drama audience of 2024 to date, with a total audience of 15.1 million. ITV has had 4 out of the top 10 new dramas in 2024. Those shows were Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Red Eye, Until I Kill You and After The Flood. BBC and Netflix both had three. Discussion today’s reported record, Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, said: “Two years on, ITVX is now firmly established as a superior streaming destination, for a wealth of must-watch content.”

Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Nick Jonas, Olivia Wilde & Michelle Yeoh Added To Red Sea Speaker Lineup 

Saudi Arabia’s buzzy Red Sea Film Festival has added several names to the list of speakers at this year’s event. Additions include actor and poet Ibrahim Alhasawi and actor Moshal Almutairi. The festival will also hold fireside chats with Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Heads of State), actor and singer Nick Jonas (Power Ballad), and Red Sea Honouree Aamir Khan (Dangal), actor and director Olivia Wilde (Don’t Worry Darling, Booksmart), and Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once). Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Festival, said this year’s speaker lineup “brings together an incredible group of pioneering artists that will be sharing insights and anecdotes from their varied and acclaimed careers across our In Conversation programme.”

Tin Roof Media Opens Distribution Wing

UK production group Tin Roof Media is creating a distribution label. Tin Roof Media Distribution will be led by Alice Bennett-Leyh, a former DRG/NENT Studios exec. Tin Roof’s stable comprises Blink Films and Outline Productions, who make shows such as Treasures Decoded, Ten Mistakes That Sank the Titanic, Sarah Beeny’s Renovate Don’t Relocate and Michel Roux’s French Country Cooking. The biz will handle Tin Roof’s existing catalog and license third-party content, while also looking into co-production, AVOD and FAST channel opportunities. “Growing revenue through international distribution of our content is a key plank of our business strategy,” said Tin Roof Chairman Rod Henwood. “With the formation of Tin Roof Media Distribution, and the appointment of Alice, we’re looking to build on this further. We see great opportunities to increase the returns on our IP through directly licensing the rights we own and control, in particular to the fast-growing number of digital platforms around the world, while also continuing to work closely with distributor partners.”

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