‘Bluey’ Japan Free-To-Air Debut; BFI Filmmaker Award Winners; JioCinema Hires YouTube Exec; SpongeBob To MIPCOM — Global Briefs

Jesse Whittock and Zac Ntim
·3-min read

‘Bluey’ Goes Free-To-Air In Japan

Emmy-winning breakout kids series Bluey will go free-to-air in Japan. Episodes of the Australian animated show from Joe Brumm will begin on TV Tokyo’s Eeny Meeny Many Moe’ slot on Saturday, October 26 at 7am local time, following the network’s deal with distributor BBC Studios. The show follows loveable and inexhaustible blue heeler dog Bluey, her younger sister Bingo and their mum and dad who have unpredictable tales in and around their neighborhood. Rei Marumo, General Manager of the Anime Division at TV Tokyo, said the series could become “an important conversation starter for both parents and children.” The Ludo Studios show, originally for the ABC, is the most-streamed series to-date this year in the U.S., with more than 35 billion minutes watched, according to Nielsen. Disney+ has international streaming rights, including in Japan. BBC Studios has also added Japan to its global master toy deal with Moose Toys.

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Latest Winners Of BFI’s Filmmaker Award Revealed

Hoard filmmaker Luna Carmoon, Grand Theft Hamlet writer-director Pinny Grylls and In Camera filmmaker Naqqash Khalid are the latest recipients of the BFI’s filmmaker award launched in collaboration with French fashion house Chanel. The award comes with a £20,000 ($22,000) cash prize. The award jury feature Tilda Swinton, Edward Enninful, producer Marie-Louise Khondji and BFI CEO Ben Roberts. Previous winners include Kathryn Ferguson, who won in 2022 with her debut award-winning documentary Nothing Compares about Sinead O’Connor and Savannah Leaf, who won in 2023 with Earth Mama and went on to win the 2024 BAFTA for Best Debut British Writer, Director or Producer.

JioCinema Hires Business Chief From YouTube

Indian streamer JioCinema has appointed Ishan Chatterjee as Chief Business Officer. The company said the hire reflects a “commitment to accelerate its transformation into a tech-enabled” biz. Chatterjee joins from YouTube India, where he was Managing Director and played a role in shaping the Google-owned streamer’s strategy in the country. Prior to his 13-year spell there, he held roles at McKinsey and Hindustan Unilever. JioCinema has emerged as a key player in India’s competitive streaming space, grabbing the rights to the Indian Premier League cricket and other major sporting events such as the FIFA tournaments and 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Many observers say the Viacom18-owned streamer’s low-cost offer has upended the market, and it now offers originals, international titles, local India language fare, anime, movies, and kids and family fare.

SpongeBob Heading To MIPCOM

SpongeBob SquarePants is heading to the Croisette. Nickelodeon and Paramount Global Content Distribution will continue the character’s 25th anniversary with an event on Monday, October 21 at 11.15am local time. Tom Kenny, who voices SpongeBob, and Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star) will be in attendance. The character will also sponsor t-shirts at MIPJr., the kids TV that precedes MIPCOM over the weekend, and an invite-only cocktail event will be held.

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