News

Two weeks ago, I suggested a treaty ending international film subsidies. Government funding for local cultural content can be defensible. But when countries use subsidies to compete to attract Hollywood productions, Hollywood is the main winner. It’s hard for any…

Warner Bros. Discovery has been downgraded to BB+, or junk bond status, for 2025 and 2026 by S&P Global over linear TV weakness as the Hollywood studio continues to pivot to the streaming space. The ratings firm continued its outlook…

Ads on streaming are smoking. Advertising-supported tiers made up 46% of streaming subscriptions at SVOD platforms that offer both options — with and without ads — at the end of March, up by 33%, or 7 percentage points, year-on-year. Over…

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is advancing efforts to streamline film and television production in Los Angeles amid cries for further policymaker intervention on the issue of runaway production. Bass calls for a reduction in city staffers on shoots and improved…

The success of Canterbury as a movie-making location has been celebrated alongside film and TV projects like Wicked and Bridgerton, at a prestigious ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival. Screen Canterbury NZ, which is the regional film office of the…

Qatar, the tiny Arab state rich in oil and gas that recently offered to replace Donald Trump’s Air Force One with a $400 million jet likened to a “palace in the sky,” is at Cannes signaling its ambitions to take…

Almost nine in 10 UK independent producers say the job is not currently sustainable, according to the second survey by the Producers Roundtable organisation, released today. The second survey was completed by 107 independent producers, 45 of whom had participated…

In March, Spain’s government became one of the first countries in Europe to approve a draft law concerning AI, almost a year to the date after formal approval of the landmark European Artificial Intelligence Act provided a common legal framework…