STREAMING
ITVX and Apple TV+ have bucked the U.K.’s downward trend in streamer subscriptions by showing strong growth.
According to the analysis from consultancy Kantar, the number of households in the U.K. that subscribe to at least one streaming service fell in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022. The first three months of this year showed 16.10 million households subscribed to at least one streamer while the first quarter of 2022 the figure was 16.91 million and the figure for the same quarter in 2021 was 16.95 million.
Despite the consistent drop over the last two years, the research showed that ITVX’s premium service – which launched in the last quarter of 2023, replacing ITV’s previous streaming platform ITV Hub – gained the most number of new SVOD subscribers in the quarter. They were followed by Apple TV+.
Netflix saw the largest “absolute losses” in subscriber numbers, Kantar said.
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Meanwhile, “Dahaad,” the first Indian series to premiere at the Berlinale and compete in theBerlinale SeriesCompetition will premiere on Amazon’s Prime Video service on May 12. Directed byReema Kagti(Amazon Prime Video series “Made in Heaven”) and Ruchika Oberoi (Venice winner “Island City”), the eight-part crime drama follows policewoman Anjali Bhaati and her colleagues in a small town police station. A series of women are mysteriously found dead in public bathrooms, Sub-Inspector Anjali Bhaati is tasked with the investigation. At first, the deaths appear to be clear-cut suicides but as the cases unravel, Bhaati begins to suspect that a serial killer is on the loose. What follows is a game of cat and mouse between a seasoned criminal and an underdog cop as she pieces together evidence before another innocent womanlosesherlife.
The series features well-known Indian actors Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma, Gulshan Devaiah and Sohum Shah in the lead roles.
APPOINTMENTS
Tobi de Graaff joins Sky Studios as SVP for commercial where he will oversee commercial and co-production partnerships, including Sky Studios’ distribution partnership with NBCUniversal Global Distribution. De Graaff joins from Beiboot Representation, which he founded. He will report to Sky Studios’ COO Caroline Cooper.
PRIZE
Sony Music Entertainment Germany has once again teamed up with non-profit Music Women Germany (MWG) to launch the Female Producer Prize, which aims to promote emerging producers from across the country with five awards up for grabs. Applications open on April 20 and close May 22. The jury will be comprised of artists, songwriters and A&R managers as well as one of last year’s winners. Prospective applicants can apply here.
