Caroline Dinenage Returns Unopposed To Culture, Media & Sport Committee Hotseat
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The UK’s Culture Media & Sport Committee (CMSC), which scrutinizes the work of the film and TV industries, has re-elected Caroline Dinenage as chair. Dinenage, whose father Fred Dinenage was a TV presenter, was the sole nomination and therefore elected unopposed. She had been chair for around a year before parliament was dissolved for the July 4 election. During her tenure she oversaw the review into the high-end TV and film industries, which saw the likes of Gurinder Chadha, Slow Horses director James Hawes and the head of Amazon UK appear in front of the committee. That work will need to be started from scratch if Dinenage chooses to do so. “I’m delighted to be re-elected to chair the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and entrusted to build on our achievements in the last parliament,” said Dinenage. “These sectors are our global economic super-power, they have remarkable abilities to drive regeneration and bring communities together. I will continue to work cross-party to ensure the government doesn’t take them for granted and they continue to fire on all cylinders.”
BBC Says ‘Waterloo Road’ Contributed $8.5M To Local Economy
Returning BBC drama Waterloo Road has contributed £6.5M ($8.5M) to the local economy, according to BBC figures. The BBC has been touting the figures after commissioning five seasons in relatively quick succession of the drama set in a school. Three have already been made and it is these which have contributed to the local Greater Manchester economy. The show from Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall, which aired in the 2000s and returned in early 2023, provided training initiatives and built towards the BBC’s target to make more TV outside of London. Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer, said: “ Waterloo Road is a brilliant example of the BBC’s commitment to back the best homegrown storytelling right across the UK. It’s a series that helps nurture and champion local talent and directly supports the economy in the North West.” She added that the BBC now “invests more than 60% of its TV budget outside of London – supporting hundreds of production companies and suppliers.”
Sphere Abacus Makes Latin America Sales Hire
Sphere Abacus, the newly-rebranded sales house under fresh ownership, is delving into Latin America. Christina Covarrubias has been appointed Sales Consultant and will represent the outfit in the region. She was previously Director Sales for Latin America and US Hispanic for ITV Studios Distribution, managing all licensing activity. Formerly Abacus Media Rights, Canada’s Sphere Media completed its C$24.6M ($18.2M) acquisition of the UK-based distrib last week and the company has been renamed. “Christina’s experience of the Latin American market will be invaluable to the company as we continue to distribute our vast programming catalogue as well as continuing to invest in new programmes from independent producers,” said MD Jonathan Ford.
Ken Anderson Exits Wild Child Animation
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Animation industry veteran Ken Anderson is exiting Wild Child Animation, the kids TV production house he co-founded five years ago. He is stepping down to focus on heading up TG Entertainment, the rights and production company that looks after Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates brand. Wild Child has produced three seasons and two specials of The Brilliant World of Tom Gates for Sky Kids. Anderson will also work with emerging creative companies and produce short- and feature-length animated films. “Ken played a significant role in this early stage of Wild Child Animation, and we wish him the very best as he embarks on his new journey with TG Entertainment,” said Sueann Rochester, Managing Director of Wild Child. “While change is a natural part of any business, Wild Child remains fully committed to our clients and our ongoing projects.”
Danish Drama ‘The Sommerdahl Murders’ Renewed Again
Danish drama series The Sommerdahl Murders has been renewed for a sixth season. The show is a co-production between Dynamic Television, Germany’s ZDF and NdF, Sequoia Global Alliance and Danish broadcaster TV2. Based on Anna Grue’s bestselling book franchise, it is known as a “blue-sky take” on the Nordic noir genre set in the picturesque town of Helsingør on the Danish coastline. Each episode revolves around a murder investigation that is solved by Dan Sommerdahl (Peter Mygind) and his best friend Detective Superintendent Flemming Torp (André Babikian). Season 6 will see Sommerdahl preparing to marry his beloved Josefine after drug charges against her were dropped. Production on Season 6 began earlier this summer. The series is set to launch next year. Lolita Bellstar is the creator. She serves as head writer alongside Christine Exner. Executive Producers are Janni Helleskov of Sequoia Global Alliance, Matthias Walther from NdF, and Daniel March and Annika Schmidt of Dynamic Television.
Paramount’s Dan Cohen To Keynote MIPCOM
Paramount Global Chief Licensing Officer Dan Cohen will keynote MIPCOM Cannes in October. The exec, also President of Republic Pictures, will give a Media Mastermind talk on Tuesday, October 22 at 3pm in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festival in Cannes. Cohen sells and monetizes content from CBS, The CW, Paramount+ With Showtime, Paramount Pictures, CBS Studios, CBS News, CBS Media Ventures, MTV Entertainment Studios, Nickelodeon, Miramax and third-party companies. He’ll share nights into his strategy at the global studio and will joined by “special guests.” Paramount Global Content Distribution will also host a world premiere screening of CBS drama Watson on Sunday October 20 at 6pm, also at the Grand Palais. The 40th edition of MIPCOM takes place October 21-24.
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