In The Frame June '20

Streaming/Online/Tech

Disney has confirmed that, from October 1st, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior will be available only on Disney+ and no longer via BT, Sky and Virgin Media. Disney+, which will launch in Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Belgium and Luxembourg in September, is the UK’s third-largest SVOD player, with 4.3 million subscribers.

DAZN has announced a partnership with the Japanese cable TV trade body, Japan Cable and Telecommunications Association (JCTA), meaning the sports streaming service can be delivered to millions of households in Japan.

Channel 4 and Snap, Inc. announced a deal this month under which more than 300 short-form edits of Channel 4 content, including Hollyoaks, Celebs Go Dating, and The Undateables, will go out on Snapchat’s Discover platform over the next year. Channel 4 was part of the launch of UK shows on Discover in 2018. Seven shows have launched since.

Spotify has agreed a multiyear partnership with Warner Bros. and DC to produce and distribute an original slate of narrative scripted podcasts exclusively on Spotify.

Amazon has updated its Amazon Rekognition Video machine learning service to automate the detection of black frames, end credits, shot changes and colour bars in videos, enabling work to be done in the cloud at scale.

BBC News

The BBC has appointed Tim Davie, one of its most senior executives, as director general. He replaces Tony Hall in September. Among Davie’s top priorities will be negotiating with the government on the future of the licence fee, deciding whether to restore BBC Three as a linear channel, and determining the future of BBC Four. He must also find ways to slow the shift of younger audiences to SVOD and other online platforms.

Hundreds of BBC freelancers who cannot be furloughed or aren’t eligible for the government’s self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) because they receive the majority of their pay from the corporation have written to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, for an extension of the scheme to cover people in their situation. They’ve been backed by the shadow culture secretary, Jo Stevens.

May was iPlayer’s biggest month ever, with 570 million requests to stream programmes, up from 564 million in April, which was the previous best month. May’s figure represents a year-on-year increase of 72 per cent.

BBC Radio’s in-house production division – previously called BBC Radio & Music Production – has relaunched as BBC Audio with a development unit focused on podcasts.

The BBC is to devote £100 million of existing commissioning budget over three years (from 2021/22-2023/24) to diverse and inclusive content.

And finally...

• More than 4,000 producers, writers, directors and actors have signed an open letter urging the UK film and TV industry to “put its money and practices where its mouth is” to tackle systemic racism. The letter is here and a full list of signatories is here. Earlier this month, Frame 25 assessed diversity in the UK broadcast industry.
• UK Screen Alliance is concerned that Westminster City Council’s plan for the evening closure of some Soho streets to enable restaurants to set up extended outdoor dining areas will adversely affect many of the area’s VFX and post-production companies.
• Sony is offering financial help for videographers, cinematographers and camera operators who are struggling with business because of the pandemic. The company is also providing free product maintenance for users of Sony kit..
• Sky and Discovery have agreed a new long-term, multi-faceted partnership across the UK and Ireland, Germany and Austria that includes linear channel distribution, video on demand and direct to consumer products.
• Screendaily.com is running an updated page to follow the postponement or cancellation of international film festivals.
• ScreenSkills has launched an online course to help screen industry workers stay safe during the ongoing pandemic.
• The UK Cinema Association has published a 30-page guidance document, ‘Cinemas – keeping workers and customers safe during COVID-19’.
• Michael Winterbottom, whose Revolution Films produced 24 Hour Party People, Wonderland, and The Trip, is working on a high-end TV series about the life of UK prime minister Boris Johnson, his government and the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.
• The first ever live Premier League match to air on terrestrial television attracted a peak audience of nearly four million on June 20th.
• UKTV has become the first TV on-demand service to launch on Huawei in the UK – UKTV Play is now available to download on the Huawei AppGallery – while Virgin Media has added the All 4 app to its TV platform, and the BritBox app is now available on BT TV set-top boxes.

From the latest news to the latest positions – click here to see Frame 25’s most recent additions to its list of available TV jobs