Welcome to Rendering, a Deadline column reporting at the intersection of AI and showbiz. Rendering examines how artificial intelligence is disrupting the entertainment industry, taking you inside key battlegrounds and spotlighting change makers wielding the technology for good and ill. Got a story about AI? Rendering wants to hear from you: jkanter@deadline.com. It’s been a big week for media M&A fans. … Read more
CNN‘s senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen and his team crossed the border into Iran on Thursday and are now headed to Tehran. CNN said it was the first U.S. network to enter the country since the start of the war. Outlets have shown images from Tehran provided by wire services and other sources. U.S. correspondents … Read more
The Match Factory has unveiled a raft of sales for award-winning Berlinale titles Queen at Sea by Lance Hammer and Rose by Markus Schleinzer. Hammer’s intimate family dementia drama Queen at Sea won the Silver Bear Jury Prize as well as a Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance, shared by Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall. … Read more
Peacock Every day, TVLine’s What to Watch column spotlights new and returning English-language shows (and select movies) premiering or airing fresh episodes across broadcast, cable and streaming — organized below by release time and alphabetically within each slot. On TV this Thursday: “Ted” returns for Season 2, … Read more
The BBC has suggested the radical idea of opening up its iPlayer platform to rival public broadcasters, as the corporation seeks to find new ways of compelling millions more people to pay the license fee. Firing the starting gun on a negotiation with the government that will set the BBC up for the next decade, … Read more
Fremantle has hired NBCUniversal‘s Ben Crompton as the replacement for the outgoing Andrew Llinares. Crompton has been named Global Head of Entertainment, reporting to Fremantle CEO Jennifer Mullin, who described him as a “business-minded leader.” Fremantle recently announced Llinares would step down as Director of Global Entertainment after three years. Mullin had been overseeing the … Read more
ITV top brass said that Paramount and WBD are back in business as commissioners after agreeing their merger deal. Paramount-Skydance has been busy battling Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery and having beaten Netflix to the punch is back in buying mode. “WB, and interestingly for us, Paramount, now that they have stability in terms of … Read more
EXCLUSIVE: Brady & The Blues producer Whisper has exited its Sony Pictures Television (SPT) stake after five years and returned to private ownership. The sports and entertainment producer, which was founded 15 years ago by Sunil Patel, broadcaster Jake Humphrey and Formula 1 champion David Coulthard, has spent the past year seeking new ownership or minority investment. In … Read more
Canal+ has made a big early decision as the new owner of MultiChoice by axing loss-making streamer Showmax. The decision follows a “comprehensive” review into Showmax, which has carved out a reputation for high-end original series such as Spinners, Catch Me a Killer and Khaki Fever, which found “substantial annual losses at the subscription streamer. … Read more
As ITV prepares to sell its networks biz to Sky, the 70-year-old broadcaster’s studios arm has hit a milestone. With the publication of its annual results this morning, CEO Carolyn McCall said ITV has hit a “key strategic goal” with ITV Studios, plus its digital Media & Entertainment biz, now accounting for two thirds of … Read more