Strategy: Last News

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International The BBC’s head of creative diversity, Joanna Abeyie, is stepping down after less than a year and a half in the role, Variety can reveal. Abeyie is leaving the broadcaster to return to her consultancy business, Blue Moon, which specializes in diversity and inclusion, and executive recruitment. Variety understands that she may consult for the BBC in the future. Sources indicate that Abeyie’s departure was first announced by BBC director of content Charlotte Moore on June 22. Her last day in the role is Monday (July 3). When her exit was revealed to her team by the BBC’s group director of diversity and inclusion Chinny Okolidoh, it’s believed a number of staff protested why Abeyie, a well-liked exec with a strong rapport with the group, had been allowed to leave the public broadcaster. However, Variety understands that her departure reflects the exec’s choice to return to her business, which she set up in 2018.

Jerusalem Film Fest Unveils 2023 Industry ProgramNir Bergman (Broken Wings, Here We Are) and Yona Rozenkier (The Dive, 35 Downhill) will be among the Israeli filmmakers presenting new projects at the Jerusalem Film Fest’s Pitch Point event this year. The annual meeting connecting Israeli directors with international partners is one pole of the festival’s Jerusalem Industry Days, running July 13 to 15. Jurors will be Olivier Père (Arte Cinema France), Thorsten Ritter (Beta Cinema), Kevin Chan (MUBI) and Claudia Solano (The Match Factory), alongside Helge Albers (MOIN, Hamburg Film Fund) and producer Yael Fogiel (Les Films du Poisson). The Industry Days will also host the final pitching session for the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab. Other highlights include a focus on Austria, accompanied by Austrian Films’ Anne Laurent-Delage and Emilie Dauptain and producers  Antonin Svoboda (coop99), Oliver Neumann (FreibeuterFilm), Sabine Gruber (Golden Girls) and Barbara Pichler (KGP Filmproduktion). Filmmakers Sebastian Meise, Barbara Albert and Rainer Frimmel will also be in attendance. The program will also feature an industry talk with Joana Vicente, CEO of Sundance Institute, moderated by Israeli producer Osnat Handelsman-Keren (The Lost Daughter). The Jerusalem Film Festival runs from July 13 to 23.

Naman Ramachandran Losing streaming rights to the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament has been a blessing in disguise for Indian market leader Disney+ Hotstar, an Ampere Analysis study reveals. Disney won broadcasting rights but ceded streaming rights to rival JioCinema, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Ampere estimates that this “saved the company a figure just short of twice its entire streaming revenue from the past five years.” Despite recent subscriber declines, Disney+ Hotstar still leads the market and holds a 29% streaming market share, Ampere said. As of the first quarter of 2023, Disney+ Hotstar had some 50 million subscriptions, far higher than other global SVODs in India including Amazon Prime Video (12.4 million) and Netflix (6.2 million). However, that compares with some 61 million subscribers in October 2022.

Rebecca Souw Korea’s leading entertainment company, CJ ENM has appointed Choi Ju-hui as CEO of the TVing streaming service in which it has a controlling stake, following the recent resignation of CEO Jay Yang. Choi becomes the first female CEO in the Korean OTT platform business. Choi’s appointment also follows completion of the merger between TVing and Seezn, a smaller streamer previously owned by local telco giant, KT Corp. The merger is expected to bring cost savings in marketing and customer acquisition, benefitting from KT’s network of 14 million subscribers.

Erik ten Hag has been looking at success in other sports to try and coax the best out of Manchester United.

Jeanell English is leaving the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences less than a year after being named to the newly post of EVP Impact & Inclusion. She had been with the group since joining as VP Impact & Operations in 2020.

BreAnna Bell Karen Horne has exited her post as Senior V.P. of North America Diversity Equity and Inclusion for Warner Bros. Discovery as part of the company’s restructuring. A WBD memo from Chief Global DEI Officer Asif Sadiq to staffers, which Variety has obtained, revealed the news on Friday. Horne oversaw the DEI efforts for creative talent development pipeline programs, workforce, content and production while working closely with Sadiq to craft a global strategy for the company. She joined the company in March of 2020, and was responsible for creating and implementing multiple pipeline programs that aim to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities. Prior to her appointment, Horne was at NBC Entertainment and Universal Television Studios as Senior Vice President, Programming Talent Development and Inclusion where she was responsible for overseeing in-front-of and behind-the-camera primetime diversity efforts for NBC and Universal Television. While there, she started the Late-Night Writers Workshop in 2013.

Charna Flam The Protecting Our Planet (POP) Challenge announced Friday its new partnership with the Brazilian government to invest $200 million in support of the expansion and management of Brazil’s protected areas and Indigenous territories. Over the next four years, the $200 million donation will be utilized to help Brazil achieve zero deforestation in the Amazon and accelerate the South American country’s transition to a sustainable and green economy. The new coalition is working closely with Brazil’s Minister of the Environment, Minister of Indigenous Peoples, nine Amazon states and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Re:wild conservation nonprofit and Jeff Bezos’ Nature Solutions of the Bezos Earth Fund.

Karen Horne, who led led Warner Bros. Discovery Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for North America, is leaving the company amid a raft of layoffs and major restructuring since the merger. Executive said Horne’s departure was not part of the broader staff retrenchment but a rethinking of the DEI division.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the first great symbol of the Saudi Pro League’s sporting power grab, arrived on New Year’s Day. By June 1, the Portugal international was talking about those who would be joining him.

Thousands of families in Manchester are set to benefit from three brand-new Family Hubs that will offer support to families and young people through to early adulthood in a bid to help them thrive.

John Lewis is preparing to construct hundreds of new rental homes in west and south-east London, with the aim of housing key workers such as nurses and teachers.

Blackpool, the vibrant seaside resort loved by many, is facing a major problem that is driving tourists away. Derelict properties, including abandoned cannabis farms, are wreaking havoc on the town, leading to an increase in anti-social behavior and a decline in holidaymakers.

Will Tizard Contributor Spa town Karlovy Vary is known for more than healing waters to emerging filmmakers and producers from Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Those on track to reach global audiences are well acquainted with the festival’s industry section, headlined by the Eastern Promises collection of development and marketing workshops and mentorship programs. Aside from packed panels and talks by international veterans, such as the masterclass by indie mogul Christine Vachon of Killer Films, one of the industry program’s most buzzworthy events is the regionally focused Midpoint Institute Feature Launch. This year-round training platform took off more than a decade ago to support emerging talents by helping them to integrate their projects into the marketplace. It provides them with international collaboration and networking opportunities which, as Sona Morgenthalova, Feature Launch program coordinator for Midpoint, says, have proven highly effective.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Showtime is not moving forward with a number of projects, including a “Gattaca” series adaptation as well as the Mandy Patinkin-led series “Seasoned.” “Gattaca” was first reported as being in development at Showtime back in March, while “Seasoned” was ordered to series at the network in April. In addition, Showtime is also no longer moving forward on development of the projects “Split” and “Sweetness.” All of the projects were produced by outside studios, which sources say was the reason they were scrapped. Those studios will all have the option to now shop the projects to other outlets.

Thania Garcia Interscope Geffen A&M Records has partnered with Mogul Vision, the label founded by manager and music industry exec Josh Marshall. Marshall has helped foster the careers of KennyHoopla, who is currently on tour with Blink 182, Lil Mosey and d4vd, who has had a breakout year following the success of his global hits “Romantic Homicide” and “Hear With Me.” “Over the last few years, we’ve worked closely with Josh on a number of successful projects,” said Nicole Wyskoarko, executive vice president/co-head of A&R at Interscope. “He has an amazing ability to identify new artists across a number of genres and we’re looking forward to continuing our work with him via this new deal.”

Streamers such as Hulu, Disney+ and Max have made headlines for their decision to cancel shows and subsequently remove them from their services.

The BFI has hired veteran sales exec Vicki Brown as Senior Executive for Sales and Distribution for the BFI National Lottery Filmmaking Fund.

Netflix has rounded out the cast for Squid Game Season 2.

Warner Bros Discovery has finalized the creative-side structure at Turner Classic Movies, a week after directors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson called an emergency meeting with WBD chief David Zaslav about restructuring plans at the channel.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery has walked back its decision to cut longtime Turner Classic Movies programming exec Charles Tabesh following a PR black eye over dramatic cost-cutting changes at the beloved cable network, and announced a partnership with filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson to help curate content at TCM. Tabesh, a 25-year TCM executive who had been slated to leave as part of the downsizing of TCM staff, will now stay in his post and report to Warner Bros. film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, who Variety previously reported were slated to take oversight of the operations at the network.