News

Gary Lineker, Danny Dyer and David Tennant will face questions from a remarkable group of journalists in ITV’s upcoming The Assembly.

The format, which has been a success internationally, sees famous faces come up against a group of interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled.

Match of the Day host Lineker, Rivals duo Dyer and Tennant, and Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall have been unveiled as the quartet who will take part in the first four-part season. Deadline revealed last year that the show had been taken to series by ITV after first appearing on the BBC as a one-off during Autism Awareness Week. In that ep, Michael Sheen faced questions and generated plenty viral moments.

Lineker will join The Assembly shortly before he hangs up his Match of the Day boots after a 25-year career hosting the sports soccer show. He has been back in the...

The UK’s BBC and Canada’s Corus are among those who’ll be playing at Fox’s Billion Dollar Playground.

Fox Entertainment Global (Feg) has also shopped to Bravo in New Zealand and Talpa TV in the Netherlands ahead of its London TV Screenings event at the Soho Hotel this Thursday.

Billion Dollar Playground, an Australian docu-soap, takes viewers inside the high-stakes operations of Luxico, Australia’s premier high-end homestay and concierge provider. It follows the young and ambitious staff who cater to the demands of the ultra-wealthy while managing their own relationships.

The show comes from Ronde Media, which was among the producers of Netflix’s Territory, and is for Australian streamer Binge. Feg made it a debut third-party acquisition for a TV series in May last year.

“Billion Dollar Playground is a perfect example of a high-end docu-soap that delivers everything viewers love — aspirational lifestyles, high-stakes drama and compelling personalities,...

As buyers touch down at Lax for the annual LA Screenings, it will be a case of a return to the norm following the unusual circumstances of last year. The Hollywood labor strikes not only threw confusion on what would be a realistic purchase, but also stopped acquisitions executives getting face time (and a quick selfie) with acting and writing talent — something many value as part of their buying process.

There will be no such issues this year, and the studio sales bosses are relishing a return to the norm. “We’re really excited, it feels like we’re really back after the strikes and firing on all cylinders,” says David Decker, President of Content Sales for Warner Bros. Discovery (Wbd). “We have an abundance of titles that run the gamut of broadcast and streaming in drama and comedy. We’ll be showing the best of what Wbd stands for.

David Smyth has been named the executive vice president of content sales at Fox Entertainment Global. He will begin his new role in January and report to Tony Vassiliadis, Feg’s chief operating officer.

Smyth will be based in London and will oversee global sales and domestic off-platform sales for content produced by the company’s in-house studios, including Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Entertainment Studios, Studio Ramsay Global, Bento Box Entertainment, MarVista Entertainment and TMZ, as well as streaming service Tubi.

Smyth most recently worked as a consultant for Fox Entertainment Studios’ international scripted co-production and development partnerships, reporting to Michael Thorn, president of scripted programming. In his new role, Smyth will continue to collaborate with Thorn on international co-production partnerships and will also work closely with Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming, on international unscripted projects.

His hiring rounds out Feg’s executive team, which consists of CEO Fernando Szew; Vassiliadis; Deena Stern,...

Fox Entertainment Global has rounded out its senior leadership team, naming David Smyth as executive vice president of content sales.

Smyth will officially start the role full time in January of 2024 and will be based in London. He will report to chief operating officer Tony Vassiliadis.

Currently a consultant for Fox Entertainment Studios, in this new role Smyth will oversee global sales and domestic off-platform sales for programming produced by the company’s in-house studios. Those include Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Entertainment Studios, Studio Ramsay Global, Bento Box Entertainment, MarVista Entertainment and TMZ. Additionally, he will oversee global sales for content on Tubi, the AVOD streaming service owned by Fox.

Smyth is the latest addition to Fox Entertainment Global’s senior leadership team, which is led by COO Tony Vassiliadis, who is responsible for overseeing all business operations for the company. The team includes senior vice president of marketing and communications Deena Stern,...

Fox Entertainment Global, the international distribution division of the broadcast network, is staffing up. The company has hired David Smyth as EVP, Sales.

Smyth will report to Feg Chief Operating Officer Tony Vassiliadis.

Based in London, Smyth will be responsible for overseeing global sales and domestic off-platform sales for programming produced by Fox Entertainment’s in-house studios, including Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Entertainment Studios, Studio Ramsay Global, Bento Box Entertainment, MarVista Entertainment and TMZ, as well as a slate of content from Tubi, Fox’s AVOD streaming service.

Smyth will officially assume his full-time role at Feg in January 2024.

Most recently, Smyth served as a consultant to Fox Entertainment Studios on international scripted co-production and development partnerships, reporting to Michael Thorn, Fox Entertainment’s President of Scripted Programming. Smyth will continue to work with Thorn in his new role, identifying and cultivating international co-production partnerships. He will also collaborate with Allison Wallach,...

Beyond Rights CEO David Smyth is leaving the UK-based distributor following its parent’s sale to Banijay.

Industry veteran Smyth joined Beyond International’s sales arm in December 2021, selling shows such as Mythbusters around the world.

Banijay swooped to buy Beyond International in October last year and completed the circa-30M deal early this month. Banijay has its own sales arm, Banijay Rights.

A Banijay Rights spokesman confirmed his exit. “David Smyth, CEO, Beyond Rights, will be leaving the business, with his last day being January 31,” he said.

“He joined Beyond Rights in December 2021 and made a significant contribution to the company through his strong and effective leadership. We’d like to thank him for his hard work and commitment to the business and wish him all the best with his future endeavours.

“The move comes as Banijay embarks on integrating Beyond International Limited into its existing group.”

Upon taking full control of Beyond,...

Beyond Rights and Insight TV Team Up for New Branded Block

Beyond Rights and top millennial-targeted digital channels provider Insight TV have struck a new alliance, which will see the launch of Beyond branded blocks on Insight TV’s science and technology-centered InWonder channel. The Beyond branded blocks will initially play on primetime weekends in North America, drawing from Beyond Rights’s extensive catalogue of science and engineering programming with such titles as “How Hacks Work” and “Wicked Inventions.” “We will work closely together over the coming months to measure the audience response, looking to build towards a range of branded Fast channels,” said David Smyth, CEO of Beyond Rights.

Prime Entertainment Group Boosts Docu Slate with Zona Mixta Acquisitions

Paris-based documentary producer and distributor Prime Entertainment Group has picked up some historical documentaries from Spanish production shingle Zona Mixta in a bid to diversify its catalog of high-end documentaries.

Adaptation

Blink Studios, the new content venture from Endeavor Content, has acquired the rights to Canadian author Charlene Carr’s next novel “Hold My Girl” and will adapt the book as a series. Blink Studios will serve as the studio for the production, the company’s first since launching in November of last year.

In the book, two women discover that more than a year ago their eggs were switched during IVF, meaning that one has been raising another woman’s child while the other suffered through a devastating stillborn pregnancy of a child that wasn’t hers. Semi-autobiographical, Carr, a Black woman, gave birth to a visibly white child after IVF and the residual fears that one day a mix-up would be discovered and she would learn her daughter wasn’t her biological child.

Executive producing the series adaptation are Oscar and Primetime Emmy nominated producer Michael London and...

David Smyth has been appointed the CEO of Beyond Rights, with Kate Llewellyn-Jones having decided to step down.

Most recently, Smyth was the founder and CEO of YouLook.tv, the UK’s first multi-channel AVOD service. Prior to, he was SVP and managing director at Twentieth Century Fox and head of acquisitions at Sky 1.

Smyth will begin his new role January 3, reporting into Mikael Borglund, CEO and MD of Beyond International.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining this dynamic business at such a pivotal and changing time for our industry,” Smyth said.

“I’m thrilled at the prospect of working with the talented Beyond Rights team, honoured to be taking over from Kate and thankful to Mikael and the board for placing their trust in me. I am also looking forward to getting to know the other businesses in the wider Beyond group and seeking new opportunities to...