Channel 5 in the UK is freaking out about the Paramount sale
With so much Paramount-Skydance coverage in the last few weeks, my mind keeps wandering to the impact that will be felt by Paramount-owned international broadcasters Network 10 in Australia, Channel 5 in the UK, and Telefe in Latin America. All are owned by Paramount and there’s just not a whole lot of reasons that the new owners would want to keep them*.
(Although a mate of mine last night did make a good argument for access to sports rights here in Australia, bypassing government restrictions as per our anti-siphoning laws).
Worth a read today is this Deadline article talking about the concerns at Channel 5 right now.
The fear, we are told, is that 5 could now be ripe for sale or have its hefty £200M ($265M) originals budget parred back majorly. “I think they are right to be anxious,” said a former Paramount UK executive. “I can see a world where 5 is sold off or returns to its pre-[content boss] Ben Frow world of U.S. imports plus repeats of Paramount+ content.”
That world is one that 5 thought it had left behind. Under the highly-rated Frow and Paramount UK chief Sarah Rose, the network has become a mini powerhouse, boosting linear ratings in the face of rivals’ declines, winning awards and creating the seemingly impossible by making modestly-budgeted drama that brings in millions of viewers. The All Creatures Great and Small reboot, which is co-produced with PBS, has been a revelation. Other big hitters include David Suchet-starrer The Au Pair and thriller The Feud.
Channel 5’s diverse output and £200M annual originals budget runs completely counter to a bygone era of American imports and trashy TV, when the network was owned by porn baron Richard Desmond. In recent years, however, the channel has integrated more and more closely with commissioning for Paramount+ UK. If its future American ownership therefore wants to retrench to Hollywood fare, sources raised concerns that 5 could become something of a shop window for Paramount+, in effect a return to those American import days.
*Why wouldn’t they want to keep them? I’d chalk it up to the Ellisons seeing Paramount as a tech-focused play. Any interest they have in legacy linear will ultimately come down to whatever is the most pragmatic decision, but ultimately I would assume that if they still have an opportunity to sell them off, they’d take that money while a sale is possible.
Will The Office Australia return for season 2? (No… well, probably not)
Just a few weeks before the debut of the spin-off to the US The Office on Peacock, some rascal (spoiler: it was me) thought the time was right to ask Prime Video Australia & NZ head whether the Australian adaptation of show will be back for a second season.
Please click on the link to my story at Mediaweek, but the guts of it:
“We were so pleased with the global reception for The Office. And at the moment, that’s where we’re kind of leaving it,” Loke said. “We’re still considering things and we haven’t made a decision.”
So, it’s not dead exactly, but phrases like “we’re kind of leaving it” reads like “you’re great, but we’re better as friends.”
I don’t really like Worst Of lists each year, but if I did do one in 2024, there would have been one sole title sitting on it.
When I was writing the article up, I was reading through the YouTube comments on the trailer for the Australian The Office and found this:
No, I shouldn’t have found that as funny as I did. And you’re right… it was even worse of me to republish it.
News Desk
US HBO Max users will be able to watch 15 UK shows by way of a Britbox pop-up on thee streamer. Shows will include The Office and Luther. It runs from August 1 through September 29. Read: Deadline
A TV series based on Hostel, starring Paul Giamatti (!!!), is in development at Peacock. Read: Variety
Nearly 6 million viewers watched the season 27 return of South Park and Donald Trump’s micro-weenie on Comedy Central and Paramount+ over the first three days. Read: THR
Kamala Harris will appear on today’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote her book. I wonder how many podcasts her promotional tour will take her to… Read: thefutoncritic
Or just read about the appearance on Deadline.
Peacock only lost $101m this quarter, down from $215m last quarter. A win! Read: THR
Ratings for The Gilded Age have hit a high for the third consecutive week. Multiplatform viewership in the US has reached 4.5m viewers. Read: Variety
Trailer Park
Long Story Short, a new Netflix show from Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg, debuts August 22.
Long Story Short is an animated comedy from the creator of BoJack Horseman about one family, over time. Jumping through the years, we follow the Schwooper siblings from childhood to adulthood and back again, chronicling their triumphs, disappointments, joys, and compromises.
Spike Lee’s Netflix doco (he’s the EP and directed episode 3) Katrina: Come Hell and High Water debuts August 27) on Netflix.
Barbie Mysteries: Beach Detectives debuts on Netflix August 28.
Barbie and Barbie's summer plans take a mysterious turn when the podcast hosts stumble upon a series of beachside mysteries.
Fall For Me debuts on Netflix August 21.
Lilli is suspicious of her sister's new fiance, but when an attractive stranger enters her life, she's suddenly distracted by the thralls of desire.
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf returns/debuts on Prime Video August 27.
This isn’t streaming anywhere soon as far as I aware, but interesting is upcoming documentary Megadoc, which is about the making of Megalopolis.
Wayward debuts on Netflix Sept 25. It stars Mae Martin and Toni Collette.
A small-town cop suspects that the local school for troubled teens - and its dangerously charismatic founder - may not be all it seems.
Mement of Zen
That’s the newsletter for today.
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