{"id":622047,"date":"2026-09-12T03:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T03:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/622047\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T03:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T03:14:11","slug":"international-insider-european-tv-in-peril","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/622047\/","title":{"rendered":"International Insider: European TV In Peril"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWelcome once again, Insiders. Jesse Whittock here to take you through the top film and TV stories from the international community, and you can sign up to the newsletter here<\/a>. We\u2019re also taking a moment to pay our respects to the victims of 9\/11, 25 years ago in New York.<\/p>\n

\t\tEuropean TV In Peril\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Brenda<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tChannel 4 series \u2018A Woman of Substance\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBanijay Rights\/The Forge\/Channel 4<\/p>\n

\n\tUneasy reading: It was a week of bad numbers for European television, and stats don\u2019t usually lie. They were so bad in France, in fact, that the country\u2019s cultural body the CNC is hastily putting together a symposium to discuss exactly how bleak it all looks. Stewart reported<\/a> annual French TV exports figures that showed Gallic content sales collapsed to a ten-year low. TV ad revenue declines mean less money for programs, and by extension, less TV to sell abroad. Added to that, while streamer investment in other countries is at least partially offsetting that problem, it\u2019s not happening in France. Here are some of those numbers: International sales for 2025 are down 21.6% year-on-year at \u20ac164.2M ($191M) and co-production investment is down 18.7% at \u20ac87.7M. Pre-sale revenues also fell apart. Sacre bleu. Over in the UK, the numbers weren\u2019t much better. The annual Pact<\/a> census revealed<\/a> the country\u2019s production sector revenues actually hit their second-highest total ever at \u00a33.8B ($5.2B) \u2013 suggesting a sector in rude health. However, peering under the bonnet revealed a different picture. The spend from the UK\u2019s broadcasters fell to pre-Covid levels of under \u00a32B and it was international revenue and non-TV assets that pulled the number up. While that shows British content is doing well, and that the country\u2019s production community is becoming more entrepreneurial, it highlights an increasing reliance on global streamers, and Pact CEO Nigel Warner said the fall in network spend \u2013 down for a third year in a row \u2013 was heaping pressure on smaller and mid-sized independent producers. In a bad week for the UK, Pact said the BBC could be sleepwalking towards \u201cmanaged decline,\u201d and Channel 4 confirmed the biggest job cuts in its history<\/a>. Get your umbrellas out, it\u2019s about to start raining. Better news from the cinema sector<\/a>, where the International Union of Cinemas reported encouraging box office figures from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. France and Italy both posted record-breaking summer stats, and there were similar sorts of numbers coming from Spain, the Netherlands and the UK, whose picture house body, the UK Cinema Association, released stats<\/a> showing more than 17 million admissions last month.<\/p>\n

\t\tLatest From Venice & TIFF\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tClockwise from top left: \u2018Primetime,\u2019 \u2018Ink,\u2019 \u2018Bunker,\u2019 \u2018The Echo Chamber\u2019 and \u2018Bucking Fastard\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA24; Anthony Dickenson; Blue Morning Pictures; Indigo Film; Lena Herzog<\/p>\n

\n\tSensational sights and sounds: It\u2019s been an eventful second week in Venice. The films have been strong, and so has the discourse. Speaking with Andreas, artistic director Alberto Barbera once again picked Martin McDonagh\u2019s Wild Horse Nine as an early awards frontrunner, as buzz swept across the Lido. The longtime Venice chief also name-checked Lee Chang-Dong\u2019s Possible Love and Robert Pattinson in Primetime as potential awards titles. Apart from the Oscars, Barbera also discussed the current AI race and much more. Read our full interview with him here<\/a>. On the screenings side of things, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor\u2019s NAZA landed a sensational 25-minute ovation<\/a> following its world premiere on Thursday. That time sets a new record for any movie at a major festival, surpassing the near 24 minutes scored by The Voice of Hind Rajab at last year\u2019s Venice. The documentary feature uncovers the Israeli military\u2019s systematic killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Elsewhere, Florian Zeller\u2019s latest Bunker, starring Pen\u00e9lope Cruz and Javier Bardem, earned a 16-minute ovation<\/a>. Alex Gibney\u2019s Elon Musk doc was another thrilling the Venice audience. In his review<\/a>, Deadline\u2019s Matt Carey wrote: \u201cAlex Gibney has made a lot of vital documentaries. This is his most important.\u201d The explosive feature very much upset the world\u2019s richest person, who called<\/a> Gibney \u201ca bitter old man.\u201d Venice ends tomorrow. Follow our coverage of the closing night awards ceremony here<\/a>. Over in Toronto, where things are just getting started, we\u2019ve got a raft of reviews<\/a> and plenty of news and package scoops<\/a> for you to peruse, along with this great preview<\/a> from Anthony D\u2019Alessandro.<\/p>\n

\t\tThe Deadline Interview: Mercedes Ron\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Mercedes<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMercedes Ron; \u2018Culpa M\u00eda\u2019 (My Fault)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDiego Lafuente<\/p>\n

\n\tMercedes Ron has plenty to feel good about. The author is behind one of the biggest young adult film franchises of the past few years in Prime Video\u2019s Culpables trilogy. As the first Latina author with a first-look Amazon MGM Studios deal, she\u2019s now having ten of her Wattpad novels turned into feature films. Her new movie, Drawn Together, debuted on Wednesday, so Diana took the chance to sit down with her to talk about going from a 19-year-old with big dreams to one of international streaming\u2019s most valuable creatives less than 15 years later. >>>International Disruptor<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\tRoyal Briefing Battle\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Prince<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tPrince Harry<\/a> and Meghan Markle<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty<\/p>\n

\n\tFamily feud: They\u2019re barely back in the UK, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are already embroiled in a renewed family squabble. At the top of the week, Buckingham Palace preemptively put out a statement on behalf of King Charles<\/a> III reminding the public that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are \u201cno longer working members of the Royal Family.\u201d The Sussexes then coordinated a media briefing<\/a> to express \u201csurprise\u201d at the statement, only for Buckingham Palace to claim they had been made aware of its existence before it went wide. With Harry angry at his father and the establishment over a lack of security provision for his family, I can\u2019t see a reunion on the cards just yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tThe Essentials\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Hot One: Spanish Grammy winner Rosal\u00eda is in early talks<\/a> to join Alma Har\u2019el\u2019s buzzy TIFF market-bound family drama Wet.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Another One: Netflix has picked up<\/a> buzzy Australian documentary series 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback globally ahead of its world premiere in Toronto.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udd25 And a Third: BBC Studios Fiction is developing<\/a> The Paying Guests, the only Sarah Waters novel never to be adapted for screen, with Kayleigh Llewellyn attached to pen the script.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83e\udd13 \u201cFeisty one, you are!\u201d: Netflix officially confirmed<\/a> the Inbetweeners reunion movie, with Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas reprising their roles.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83e\udd78 New identity: Spain\u2019s Mediapro will relaunch<\/a> as Imagina on January 1, 2027, following a major company review and \u201cseveral months of reorganization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udfc6 Awards: John Turturro is set to receive<\/a> the Golden Eye Award at the Zurich Film Festival, which kicks off later this month.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udccb Lineup: The Zurich Summit has revealed<\/a> its second batch of speakers including Oscar winner Edward Berger and Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u26f0\ufe0f \u201cOh, the hills are alive\u201d: Prime Video got the YA gang together<\/a>, with a campus-style retreat in the Bavarian alps including stars from Off Campus, Boys of Tommen, Love Me Love Me 2, Maxton Hall and Our Fault: London.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u274c Stop right there!: Donald Trump\u2018s administration took exception<\/a> to UK government plans to compel online video giants like YouTube to promote \u201cpublic service media\u201d content from outlets like the BBC.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2712\ufe0f Signed: Arcade, the management company of The Sidemen, has signed<\/a> a host of creators, including comedian Max Fosh, as it relaunches as an entertainment business.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udfa5 Trailer: For Pablo Larra\u00edn\u2019s Netflix miniseries My Sad Dead<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\tPhoto of the Week\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty<\/p>\n

\n\tBurstyn With Pride<\/a> \u2013 There was barely a dry eye in the room as the sparkling Oscar winner and nonagenarian Ellen Burstyn collected the Golden Lion For Lifetime Achievement Award in Venice on Monday.<\/p>\n

\n\tInternational Insider<\/a> was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Jake Kanter. Zac Ntim contributed. Send any tips, comments or ideas for international coverage to jwhittock@deadline.com<\/a> and mgoldbart@deadline.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome once again, Insiders. Jesse Whittock here to take you through the top film and TV stories from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":622048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1795,93,61,204218,60,7428,7425,262694,7424,1745,261744,282,264093,35168,802],"class_list":["post-622047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-channel-4","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-international-insider","tag-ireland","tag-king-charles","tag-meghan-markle","tag-pact","tag-prince-harry","tag-tiff","tag-toronto-film-fesival","tag-tv","tag-unifrance","tag-venice","tag-venice-film-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}