YouTube Takes Close to 14% of U.S. Watch Time in May
Nielsen has released its May updates for The Gauge and Media Distributor Gauge, finding that YouTube hit 13.8% of U.S. watch time in a month when streaming achieved a 48.6% share of viewing.
CANAL+ Commits to Five-Year Film Investment of Almost €1 Billion
CANAL+ has signed a deal committing €980 million to French and European films for five years, beginning in 2028.
Nuggit Launches £5 Million Fund for U.K. YouTube Creators
Nuggit, launched to empower digital creators, has unveiled a £5 million investment fund for YouTube talent in the U.K.
Paramount’s Ananey Studios Inks StreaMix & IZZY Deals
Paramount’s Ananey Studios has licensed three series to the ad-supported streaming platform StreaMix and two teen dramas to IZZY TV.
MGM+ Boards AGC Television’s Embassy
MGM+ has added the action thriller Embassy from AGC Television, Ascendant Fox, and Turbine Studios to its lineup in the U.S. and several global markets.
Kill Jackie Lands on HBO Max in Europe
Kill Jackie, a new eight-part revenge thriller from Fremantle and Steel Springs Pictures starring and exec-produced by Catherine Zeta-Jones, has been licensed by HBO Max for Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, France and Belgium.
ATV’s Different Lives Licensed into MENA
ATV Distribution has sealed its first international deal on Different Lives (Altı Üstü İstanbul), licensing the Turkish drama into MENA with Noor Play.
Netflix Slates New Expansion of Manga-Based Parasyte Universe
Netflix has boarded a new live-action series inspired by the Japanese manga series Parasyte following the success of 2024's Parasyte: The Grey.
BBC Studios Begins Search for New NHU Chief as Jonny Keeling Transitions to Creative Role
Jonny Keeling will transition to the role of creative director at BBC Studios' Natural History Unit early next year, with a recruitment process for his successor to lead the division now underway.
SAT.1 & Joyn Board New Banijay Entertainment Business Competition Format
SAT.1 and Joyn have commissioned The Million Dollar Idea (Die Millionenidee), a new business competition format created by Endemol Shine Germany.
ScreenMDM Factual & Formats Digest: Format Revivals, Creator Power Moves, and the Co-Pro Imperative
Your monthly breakdown of the biggest moves in formats and factual, from YouTube strategies and creator deals to new commissioning updates. Subscribe—it's free!
CosmoBlue Acquires Angry Birds Slate for CosmoGO & Da Vinci
CosmoBlue Media has licensed the TV and VOD rights to the Angry Birds slate of series for launch on its CosmoGO and Da Vinci platforms in Q4.
ScreenMDM Kids/YA Digest: Navigating Digital Frontiers & Evolving Audiences
ScreenMDM Kids/YA Digest recaps some of our best coverage of the sector from the last month, delivering Insights on AI media literacy, YouTube-first partnerships, live-action trends, and new distribution deals. Get your free subscription here.
Show Time with ScreenMDM features our first in-studio guest this week. Together with Mark James from Lionsgate, we discussed: The Affair, Evolution, Ride or Die, Widow's Bay, Cape Fear (the OG), and Nation's Dumbest. Email Mansha if you have ideas or want to be a guest.
ICYMI
Vertical Content Economy Ex-China to Reach $150 Billion This Year
A comprehensive report from Holywater Tech and Owl & Co has projected that the global vertical video business outside of China will hit $150 billion in revenues this year, a gain of more than 40% on last year, with dedicated microdrama apps generating $4 billion.
Real Talk: Bridging the Gap with Amanda Groom
Amanda Groom, founder and CEO of The Bridge, joins ScreenMDM Talks to offer her takeaways on the key trends that emerged out of Sunny Side of the Doc, including the continued importance of co-productions and PSBs in commissioning high-end docs and the keys to navigating the quest for alternative funding sources.
Netflix Co-CEOs Tackle Engagement Questions
Netflix co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos fielded a raft of questions about engagement levels and content investment on the platform's Q2 2026 investor call, as it reported a 13% revenue gain to $12.6 billion.
WARC Study Charts YouTube Ad Dominance & Deceleration, TikTok’s Rise & CTV Gains
Ad revenue growth at YouTube is slowing, WARC says, as it faces stiffer competition from TikTok and Netflix.
Channel Hopping: CTV Battles & FAST Evolution
ScreenMDM Extra takes a deep dive into the battle for dominance in the CTV era, exploring trends at leading TV OS platforms and AVOD services.
Format Zone: Wanna Bet?’s Winning Combo
ZDF Studios’ Ralf Rückauer, ZDF’s Nadine Kerstan, and Rollercoaster Studios’ James Fox join ScreenMDM Talks to showcase the journey of the iconic German entertainment show Wetten, dass..? as it gets reinvented at home and remade internationally.
SVOD Streamers in Asia Part 1—The Global Majors
From Netflix’s decade-long Asia-Pac journey to HBO Max’s relative upstart play, a look at how global SVODs are chasing scale across the region.
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ScreenMDM's inaugural White Paper, Digital-Shift, delivers practical insights for making sense of the trends reshaping content production, monetization, and distribution.
Find out more here.
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