27-31 July: Your guide to what’s happened this week in the media, entertainment and technology industry.

BBC Studios names CFO Tom Fussell as interim CEO

BBC Studios has promoted chief financial officer Tom Fussell to the role of interim CEO.

Fussell will lead the organisation while BBC Studios looks for a replacement for current CEO Tim Davie, who is set to replace Tony Hall as BBC director-general.

He has been CFO at the BBC’s commercial arm since 2018, having previously served as CFO for BBC Worldwide before it was merged into BBC Studios.

Davie said: “Tom will ensure that Studios continues to manage through the Covid-19 crisis, putting wellbeing first, while doing all it can to create and distribute distinctive and quality programmes for our audiences at home and overseas. He is hugely liked and respected, and I am grateful he will lead the team while we search for a permanent CEO.”

Netflix leads with 160 Emmy noms, Apple and Disney also get nods

Netflix content picked up over 160 nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards, which is set to be held virtually this year.

The streaming giant received the most nominations out of any platform, way ahead of second place HBO which picked up 107 nods.

The streamer was helped by nominations for shows including Ozark, The Crown, Dead To Me, The Politician and Stranger Things.

HBO’s Watchmen picked up the most nominations out of any show, with the graphic novel adaptation picking up 26 nods overall.

It was also a strong showing from new streaming platforms Apple TV+, which picked up 18 nominations - most for The Morning Show - and Disney+ which garnered 19 nominations, 15 of which were for The Mandalorian.

The full list of Emmy nominees can be found here

BeIN criticises Saudi over WTO appeal

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched an appeal against a World Trade Organisation ruling that it facilitated the piracy of Premier League matches.

The WTO ruled last month that the Saudi government had failed to tackle pirate streaming platform beoutQ, which has been pirating exclusive sports content from beIN Sports.

In a letter to the WTO’s appellate body, the Saudi government says it rejects the WTO’s conclusion that the Premier League was stopped from taking action against beoutQ, according to The Guardian.

The appeal has sparked fresh criticism from beIN. A spokesperson for the Qatar-based sports broadcaster said: ”Having spent the past six weeks telling the world how the WTO ruling was a ‘complete vindication of the kingdom’, curiously Saudi Arabia is now appealing a case they say they emphatically won.”

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