4-8 Nov: Your guide to what’s happened this week in the media, entertainment and technology industry.

SVoDs driving SME growth in UK media sector

SVoD demand for British content is driving significant growth in the UK’s TV and film production sector, according to a report from Barclays Business Banking.

SMEs have taken 89% more loans in order to fund new TV series, according to figures from the company, while funding for new films grew by over a third, according to coverage from Advanced Television.

The bank has seen a 150% increase in the number of loans to TV producers in the North, and a 50 per cent increase in the value of loans to film producers in the Midlands, highlighting that the growth is happening nationwide.

Revenue growth at small and medium media companies is also trending higher than the wider SME average – 11% compared with 7% annual growth for SMEs in other sectors.

Mediaset and Vivendi enter talks to resolve European restructure dispute

Peace could be on the horizon for Mediaset and Vivendi after the two broadcasters entered talks to end their long running disputes over governance of Mediaset’s new pan-European governance structure.

Mediaset restructured its assets into a Dutch-based holding company called MediaForEurope, sparking Vivendi, which is the second largest shareholder in the Italian firm, to launch legal action.

A court in Milan was due to rule on a request from French media giant Vivendi to freeze the reorganisation, but the decision has been postponed, reportedly because the two firms have entered talks in order to resolve the issue, according to Mediaset.

“The postponement will allow the parties to examine the possibilities for conciliation of the issue, and provisionally suspends the resolution until the date of the hearing,” said Mediaset in a statement.

Nexstar and Fox agree US TV deals

Nexstar Media Group and Fox have agreed two separate deals that will see the US broadcasters swap a number of local channels.

Nexstar will buy the North Carolina TV stations WJZY and WMYT from Fox TV, a subsidiary of Fox Corporation, in a deal worth around $45 million.

In a separate deal, Fox TV will acquire KCPQ, KZJO and WITI channels, which are based in Seattle and Milwaukee, from Nexstar for around $350m.

The addition of FOX Affiliate WJZY and MyNetworkTV Affiliate WMYT in Charlotte are geographically complementary to Nexstar’s existing operations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, the firm said, while it will use the net cash to reduce borrowings. Find out more from Nexstar here.

 

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