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BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Ahead of next week's Mipcom Cannes, Fox Entertainment Global CEO Fernando Szew spoke with Tim about bringing the company back into the international marketplace.

Why it matters: Fox is getting back into a business — international content licensing — that many of its competitors shunned in favor of keeping content on their own global streaming platforms.

After selling off much of its studio business to Disney in 2019, Fox has quietly rebuilt, with Fox Entertainment Global as its newest operation. 

Fox will bring three upcoming series to Mipcom: "Krapopolis," "Grimsburg" and "Animal Control."

Why he matters: Szew was brought over when Fox acquired his TV movies studio MarVista Entertainment last year. 

Take me through the reason for starting up this new business for Fox.

[We're] looking at creating a two-way street of content flow with international partners. We're very eager to get out to the international community and not just monetize and push out our content, but also to act as a very willing partner with open arms to the international community.

Your competitors have largely gotten out of international content licensing to keep it for themselves on their streaming services that have global ambitions. Does that give you an inherent advantage?

Not having to be beholden to keeping everything for ourselves — we think that the global marketplace is very welcoming to that strategy.

We're in the post-"Squid Game" world where a foreign-language show can be a massive global hit. How does that change or maybe inform what you guys can do with some of these international partners?

The globalization of content creation and content distribution is exactly the intersection that we want to play in.

Fox Entertainment Global is debuting at next week's Mipcom Cannes. What do you hope to get out of it?

We're going to be selling and licensing [content], so it kind of goes without saying that it's one of the measures of success. 

The other one is primarily the testing of thesis, which is, are we going to come out of this and really think that we're building long-term relationships with like-minded platforms around the world or in different areas of the world where we can really think about, how do we create content? ... I think that's going to be the measure of success. Can we create sticky relationships with the international buyers?

1 big thing: Q&A with Fox's global licensing chief 

Photo illustration of Fernando Szew, head of Fox Global Entertainment, with a film reel and various shapes

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. Photo: courtesy of Fox Entertainment Global

Plan B Entertainment, Brad Pitt's production company, has retained Moelis & Co. to look for a potential investor or buyer. 

Why it's the BFD: Hollywood production studios, especially those tied to celebrities, have explored opportunities to sell amid the growth of spend on original content tied to streaming services. 

Details: Plan B hired the investment bank six months ago and has "received numerous offers," per Deadline. 

Carlos Jimenez of Moelis & Co is leading the deal, per The Wrap. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news, which Tim has confirmed. 

Plan B is behind a slew of successful films including Best Picture winners "The Departed," "12 Years a Slave" and "Moonlight." It also produces TV shows and has a first-look TV deal with Amazon Studios.

Brad Pitt's production studio Plan B explores sale

2. The BFD: Brad Pitt's Plan B

Brad Pitt attends the "Blonde" red carpet at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 08, 2022 in Venice, Italy. 

Brad Pitt attends the "Blonde" red carpet in Venice. Photo: Maria Moratti/Getty Images

A growing number of Hollywood studios have sold outright at high valuations or sold minority stakes over the past two years, from Reese Witherspoon's studio to the Russo Brothers' company: 

Candle Media acquired Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine for a reported $900 million, Moonbug Entertainment for $3 billion and Faraway Road Productions. Candle also bought a minority stake in Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's Westbrook Inc.

The SpringHill Company, a content production group co-founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, sold a minority stake at a $725 million valuation to an investor group led by RedBird Capital Partners.

AGBO, the production company co-founded by directors Anthony and Joe Russo, sold a minority stake to Tokyo-based video game company Nexon.

3. Hollywood studios state of play

Hackman Capital, a Culver City, Calif.-based real estate investor, raised $1.6b to grow its portfolio of studio lots. https://axios.link/3MoMdzZ

Kyra, a London-based startup that helps brands interact with TikTok creators, raised $15m in Series A funding. Bonnier Ventures led, and was joined by LionTree, Torch Capital, GMG Ventures and Firstminute Capital. https://axios.link/3rSlhip

Laylo, a Los Angeles-based CRM platform for creators, extended its seed round by $3m. Eldridge led, and was joined by Third Prime Ventures, LVRN Management and others. It has raised $8m to date. https://axios.link/3VmwbdM

Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) said it's in early talks to sell prepaid wireless unit Boost Mobile to a SPAC led by Dish chairman Charlie Ergen, Dan Primack reports. ttps://axios.link/3MuHUmH

United Group, a Dutch telco backed by BC Partners, hired Goldman Sachs to sell some mobile tower assets, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3MppIL2 

Roundtable Entertainment partnered with Slated on a multi-picture financing, production and distribution deal. https://axios.link/3TdUtF6

Google approved Truth Social for distribution in the Google Play Store, Sara Fischer reports. https://axios.link/3fZlHB0

Speedvision, the auto cable channel, will return as a free ad-supported streaming network. Investors include original co-founder Robert Scanlon, former Discovery exec Joe Abbruzzese, wrestler Bill Goldberg and auto magnate Rick Hendrick. https://axios.link/3S0qO17

4. Deal flow

ABC Entertainment hired MRC's Felicia Joseph as SVP of casting. https://axios.link/3ECY37u

Allen Media Group hired Oliver De La Hoz as CFO of Allen Media Digital. He previously was a director in PwC's Financial Due Diligence practice. https://axios.link/3RWk1oY

Atlantic Music Group named Julie Greenwald as chairman and CEO. She joined Atlantic Records as president in 2004. https://axios.link/3Tbf6BI

Guardian Media Group hired Texas Tribune board member Steve Sachs as managing director of Guardian US. https://axios.link/3rM9hPE

Shout! Factory promoted Jordan Fields to SVP of acquisitions and originals and promoted Julie Dansker to SVP of streaming and content strategy. https://axios.link/3MvoA92

Warner Bros. Television promoted Parul Agrawal to SVP and head of drama development. https://axios.link/3TfUZT3

5. Movin' on up (or out)

BMI is changing to a for-profit business model (Variety)

"[A]s for-profit PROs, notably SESAC and the relatively new Global Music Rights, launched in the U.S., the restrictions of [the not-for-profit] model began to limit BMI's opportunities. BMI attempted a sale last year but did could not come to terms with potential buyers," Jem Aswad writes.

TikTok parent ByteDance sets sights on Spotify with music-streaming expansion (WSJ)

"Significant hurdles remain in the negotiations [with music labels], the people said, but ByteDance wants the service to eventually be integrated within TikTok and to serve as a major platform for distributing music around the world," Jessica Toonkel, Anne Steele and Salvador Rodriguez report.

Roku's new smart home products are just a first step (Fast Company)

"[O]ur goal is to become part of the glue that makes it easy to have different kinds of smart devices. We're not going to make dishwashers, for example, but dishwashers should integrate into this system," Roku CEO Anthony Wood said.

6. Channel surfing

Illustration of a TV color test screen in the shape of a wave.

👋 Situational awareness: TikTok announced new ad products this morning, including one for movie marketers. Kerry will be at TikTok World, the company's event tied to these updates in New York tonight.

@tim_bays: "She-Hulk" on Disney+. The first MCU TV show that realizes it's a TV show and acts like it. 

@kerrymflynn: "Andor" on Disney+. Binged the first six episodes last night. Shout-out to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for his impressive TV slate this year. 

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

Thank you for reading Axios Pro Media Deals! Please ask your friends, colleagues and Mipcom attendees to sign up.

October 13, 2022

1 big thing: Q&A with Fox's global licensing chief