Breaking: Latest deals, news & hires

Tuesday, 5.07pm: India’s SPNI extends Oggy and the Cockroaches deal

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has struck an expanded deal with French studio Xilam Animation for rights to more than 400 episodes of Oggy and the Cockroaches.

The extended agreement sees SPNI renewe its agreement for all seasons of Xilam’s Oggy and the Cockroaches series for its kids’ channel Sony YAY!, for the brand’s feature film Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie and for the recent rebooted version Oggy and the Cockroaches: Next Generation.

The deal covers a total of 423 episodes and 145 half hours of content. Additionally, Sony YAY! is the master licensee for merchandising rights for Oggy and the Cockroaches in India and has inked its first deal with Navneet for a collection of stationery products.

Tuesday, 1.33pm: C4’s Big Boys to end after series three

UK comedy Big Boys is to end after its third season on Channel 4 next month.

The Bafta-winning coming-of-age university series, produced by Roughcut TV, is written and created by Rooke who said he was “indebted” to the show’s cast, crew and creative team for “giving me the funniest happiest years”.

Rooke exec produces alongside Jim Archer, Ash Atalla and Alex Smith for Roughcut TV. The series is directed by Jim Archer and produced by Bertie Peek. It was commissioned for C4 by Charlie Perkins, head of comedy and Joe Hullait, commissioning executive for comedy.

Tuesday, 1pm: Avalon exec joins ITVS-owned Big Talk

Experienced Avalon exec producer Toby Welch is heading to the team behind the BBC’s smash hit comedy Ludwig as a comedy exec producer.  

Welch is joining Big Talk Studios’ comedy department and will exec produce the second series of smash BBC1 comedy Ludwig, revealed by Broadcast, which became the broadcaster’s biggest new scripted show since 2022, delivering 9.5m viewers in 28 days.  

Working alongside fellow exec producer Victoria Grew, Welch will also exec the ITV Studios label’s upcoming BBC1 comedy Can You Keep A Secret?, which stars Dawn French and Mark Heap. Read more

Tuesday, 11.45am: Netflix to drop Celebrity Bear Hunt episodes in one go

Netflix is to drop the entire run of Bear Grylls and Holly Willoughby-fronted adventure competition show Celebrity Bear Hunt at once when it launches on 5 February.

The format is co-produced by The Bridge indie Workerbee and Too Hot to Handle label Talkback, alongside Grylls’ The Natural Studios.

It marks Netflix’s first major move into high-profile adventure competition shows and joins similar commissions such as Minnow’s Channel 4 stalwart Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and ITV’s big bet on Banijay format The Summit. Read more

Tuesday, 10.23am: Culprits indie taps Film4 and Meta alum to lead

Character 7, the indie behind Disney+ UK original Culprits, has recruited industry stalwart Anna Higgs as its managing director.

Higgs most recently held the same position at creative agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, which she joined in July 2023 before exiting a year later.

In conjunction with her appointment, Character 7 has bolstered its leadership team with the promotion of exec producer Carly Conway to creative director, reporting into Higgs. Read more

Tuesday, 9.45am: Succession creator Armstrong eyes financial crisis film

Details have emerged of the next project for Succession creator Jesse Armstrong, who is writing a film script based around four friends during a financial crisis.

The untitled movie is for HBO Films and is being exec produced by Succession exec producer Frank Rich, according to US trade Deadline, which broke the news. Production could start later this year.

Tuesday, 9.13am: Studios & streamers donate to LA wildfire funds

Warner Bros Discovery, Sony Group Corporation, Netflix, and Amazon are donating tens of millions of dollars to LA wildfires recovery and rebuilding efforts.

The donations come as the ravaged Los Angeles region was bracing for the return of high winds early on Tuesday morning that were forecast to blow through Wednesday. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning and said there was extreme fire danger. Read more

Tuesday, 8.55am: Government plan proposes AI training set using BBC content

The UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan has proposed creating a copyright-cleared British media asset training data set, possibly using content from the BBC.

The plan gives 50 recommendations for the UK to support the growth of AI, written by AI adviser Matt Clifford. It largely focuses on other sectors of the economy, and particularly the public sector, but does have several recommendations that could have a large effect on the creative industries. Read more