Friday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Friday, 1.29pm: Zeppotron joint chief to step down

The joint managing director of Would I Lie To You indie Zeppotron is to step away from the role after 20 years with the Banijay label, Broadcast has learned.

Ruth Phillips will focus on creating and producing shows, continuing her relationship with Zeppotron as a freelance executive producer on key shows including Prime Video’s Last One Laughing and Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. She will also work on development projects in the wider TV industry.

At Zeppotron, where she was appointed joint managing director in 2012, she has launched and executive produced long running shows including BBC shows Would I Lie To You? and The Ranganation, as well as Channel 4’s 10 O’ Clock Live. Read more

Friday, 12.17pm: Fulwell 73 and LeBron James production giant takes shape

LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company and UK-based Fulwell 73 Productions are establishing a new company to be called Fulwell Entertainment.

Broadcast understands that the two companies have closed their merger deal announced late last year and that the new entity is taking shape. Read more

Friday, 11.10am: DAZN strikes American football deal

DAZN ties up eight-year European League of Football partnership

DAZN and American football competition the European League of Football have agreed an exclusive eight-year partnership.

The competition’s current D2C platform will come to an end, and all 101 games from the 2025 season will be available through an ELF Game Pass product on DAZN. This will be available as an add-on or standalone subscription, much like NFL Game Pass, National League, Rally TV, PGA Tour Pass and FIBA’s Courtside 1891 platforms on DAZN.

Friday, 10.23am: Glenn Hugill upped amid Wheelhouse senior rejig

Wheelhouse UK’s head Glenn Hugill has been promoted to chief creative officer for the entire indie as well as president of its new international hub, as part of a rejig of its senior leadership team.

Alongside his elevation, Courtney White has also been promoted to president of the Brent Montgomery-founded outfit. Read more

Friday, 9.33am: Peacock order drama from Poker Face’s Alice Ju

US streamer Peacock has announced the series pickup of Superfakes, an original crime drama from creator Alice Ju (Poker Face, Beef).

The show, which is being co-produced by A24 and UCP, explores how a counterfeit goods dealer becomes involve din a dangerous black market to fund her lifestyle.

Friday, 9.12am: UK’s Pinewood Studios launches public consultation on expansion plans

Pinewood Group has announced a public consultation on its planned expansion of Pinewood Studios, located in Buckinghamshire, and revised its plans for the site.

The group wants to review the existing planning consent that’s already in place in response to a reduction in global content production and rising construction costs.

Friday, 9.01am: C4 chief Alex Mahon issues call to action on Gen Z

Channel 4 supremo Alex Mahon has issued a call to arms for a united industry approach and regulation to ensure Gen Z audiences can find verified, trustworthy news easily on social media.

Mahon was speaking at the launch of C4’s latest research on Gen Z, Trends, Trust and Truth, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3,0000 people aged 13-65.

The C4 chief exec highlighted sobering statistics from the report at a joint event between the PSB and the Royal Television Society (RTS), including that those aged 13 to 27 invest as much confidence – if not more – in posts from friends (58%) and influencers (42%) as they do in established journalism. Read more