In today’s Global Bulletin, CNN International ups its global content on CNN Marketplace; “Love in Bloom” begins shooting in Australia; British gold medalist Greg Rutherford and Peppa Pig team on a video series to get kids active ahead of the Tokyo Olympics; Film UA Group’s “The Sniffer” heads to Sky Krimi in Germany; and the NFTS appoints Cymru Wales as head of its new Welsh office.
NEWS
CNN International is expanding its CNN Marketplace franchise with new programming for both its TV and digital platforms, focused on business in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Beginning this weekend, CNN Marketplace Asia and CNN Marketplace Europe will broadcast on CNN International to be joined later this year by CNN Marketplace Middle East. Focusing on the macro trends impacting those territories, the monthly programs and dedicated news sections on CNN business will also shine a light on major players from those areas and how their decisions are impacting a post-pandemic world.
CNN Marketplace Asia will be hosted by Selina Wang and Kristie Lu Stout, while CNN Marketplace Europe will be presented by Nina dos Santos and Anna Stewart. Hosting and programming details for CNN Marketplace Middle East will be announced closer to its launch.
Speaking on CNN after news of the WarnerMedia–Discovery merger went public, Discovery CEO David Zaslav outlined the big ambitions he has for CNN globally, and what Discovery can bring to the new network, saying: “We can add a lot to it globally. We’re in the news business in Eastern Europe in a big way. We just invested in a news business called GB News in the U.K.”
He summed up: “Everyone wakes up and wants to know what the news is in their community, in politics, so this is the sweet spot for us. It makes us unique. It puts us in a position to be the number one news source in the world.”
FILMING
Production has started in Brisbane, Australia, on “Love in Bloom,” a feature film romance about a florist from the U.S. visiting her sister in small town Australia and questioning where she really belongs. The film, which joins a growing list of Australian local and international projects shooting Down Under, stars Susie Abromelt (“Jessica Jones”) and is directed by first timer Rogue Rubin. Production is by the busy Brisbane firm The Steve Jaggi Company with Pivot Pictures set as the Australian distributor and U.S.-based Nicely Entertainment handling international sales.
KIDS & FAMILY
Inspired by the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics and surveys which show that activity among children in the U.K. dropped 31.3% over the months of the pandemic, British gold medal winner and dad of three Greg Rutherford is teaming with “Peppa Pig” on a new campaign to get preschoolers to be more active over the summer. Rutherford will work with “Peppa” producers Entertainment One to create a series of high energy videos for kids featuring “Peppa Pig” characters and Team GB mascot Pride the Lion. Adding to the fun, Rutherford himself has been animated in the “Peppa Pig” style for the videos and accompanying activity sheets. The videos will be free to download on the online educational publishing house Twinkl.
Rutherford, Peppa
Credit: Entertainment One
SALES
In a deal brokered by Munich-based distributors Aroma-TV, Ukrainian-U.K. production company Film UA Group has licensed its crime drama “The Sniffer” to Sky Krimi in Germany, making it the first Eastern European series to appear on the platform when it launches this summer on the crime-centric network. “The Sniffer” stars Kirill Käro (Netflix’s “The Lake”) as an investigator with an overactive sense of smell, giving him an uncanny advantage in crime scene detection, but at a cost.
APPOINTMENT
The National Film and Television School (NFTS) in Cardiff has appointed former RTS Cymru Wales chair Judith Winnan as head of NFTS Wales, the organization’s newest regional hub. Having previously opened centers in Glasgow and Leeds, in November 2020 NFTS announced it would be opening a Welsh center this year. The new hub will be based at BBC’s Central Square building in Cardiff and focus primarily on supporting recent graduates in their transition to the working world, as well as offering support for and skills development for emerging talent. The hub is being established with funding from Creative Wales.