Thursday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

MIA unveils raft of speakers

Italian content festival Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo (MIA) has unveiled its schedule for its 2025 edition, which takes place in Rome between 6 and 10 October.

More than 80 panels, conferences, seminars and presentations have been slated, with execs including Sky Italia chief Nils Hartmann and former Channel 4 drama chief Caroline Hollick discussing the state of the international scripted industry.

The heads of drama at Norway’s NRK, Finland’s YLE, Sweden’s SVT and Denmark’s DR will explain how they have commissioned almost 25% more shows in the first half of 2025 compared with 2024, while Thom Zimny, Emmy and Grammy-winning director and long-time collaborator of Bruce Springsteen, will be among numerous keynotes.

Screening showcases will also feature more than 40 titles spanning animation, documentaries, TV formats, series, and films, adding to the 62 projects in the co-production market for a total of over 100 projects set to be presented at MIA 2025.

eOne alum joins Phil Gurin’s TGC 

LA-based TGC Global Entertainment (TGC GE) has expanded its sales agent network by hiring Carolina Sofia den Baas as sales and acquisitions for Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), Australia & New Zealand.

Den Baas most recently spent almost a decade at eOne Television International where she rose to become vice president, having earlier in her career worked for DRG (MTG) and Zeal TV.

She joins TGC GE’s other agents Cecilia Ingebrigtsen and Roxanne Pompa, who recently closed deals for Do You Trust Me? with Topanga Crea in Spain and Fridge Wars with Comarex for Mexico and Peru, respectively.

Greece welcomes Nippon TV’s Mother

Alpha TV in Greece is preparing to debut its local remake of Nippon TV’s well-travelled scripted format Mother.

Known locally as Na Me Les Mama (Call Me Mum), the show will premiere on Alpha TV and be available to stream on Alpha TV’s HbbTV from 25 September.

The Greek show is from local prodco Filmiki and marks the 11th remake of the format. Sally Yamamoto, scripted format sales & licensing at Nippon TV, and Christos Kompos, program director of Alpha TV, were behind the deal.

Discovery alum Dinnage emerges at British Screen Forum

Industry veteran Susanna Dinnage will become chair of the British Screen Forum from 13 October, succeeding Jon Gisby in the role, who stood for nine years.

Dinnage is currently chair of the communications and advisory committee of the RSPB, and most recently served as global president of Animal Planet.

She has also held senior executive and board positions at Discovery, All3Media, Channel 5 and Together TV, as well as having chaired commercial broadcasters body COBA, and represented industry at Brexit Business Summits and engaged with Ofcom and DCMS on policy issues.

Blue Ant takes Taylor to Cannes

Sandpaper Films’ Channel 4 documentary about Taylor Swift is headlining Blue Ant Media’s 58-title strong slate for Mipcom.

Taylor will premiere later this autumn and explores the extraordinary rise of the world’s highest-grossing music artist.

Blue Ant Rights, the sales arm of the Canadian group, holds global rights to the show and is also selling crime titles in Cannes including Death in the Wild, The Psychic Swindle and a sophomore season of The Jury: Murder Trial.

On the history front, highlights include Cold War Spies and Buried Evidence, while the group is also debuting content from its recently acquired production companies, Insight Productions and Proper Television, including lifestyle series Andy’s East Coast Kitchen Crawl.

BBC orders Dunblane doc

Glasgow-based IWC Media is to produce a documentary about the Dunblane mass shooting for BBC2 and BBC Scotland.

Hour-long single Dunblane: The Shooting that Changed Britain (w/t) will mark 30 years since the deadliest firearms atrocity in the UK, when a gunman walked into a primary school in Dunblane and shot dead 16 pupils and their teacher.

The doc will focus on the 18 months that followed the event, explaining changes in Britain’s gun culture and laws, led by a public campaign to introduce a total ban on handguns for private citizens. Read more