All the latest news from the global content industry on Thursday, 19 February

 

ZDFS moves into Grand Hotel by the Sea

Germany’s ZDF Studios has taken worldwide distribution of Grand Hotel by the Sea, labelled as the first romantic period drama produced in the Netherlands.

The eight-part series was created by producer and showrunner Fleur Winters (The Crash), written by Astrid van Keulen (Knokke Off) and directed by Aniëlle Webster (What is Love?).

It is currently being produced by Amsterdam-based producer Big Blue in co‑production with Dutch broadcaster KRO‑NCRV and Belgian broadcaster VRT, and is due to premiere at the end of 2026.

The show is set in a hotel on the northern coast of the Netherlands between 1912 and 1919, with the story following a woman who inherits the property from her husband. Thekla Reuten (Narcosis) stars.

 

NBCU exec among key BBC appointments

BBC chief content officer Kate Phillips has made the two biggest appointments of her tenure to date, with Fiona Campbell named as factual director and NBC Universal exec Ed Havard returning to the corporation as director of entertainment.

Starting in the spring, the two new roles will replace the director of unscripted post previously held by Phillips.

Broadcast has learned that Havard will oversee entertainment, daytime, factual entertainment and events and Campbell will lead on documentaries, specialist factual, Storyville and arts and classical music TV. Read more

 

Pig & Horse founder launches AI firm

Salla Kozma, founder of Pig & Horse Productions, has launched Naru Force Studios, a new Monaco-based media and technology company that will build social-first formats, owned platforms, and AI-assisted content ecosystems.

The unit will develop unscripted formats and IP designed specifically for new first-party streaming apps, creator platforms, and social media distribution.

AI tools will optimise workflows across the development, production, and brand-matching processes to enable faster iteration and data-informed storytelling. The new venture will operate alongside Kozma’s Monaco- and Finland-based production company, Pig & Horse Productions, which launched in 2025.

 

BBC unveils Attenborough 100th birthday shows

The BBC has commissioned three major BBC1 shows to mark David Attenborough’s 100th birthday.

BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) will produce a documentary about the production of the veteran natural history presenter’s groundbreaking series Life on Earth, and a live musical event at the Royal Albert Hall on his birthday on 8 May.

Meanwhile, Tiny World indie Plimsoll Productions is producing a five-part series spotlighting the wildlife of Britain’s backyards. Read more