Tuesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

WildBrain ditches linear networks 

Canadian kids company WildBrain is exiting the broadcasting business after losing carriage deals with Rogers Communications and Bell Media.

The decision means WildBrain’s Family Channel, WildBrain TV and Family Jr will go dark, with licenses handed back to the Canadian regulator.

Josh Scherba, president and chief exec at WildBrain, said the impact on its “broader business is minimal and does not affect our go-forward strategy,” which focuses on monetising its shows via streaming.

WildBrain is behind animations including The Snoopy Show and Fireman Sam. It had struck a $40m deal to sell the channels to IoM Media Venture, an agreement that has now been ditched.

UK’s C4 in-house search narrowing

The search for the person who will lead Channel 4’s in-house production unit is quietly progressing, Broadcast understands.  

C4 said in May that it is seeking a creative lead for the division and recruitment firm Ibison has been leading the headhunting process.  

Broadcast understands that three to four potential candidates are now in the mix but their identities are not yet known.  

A decision on the lead is likely to be made in Q3 or early Q4 with the expectation that the chosen individual will be put in place in early 2026. Read more

Something Special expands sales team 

Jin Woo Hwang and InSoon Kim’s Seoul-based format agency Something Special has hired Courtney Boyett as senior manager of global sales.

Boyett was most recently at Korea’s Kiwi Vine, where she worked on webtoon localisation.

Hwang said Boyett would support the format company’s “major expansion plans” for its international sales arm.