Tuesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Nippon TV make microdrama move

Japan’s Nippon TV has launched a new division focused on the rapidly expanding vertical video market.

Viral Pocket will focus on developing IP, creating original stories, and producing series for the vertical video market.

Nippon TV has already launched a variety of shows targeting the vertical video market, with 2023 drama We are Coy Every Day achieving over 2.6 billion organic views.

Other titles include Chokotto Paa-chii and The Final Lesson - Only Survivors Graduate. Viral Pocket also aims to drive brand engagement and is being led by Hirofumi Tanaka, president of content strategy at Nippon TV.

Prime Video preps ‘Learning with BBC’ rail

BBC Studios has sold Prime Video in North America a raft of Kids & Family shows for an upcoming curated rail titled ‘Learning With BBC’, which is to be made available on the streamer.

The deal includes the US premieres of Funny Talking Animals alongside shows such as Hey Duggee, while BBCS has sold Croatia’s HRT shows ranging from Unforgotten and Silent Witness to Fake or Fortune? and Bluey.

The deals, unveiled ahead of BBCS’s 50th annual Showcase event in London next week, has also seen the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) picking shows such as The Jetty, kids and family series Horrible Science, and gameshows The Weakest Link and Bridge of Lies.

Other deals include Warner Bros. Discovery Nordics acquiring dramas including Silent Witness, while Spain’s Filmin has bought thriller The North Water and Sky Italia has landed natural history titles such as Big Cats 24/7.

Adir Miller’s Reset set for London

Keshet International is to launch comedy-drama Reset at this year’s London TV Screenings.

The 8 x 60-minute series has been created, written, directed and stars comedian Adir Miller, who was previously behind Traffic Light.

Reset centres on a 50-year-old man who - after being mistakenly diagnosed with a terminal illness - implodes his life by quitting his job, destroying his marriage and embracing reckless freedom.

When the diagnosis turns out to be wrong, Gidi is forced to confront the wreckage he’s left behind. It was produced for Keshet 12 by Artza Productions and distributed internationally by Keshet International.

Belgium’s Hotel Romantiek to open in Norway

NRK in Norway has ordered a local version of Belgian relationshiop format Hotel Romantiek following a deal with distribution outfit Primitives.

The public broadcaster has launched a casting call, with production set to begin later this year via Fremantle’s Strix. It is expected to air in 2027.

The format was originally created by Woestijnvis in 2016 and is into its sixth season on VRT 1. The dating show brings together a group of 60+ singles on a romantic getaway in search of companionship.

Hotel Romantiek has previously sold into Germany (Sat.1), the Netherlands (NPO) and Spain (RTVE), SVT (Sweden) and Denmark (DR).

Gaelic drama goes global 

BBC Alba’s biggest Gaelic drama series An t-Eilean (The Island) has landed a string of international sales ahead of its second series.

All3Media International has sold Black Camel Pictures’ 4 x 60-minute series - the UK’s first ever high-end Gaelic drama series - to the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and multiple European territories.

It has agreed two pan-territory deals: one with Acorn Media in the US, English-speaking Canada and the Caribbean, and a second with Canal+ for France, Africa and French-speaking Europe.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Bafta Scotland-nominated series has been acquired by Antena TV (Romania), DR (Denmark), EITB (Basque Spain), Hellenic Telecommunications (Greece), RTBF (French-speaking Belgium and Luxembourg) and SVT (Sweden). The drama is also on SBS in Australia and Rialto Channel in New Zealand and Dazzler Media has acquired DVD rights for the UK and Eire.

HBO Max sets NZ launch date

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will launch HBO Max as a direct-to-consumer service in Aotearoa New Zealand from mid-2026.

The planned roll-out will be one of the final destinations for HBO Max, which has recently launched in Germany and Italy. A UK launch is slated for March.

Shows set to become available include A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, The Last of Us and The White Lotus, as well as Max originals such as The Pitt and And Just Like That….