All the latest news from the global content industry on Wednesday, 2 September

 

Harry Potter baking shows extended

Warner Bros Discovery’s Food Network has extended its Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking show into a third season.

The culinary series, which is also available on HBO Max, will debut in Q4 and follows bakers a they create cakes of epic scale and artistry presented in Harry Potter-related locations that fans know.

James and Oliver Phelps return as hosts, with each team representing one of the Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

Warner Horizon Unscripted Television produces, with Dan Sacks and Bridgette Theriault attached as EP’s alongside Yasmin Shackleton.

 

The Assembly UK spins onto YouTube

Unseen and behind the scenes moments of Rockerdale Studios’ ITV breakout The Assembly will be the central thrust of a multi-part YouTube spin-off series.

The Assembly: B-Sides will feature dozens of anecdotes from the celebrity interviewees, as well as the touching, funny and bonkers moments from the ITV show that didn’t make the final cut.

The first episode of the series sees David Tennant asked about his on-screen kiss with his friend Michael Sheen, Gary Lineker asked what it’s like to be married, Jade Thirlwall talking about being rejected from The X Factor twice, and Danny Dyer predicting his reaction to an alien invasion.

The series will also feature appearances from others who have sat in The Assembly’s hot seat, including Stephen Fry, Nicola Sturgeon, Anna Maxwell Martin, as well as Sheen, who appeared in the original BBC pilot. Read more

 

Sky drives Disney+ in UK

Disney+ has seen a 17% increase in the number of UK subscriptions year-on-year, shortly after the streamer’s ‘standard with ads’ package was added to Sky.

Barb’s latest Establishment Survey shows that Disney+ was in 8.9m (29.9%) UK homes in the second quarter of 2026, a rise of 1.3m from 7.6m (25.7%) UK homes in the same quarter last year. This also represents a 14% increase from 7.8m in Q1 2026.

The latest data shows that way over a third (40%) of Disney+ homes – 3.6m homes – are on the ad tier, up significantly from 28% (2.1m homes) at the same time last year and 37% (2.8m homes) in the previous quarter.

Sky’s Disney+ integration, which took effect in March, saw Sky subscribers get access to the entirety of the Disney+ library, including shows like The Bear, Rivals and Modern Family, for no extra cost. Sky also promotes these programmes alongside its own content.

 

 

 

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