London TV Screenings becomes the year’s first real dealroom
The article reports that 2026’s London TV Screenings drew strong international buyer attendance and became a prominent early-year marketplace for global content acquisition and distribution discussions. It highlights increasing industry consolidation (including talk of a Paramount bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and potential deals involving All3Media, Banijay, Sky and ITV), alongside shifting licensing/windowing practices and distributors expanding into direct-to-consumer models such as FAST channels and YouTube. The piece also notes growing attention to hybrid broadcaster-streamer partnerships like Netflix’s deal with TF1 and similar arrangements involving French broadcasters and Amazon, with uncertainty centered on second-window rights value.
Key Takeaways
- London is now a must-attend, cost-efficient buying hub early in the calendar, with heavy US/EU buyer presence and full-room showcases.
- Acquisition spend is reportedly ticking up at some streamers (including Netflix and Paramount+), even as M&A uncertainty looms.
- Consolidation talk dominated: Paramount–WBD, a likely All3Media–Banijay combination, and ongoing speculation around a Sky–ITV tie-up and the future of ITV Studios.
- Distributors are expanding beyond licensing into direct-to-consumer monetization via FAST channels and YouTube, plus brand extensions (live events, consumer products).
- Windowing is becoming “bespoke” and tighter—hybrid deals like Netflix–TF1 raise fresh questions about how second-window rights retain value.
Why It Matters
London taking the “Screenings crown” is less about geography and more about timing: rights conversations are moving earlier, while windowing is compressing into a contracting-concertina of bespoke clauses. In that environment, being in the room first can decide who controls downstream rights—and at what price. Add consolidation (and promised synergy cuts) and the market could swing from “more buyers” to “fewer, bigger buyers” fast. The emerging meme: distributors aren’t just selling shows anymore—they’re building mini-networks (FAST/YouTube) to defend margins as hybrid broadcaster–streamer deals blur the value of second windows.
Read full article at broadcastnow.co.uk
Enjoy our coverage?
Add StreamingMeme as a preferred source on Google to see more of our streaming news at the top of your Search results.
Add as preferred source