Middle East & North Africa
Starz Play Arabia Eyes Expansion Beyond MENA Region
Dubai-based streamer is understood to be targeting Eastern Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.
Streamlined team
Chinese-Speaking Markets
Netflix’s 'BoJack Horseman' Removed From iQiyi
Animated comedy series, about an alcoholic former sitcom star in Hollywood, has been removed from Chinese streaming site.
Australia & New Zealand
'Ali’s Wedding' Wins Top Audience Award At Sydney Film Festival
Jeffrey Walker’s romantic comedy Ali’s Wedding won the top award in the narrative feature section of the audience awards at this year’s Sydney Film Festival.
South Asia
Amazon First India Original; 'Okja' Shut Out Of Korean Screens - Global Briefs
Amazon unveils first India original, Netflix's Okja shut out of Korean cinemas, plus latest news from Alibaba, YuppTV, Youku & iQiyi.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
Shanghai Film Festival Drops 'Our Time Will Come' As Opening Film
Bille August’s The Chinese Widow will open this year’s Shanghai film festival, replacing Ann Hui’s Our Time Will Come, which was previously announced as the opening film.
Africa
iflix To Launch In 23 Countries In Sub-Saharan Africa
Headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, the African arm of iflix will start rolling out its SVOD services in the second and third quarters of 2017.
Middle East & North Africa
Netflix Teams With O3 Medya On First Turkish Series
O3 Medya co-founder Onur Guvenatam will serve as executive producer on the as-yet-untitled series.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
iQiyi & Sony’s 'Chosen' Remake Starts Shooting In Australia
Lan Cheng-lung and Deng Jiajia are heading the cast of the three-part action drama, which is shooting in Sydney and other locations in Australia.
News
Far East Film Festival Unveils Inaugural Focus Asia Line-up
Focus Asia, the genre-themed co-production market of Udine’s Far East Film Festival, has unveiled its inaugural selection of 13 projects.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
iQiyi To Stream 'Lord Of The Rings' Under Warner Bros Deal
Deal for streaming rights to more than 200 library titles also covers the Harry Potter franchise, Godzilla, Gravity and The Great Gatsby.
Korea & Japan
Netflix Boards 'Kingdom' As First Korean Original Drama
Eight-episode series combining period drama and zombies will be directed by Kim Eun-hee.
Middle East & North Africa
PCCW's Viu Launches Streaming Service Across MENA Region
Hong Kong-based streaming service Viu is stocking up on Arabic content as it launches across eight markets in the Middle East & North Africa.
Middle East & North Africa
iflix & Zain Form Joint Venture To Launch MENA Service
KL-based regional streamer iflix is making its first foray into the MENA region in partnership with Kuwait-based mobile operator Zain.
Korea & Japan
Netflix Boards 'Love Alarm' As First Licensed Korean Drama
Based on the webtoon by Kye Young Chon, the 12-episode series will be produced by Jaemoon Lee of Hidden Sequence.
News
Netflix Signs Long-Term Deal With Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies
First title under the deal is Gauri Shinde’s Dear Zindagi, which was released theatrically on November 25.
Australia & New Zealand
Presto To Shut Down; Quickflix Sold To US Investor
Australia’s streaming sector went through a major contraction this week with the announcement that Presto will close in January, while Quickflix has been sold to a US investor.
News
Amazon Prime Video Strikes Deal With T-Series For India Launch
New releases from T-Series will stream on Amazon’s upcoming Indian SVOD platform within a few weeks of their theatrical release.
News
Amazon Prime Video Pacts With Karan Johar's Dharma Productions
Titles included in the deal include Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.