Distribution
Pay-1
Distribution
EFM 2026 Analysis: How Capital, AI, and IP Strategy Are Shaping Film Dealmaking
EFM arrives at a moment when the global film and television business is no longer in freefall, but it is no longer forgiving either; it has found its floor. Commissioning remains at roughly three-quarters of peak-TV highs. Streamer spending continues, but without the frenzy of prior years. Europe’s broadcasters remain constrained. The result is not contraction, but constraint.
Distribution
First Real Market Test of 2026: What EFM Signals for the New Deal Cycle
The European Film Market (EFM) returns to Berlin February 12–18, 2026, and this year’s message is unusually clear: the business isn’t “back” in any nostalgic sense—but it is moving, and in more directions than it has in the past two years. EFM’s expanded 2026 programme is a signal about where business development is headed.
Distribution
Who Wins in 2026? Survivors, Losers, and the Strategies That Still Work
As Sundance wrapped with more films seeking homes than landing deals, and EFM looms as the first major sales test of the year, the question is no longer who has the best film, but who is best aligned with today’s market. 2026 will reward scale, discipline, and precision, and punish nostalgia for a business that no longer exists.
Distribution
Film Distribution in 2025: Consolidation, Content Austerity, and Shrinking Leverage
Hollywood spent 2025 pretending it was in a cyclical downturn. It is not. The business is reorganizing under a harsher premise: fewer buyers, fewer viable windows, and less tolerance for anything that doesn’t behave like a franchise asset. The result is an ineluctable narrowing of the market—one that punishes independents, rewards scale, and converts distribution into a political and financial instrument as much as a commercial one.
Distribution
Paramount’s Identity Crisis: Massive Layoffs, Creative Exodus, and Strategic Uncertainty
What was sold as a revitalization appears to many, both inside and outside the company, as a high-risk restructuring that may strip Paramount of the very assets that once justified the deal. The comparison made by several veterans suggests that this has the makings of another Bronfman-era playbook: big promises, bigger checks, and a costly pursuit of scale that can leave the core business weaker.
Streaming
Streaming Growth Slows: How SVOD Platforms Are Shifting Strategies in 2025
Global streaming is shifting from rapid subscriber growth to a focus on retention, monetization, and diversified content delivery. With mature markets slowing and engagement slipping, SVOD platforms are expanding into lower-ARPU regions, testing ad-supported tiers, and forging partnerships like Netflix’s landmark TF1 deal, which blends traditional TV, live sports, and on-demand programming.
Distribution
Film Distribution Reset: Genre Wins, Big Acquisitions, Sparse Deals, and New Frontiers
Let’s be blunt: TIFF 50’s low deal count and headline grabs tell the same story: the old model of acquisition excess no longer exists. But that doesn’t mean distribution is dead; it means it’s being refined. The more brutal, quieter truth is this: many films failed to get deals, not because they weren’t good, but because the margins, windows, and risk calculus no longer justify speculative purchasing.
Distribution
TIFF 2025 at Halfway Mark: Slow Negotiations, Genre Plays, New Distributors, and Market Jitters
Well into its second week, TIFF 2025 is shaping up less as a buying frenzy and more as a barometer for where the independent business is heading. Deal volume remains lean, but the festival has already produced a $15 million bidding war for a Midnight Madness horror and a seven-figure North American deal for Gus Van Sant’s “Dead Man’s Wire.”
Distribution
TIFF 50 Sees First Big Buy: Obsession Fetches $15M as Horror Fuels Market Momentum
As TIFF celebrates its 50th anniversary, the festival spotlights what might be its most resilient genre amid a fractured marketplace: horror. With shrinking screen counts, compressed Pay-1/Pay-2 deals, and younger ticket buyers pulling away from theaters en masse, horror remains a rare safe-haven—cheap to produce, reliably engaging, and buoyed by fervent word-of-mouth among young theater-goers.
Distribution
TIFF Turns 50 as Buyers Weigh Rising Costs Against Shrinking Streaming Fees
Toronto’s 50th anniversary edition arrives with independent distributors weighing risk against opportunity. Theatrical remains a tightrope, Pay-1 and Pay-2 license fees are under pressure, and negotiations are slower across the calendar. Yet a sturdier acquisitions slate, a pair of well-capitalized newcomers, and a crop of commercially minded titles suggest TIFF could regain some of its old deal energy.
Streaming
Global Streaming in 2025: SVOD Growth Slows as Hybrid TV Models Rise
Global streaming is shifting from rapid subscriber growth to a focus on retention, monetization, and diversified content delivery. With mature markets slowing and engagement slipping, SVOD platforms are expanding into lower-ARPU regions, testing ad-supported tiers, and forging partnerships like Netflix’s landmark TF1 deal, which blends traditional TV, live sports, and on-demand programming.
Distribution
Roku Bets on $2.99 Streaming: Disruptive Bargain or Unsustainable Streaming Gamble?
Roku’s entry into subscription streaming with Howdy is a striking counterpunch in an industry defined by rising prices and dwindling consumer patience. But at $2.99 per month, the economics of ad-free streaming are opaque, and only by pulling back the curtain on SVOD licensing deals can industry players gauge whether such a model is sustainable long term.
Distribution
Lionsgate’s Next Move After Ditching Starz: Sale, Merger, or Meltdown?
In an era of consolidation, contraction, and confusion in Hollywood, Lionsgate and Starz are finally standing on their own two feet. After nearly a decade under the same roof, the two companies have completed a long-delayed split, each charting separate paths in an unforgiving media economy where scale is elusive, profitability is evasive, and the search for suitors is relentless.
Distribution
Distribution
Distribution
Distribution
The Secret Behind Neon’s Rise and Why Its Future Still Hangs in the Balance
While most independent distributors faltered after the lockdowns started a cycle of theatrical collapse, Neon doubled down on theatrical releases, carefully timed VOD windows, and an expanding slate of in-house productions. But behind the critical acclaim lies a high-stakes business model facing mounting financial pressure.
Distribution
Window Shopping: Why Holding Back Pays Off in Streaming Distribution
Studios are no longer tied to a single strategy for releasing films. Instead, each major player is now juggling theatrical, transactional, and streaming windows with increasing precision. Below is an examination of how studios like Universal, Sony, and Paramount are embracing staggered, platform-specific Pay-One strategies.