BAFTA Names TV Awards Hosts
Richard Ayoade is returning to host the BAFTA Television Awards for the second year, while actor, writer, and director Gbemisola Ikumelo (Famalam) has been named as the host of the British Television Craft Awards. The main TV awards have been scheduled for June 6 on BBC One, while the craft ceremony will take place on May 24. Nominations will be announced on April 28 at 7:30AM local time in the UK.
Nick+ Launches On Rakuten In Japan
Nickelodeon’s subscription streaming service Nick+ is to launch in Japan on video-on-demand platform Rakuten TV. The service goes live on April 28 with shows including SpongeBob SquarePants and PAW Patrol. It forms part of a broader “long term” partnership between ViacomCBS and Rakuten, which includes the creation of a dedicated Nickelodeon zone on e-commerce platform Rakuten Ichiba.
‘Viewpoint’ Sells To Australia
ITV’s Noel Clark drama series Viewpoint has sold to ABC in Australia, as well as SVT (Sweden), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway), DR (Denmark), and Sýn (Iceland). Produced by Tiger Aspect in association with Unstoppable Film and Television, it follows a tense police surveillance investigation into a tight-knit Manchester community and explores whether it is ever possible to observe the lives of others with true objectivity and zero effect. Repped by Banijay Rights, the series premieres on ITV in the UK on April 26.
Half Yard Productions Bolsters Development Team
Say Yes To The Dress producer Half Yard Productions has hired Ed Crick as head of development and Brittany George as director of development. Janice Mezzetti, SVP of production and operations, becomes COO at the Red Arrow Studios-owned company. Crick is a UK television veteran, who was previously global head of content development at Red Bull and MD at Banijay label Bullseye TV. George worked on the development teams at companies including Alkemy X, ITV America, and Leftfield Pictures.