International Insider: European TV In Peril; Venice & TIFF Latest; Mercedes Ron Interview

Welcome once again, Insiders. Jesse Whittock here to take you through the top film and TV stories from the international community, and you can sign up to the newsletter here. We’re also taking a moment to pay our respects to the victims of 9/11, 25 years ago in New York.

European TV In Peril

Uneasy reading: It was a week of bad numbers for European television, and stats don’t usually lie. They were so bad in France, in fact, that the country’s cultural body the CNC is hastily putting together a symposium to discuss exactly how bleak it all looks. Stewart reported annual French TV exports figures that showed Gallic content sales collapsed to a ten-year low. TV ad revenue declines mean less money for programs, and by extension, less TV to sell abroad. Added to that, while streamer investment in other countries is at least partially offsetting that problem, it’s not happening in France. Here are some of those numbers: International sales for 2025 are down 21.6% year-on-year at €164.2M ($191M) and co-production investment is down 18.7% at €87.7M. Pre-sale revenues also fell apart. Sacre bleu. Over in the UK, the numbers weren’t much better. The annual Pact census revealed the country’s production sector revenues actually hit their second-highest total ever at £3.8B ($5.2B) – suggesting a sector in rude health. However, peering under the bonnet revealed a different picture. The spend from the UK’s broadcasters fell to pre-Covid levels of under £2B and it was international revenue and non-TV assets that pulled the number up. While that shows British content is doing well, and that the country’s production community is becoming more entrepreneurial, it highlights an increasing reliance on global streamers, and Pact CEO Nigel Warner said the fall in network spend – down for a third year in a row – was heaping pressure on smaller and mid-sized independent producers. In a bad week for the UK, Pact said the BBC could be sleepwalking towards “managed decline,” and Channel 4 confirmed the biggest job cuts in its history. Get your umbrellas out, it’s about to start raining. Better news from the cinema sector, where the International Union of Cinemas reported encouraging box office figures from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. France and Italy both posted record-breaking summer stats, and there were similar sorts of numbers coming from Spain, the Netherlands and the UK, whose picture house body, the UK Cinema Association, released stats showing more than 17 million admissions last month.

Latest From Venice & TIFF

Sensational sights and sounds: It’s been an eventful second week in Venice. The films have been strong, and so has the discourse. Speaking with Andreas, artistic director Alberto Barbera once again picked Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine as an early awards frontrunner, as buzz swept across the Lido. The longtime Venice chief also name-checked Lee Chang-Dong’s Possible Love and Robert Pattinson in Primetime as potential awards titles. Apart from the Oscars, Barbera also discussed the current AI race and much more. Read our full interview with him here. On the screenings side of things, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s NAZA landed a sensational 25-minute ovation following its world premiere on Thursday. That time sets a new record for any movie at a major festival, surpassing the near 24 minutes scored by The Voice of Hind Rajab at last year’s Venice. The documentary feature uncovers the Israeli military’s systematic killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Elsewhere, Florian Zeller’s latest Bunker, starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, earned a 16-minute ovation. Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk doc was another thrilling the Venice audience. In his review, Deadline’s Matt Carey wrote: “Alex Gibney has made a lot of vital documentaries. This is his most important.” The explosive feature very much upset the world’s richest person, who called Gibney “a bitter old man.” Venice ends tomorrow. Follow our coverage of the closing night awards ceremony here. Over in Toronto, where things are just getting started, we’ve got a raft of reviews and plenty of news and package scoops for you to peruse, along with this great preview from Anthony D’Alessandro.

The Deadline Interview: Mercedes Ron

Mercedes Ron has plenty to feel good about. The author is behind one of the biggest young adult film franchises of the past few years in Prime Video’s Culpables trilogy. As the first Latina author with a first-look Amazon MGM Studios deal, she’s now having ten of her Wattpad novels turned into feature films. Her new movie, Drawn Together, debuted on Wednesday, so Diana took the chance to sit down with her to talk about going from a 19-year-old with big dreams to one of international streaming’s most valuable creatives less than 15 years later. >>>International Disruptor

Royal Briefing Battle

Family feud: They’re barely back in the UK, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are already embroiled in a renewed family squabble. At the top of the week, Buckingham Palace preemptively put out a statement on behalf of King Charles III reminding the public that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are “no longer working members of the Royal Family.” The Sussexes then coordinated a media briefing to express “surprise” at the statement, only for Buckingham Palace to claim they had been made aware of its existence before it went wide. With Harry angry at his father and the establishment over a lack of security provision for his family, I can’t see a reunion on the cards just yet. 

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Spanish Grammy winner Rosalía is in early talks to join Alma Har’el’s buzzy TIFF market-bound family drama Wet.

🌶️ Another One: Netflix has picked up buzzy Australian documentary series 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback globally ahead of its world premiere in Toronto.

🔥 And a Third: BBC Studios Fiction is developing The Paying Guests, the only Sarah Waters novel never to be adapted for screen, with Kayleigh Llewellyn attached to pen the script.

🤓 “Feisty one, you are!”: Netflix officially confirmed the Inbetweeners reunion movie, with Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas reprising their roles.

🥸 New identity: Spain’s Mediapro will relaunch as Imagina on January 1, 2027, following a major company review and “several months of reorganization.”

🏆 Awards: John Turturro is set to receive the Golden Eye Award at the Zurich Film Festival, which kicks off later this month.

📋 Lineup: The Zurich Summit has revealed its second batch of speakers including Oscar winner Edward Berger and Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben.

⛰️ “Oh, the hills are alive”: Prime Video got the YA gang together, with a campus-style retreat in the Bavarian alps including stars from Off Campus, Boys of Tommen, Love Me Love Me 2, Maxton Hall and Our Fault: London.

❌ Stop right there!: Donald Trump‘s administration took exception to UK government plans to compel online video giants like YouTube to promote “public service media” content from outlets like the BBC.

✒️ Signed: Arcade, the management company of The Sidemen, has signed a host of creators, including comedian Max Fosh, as it relaunches as an entertainment business.

🎥 Trailer: For Pablo Larraín’s Netflix miniseries My Sad Dead.

Photo of the Week

Burstyn With Pride – There was barely a dry eye in the room as the sparkling Oscar winner and nonagenarian Ellen Burstyn collected the Golden Lion For Lifetime Achievement Award in Venice on Monday.

International Insider was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Jake Kanter. Zac Ntim contributed. Send any tips, comments or ideas for international coverage to jwhittock@deadline.com and mgoldbart@deadline.com