ACORN TV
Programming from several countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand, and UK. AMC Networks chief Josh Sapan told The Hollywood Reporter that Acorn TV has "among the lowest churn" among major services owing to its focus as well as viewers' "dedication and affinity" for its content.

MovieItaly, a streaming service aimed at Italian film lovers, has launched in North America. The subscription video-on-demand channel from Italy’s Minerva Pictures is dedicated to Italian cinema and will cost $7.99 a month, $19.99 quarterly and $67.99 for the year. “It’s a price that’s affordable for a large part of our audience. It’s not too big, it’s too little,” Minerva Pictures CEO Gianluca Curti said. MovieItaly will also launch with 250 classic and contemporary films with English subtitles, and a monthly refresh of 15 new titles. The streaming platform was launching initially in the U.S. and Canada as both countries have sizable Italian communities and cinema lovers eager to embrace Italian titles, Rome-based Curti during a launch in Toronto...

Netflix is acquiring Australian animation studio Animal Logic, which is producing films for the streamer including “The Magician’s Elephant,” directed by Wendy Rogers, and “The Shrinking of the Treehorns,”  directed by Ron Howard. Animal Logic has about 800 employees, mostly based in Sydney and Vancouver. The acquisition “will help us accelerate the development of our animation production capabilities and reinforces our commitment to build a world-class animation studio,” Netflix said in its Q2 letter to shareholders. The company did not disclose the purchase price for Animal Logic but said it will fund the acquisition from cash on hand. Netflix expects to close the later this year, subject to certain regulatory approvals...

As it stands, Georgia is the king of film subsidies, with $1.2 billion awarded last year; a six-week abortion ban is set to go into effect there soon. Other major filming states with severe abortion restrictions on the books include Louisiana ($150 million), Kentucky ($75 million), Ohio ($40 million), Oklahoma ($30 million) and Texas ($22.5 million) (Courtesy Gene Maddaus)...

ViX+, the premium tier Spanish-language streaming platform from TelevisaUnivision, is launching in the US, Mexico and Spanish-speaking Latin America. The platform kicks off with more than 10,000 hours of film, TV and sport, offering more than 70 original series and films in the first year, and will carry live football league and tournament games including Champions League. Monthly costs are $6.99 in the US and MX$119 (around USD $5.79 at today’s exchange rate) in Mexico. Registered users of ViX, the AVoD tier which launched in March, will have access to select episodes of new ViX+ Originals and can subscribe via the app. ViX+ is also available o..

The U.K.’s Pinewood Studios, home to the James Bond and Star Wars franchises and Disney and Marvel, has submitted a planning application for an expanded screen hub. After being granted planning permission in April for a screen industries growth hub known as Screen Hub U.K. and a film-inspired visitor attraction, Pinewood has submitted plans for an expanded Screen Hub scheme of 1.4 million sq ft and a nature reserve to Buckinghamshire Council. The expanded scheme is located across two sites; land to the south of the studios referred to as ‘Pinewood South’ and ‘Alderbourne Farm’ to the north. The ‘Pinewood South’ studios scheme would deliver 20 new sound stages with workshops and offices on 82 acres of land to the south of the existing studios. The £800 million (955 million) scheme is estimated to create over 8,000 new jobs and add around £640 million annually to economic productivity...