Film & TV Briefing: Friday 17 July 2026
Welcome to this week’s round-up of news, commentary and industry announcements that you may have missed from the past week.
If you are looking for advice in relation to any of the issues mentioned, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
In the news
BBC licence fee payments fall faster than predicted (The Guardian)
Tributes paid as ‘Jurassic Park’ star, Sam Neill, dies aged 78 (BBC)
Live-action ‘Moana’ suffers underwhelming opening weekend (The Guardian)
New York enjoys surge in film and TV spending (The Hollywood Reporter)
Christopher Nolan says young viewers are rejecting “AI slop” (The Hollywood Reporter)
‘Doctor Who’ “going out to tender”, says BBC director general (BBC)
Indies enjoy small boost in BBC commissions (Broadcast)
Streaming audiences growing older, figures show (The Hollywood Reporter)
Banijay and Mediawan reportedly among potential buyers of Lionsgate (Screen Daily)
Legal battle gears up over Paramount and Warner Bros. merger (Deadline)
Features and commentary
How the Box Office is bouncing back (Variety)
Need for new funding model laid bare in BBC’s annual report (BBC)
What is in store for British TV after Sky’s ITV takeover? (The Guardian)
The challenge of making California as film friendly as possible (IndieWire)
Industry announcements
UK crew unemployment rises amid fall in releases (Screen Daily)
Bectu head Philippa Childs to leave union (Bectu)
Legal updates
Dozen US states join lawsuit to block Paramount and Warner Bros. merger (BBC)
Writers Guild of America files suit to block $111 billion merger (The Hollywood Reporter)
