International Insider: “Brutal” BBC Cuts

It’s Insider Day, welcome back. Jesse Whittock on the keyboard today. As always, we’ve got the biggest stories from across international film and television. Let’s begin. Sign up to the newsletter here.

“Brutal” BBC Cuts

Cuts and bruises: It’s been a tough week for everyone at New Broadcasting House in London, where the BBC’s interim Director General, Rhodri Talfan Davies, confirmed that up to 2,000 jobs will be cut in a bid to save hundreds of millions of pounds. There are myriad reasons why the numbers aren’t adding up, but this week was all about the human cost, described by sources as “brutal.” On Monday, Jake broke the news that an all-hands town hall meeting had been called. Two days later, Talfan Davies told staff that almost 10% would be leaving, with Deadline sources suggesting this will be through a mix of voluntary and involuntary redundancies. Morale was already low, with a staff satisfaction survey showing that just 34% were happy with senior management following a series of editorial blunders such as the botched Donald Trump edit that has led to a fanciful $10B lawsuit. Those we’ve spoken with are devastated. With former Google Europe boss Matt Brittin set to become Director General next month, the job of communicating the cuts landed on Talfan Davies’ desk, and he fleshed out the details during an appearance on The Media Show podcast, where he revealed they would be “consistent with the direction of travel” of audiences migrating to social media and online. “This is really difficult news for staff,” he said. Talfan Davies later railed against leaks that saw media and entertainment outlets break the news of the cuts before managers got to it (sorry, Rhodri, that is literally our job!). Of course, dozens of companies have been axing staff and restructuring for a digital future, which is perhaps the BBC’s biggest challenge. In total, the broadcaster wants to save £500M ($678M) across the next two years. 

Hungary For Change

Mighty Magyar: Hard right-wing populism and anti-European Union (EU) sentiment has been growing over the past decade. Nowhere was this feeling more apparent than Hungary, which for 16 years had placed its faith in proto-Trump political leader Viktor Orbán. However, Orbán was soundly beaten in the Hungarian election on Sunday (April 12) by center-right rival Péter Magyar, who swept to power on a ticket of close ties with the EU and promises to dismantle much of Orbán’s work. Key to that work is reform of the state-led TV and radio services along with changes to the National Film Institute. Despite his historic win, Magyar lost his cool with news anchors on a public radio station on Wednesday morning, warning them he would end the entire system when he assumes control next month. On the same day, it was announced that government film commissioner Csaba Káel will leave the NFI. Despite Hungary becoming one of Europe’s top production hubs over the past half-decade, Káel has been widely criticized for his ties to the ruling Fidesz party and the end of his mandate comes as no surprise. Magyar has since told news channel M1 he would immediately suspend it during a tense interview. I penned a long read on what the future of Hungarian production might look like under Magyar’s Tisza party. We also had this interesting exclusive on how an independently-produced and -financed doc charting Magyar’s voyage to victory had been viewed more than 3.3 million times – a huge number considering Hungary’s population of 9.6 million. Magyar’s victory was a stunning result and is being seen by some as the beginning of the end for this generation of populist politics in Europe.

Residual Row Returns

Royalty palaver: The issue of streaming residuals has been ongoing in the UK for years, and it doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. This week, Max broke the story of an open letter from a host of British directors expressing frustration at Netflix, Amazon and co. for failing to engage on the subject. Directors UK, the industry body, had already threatened to withhold its members’ copyright from streaming services if there was no deal over royalties. Since then, there has barely been negotiation. The likes of Asif Kapadia, Andrew Haigh and Otto Bathurst signed the letter, which highlighted how systems for compensation are already in place in the U.S., mainland Europe and Latin America. It slammed the streamers for enthusiastically taking advantage of the UK’s tax incentive system while refusing to speak with directors over residuals. The streamers usually go for buy-out deals when producing in the UK, which in effect shuts the door on compensation for shows that break out. Residuals will be at heart of the upcoming talks between the DGA and AMPTP in the U.S. Brits can’t understand why the same can’t happen this side of the Atlantic. More to come on this.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Waleed Zuaiter will play Saddam Hussein in High Value Target, the series adaptation of John Nixon’s nonfiction book Debriefing the President.

🌶️ Another One: David Harewood‘s Othello reprise on the West End will launch on arts-focused international streamer Marquee TV next month.

🔥 A third: Two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton is set to headline rescue thriller Love and War. 

🔎 Investigation: Max revealed how a convicted sex offender tricked his way through the world of UK theater.

🚪 Exiting: Channel 4’s content boss Ian Katz, after nearly a decade in post.

🤝 Done deal: Epic Pictures acquired European sales and production company Film Seekers.

🌍 Globie: Greek TV drama The Great Chimera was in the spotlight this week.

⛺ Fest: The line-up for the 2026 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight was unveiled, with Kantemir Balagov’s Butterfly Jam opening the show.

🍝 Dish of the Day: Andreas wrote about why Tom Cruise-starrer Digger is unlikely to play at any fall festival.

🎥 Trailer: The “naughtiest show on television,” Rivals, dropped a saucy trailer for its second season on Disney+.

International Insider was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Max Goldbart