THE PRODUCTION PULSE - November 2025
No time for suspended disbelief. The screen industry is undergoing a revolution. As AI and digital tools give everyone access to data, your competitive edge is no longer what you know—it’s how you think with it. This shift is driving major global trends, from runaway production, to the explosive growth of microdramas that US studios can no longer ignore, to the crucial role of social platforms in driving audiences to streaming.
Today’s currency for film professionals is intelligence and human-centric problem-solving. Our PSN network is designed around this reality, applying collective intelligence to filming your projects abroad. Our local partners bring adaptive problem-solving, human insight, and cultural context to every production—outcomes no algorithm alone can match. We call it “Insight on Site.”
Read on for my monthly selection of industry news and insights worth sharing—a deep dive into the trends defining where and how we tell our stories.
FILM AND TELEVISION
Nobody Wants This Sponcon Slop Served On Netflix
“It would be naive to turn to television as an escape from the capitalist hellhole that is my phone’s endless scroll of thinly veiled #ads and influencer brand collaborations. From the early days of the first soaps (called that as they were sponsored by personal hygiene brands), TV existed to both entertain and sell stuff. Yet the nonstop hawking in Nobody Wants This feels particularly egregious.” (The Guardian)
Hollywood Can’t Afford To Sit Out Microdrama Rage Finds Report
“Even as SVOD platforms’ subscriber numbers grow, their share of engagement is declining and they should be looking to the exploding format of verticals to learn how to survive in a world where attention is increasingly fragmented.” (THR)
Producers at TIFF ID Obstacles To Japan and East Asian Industry Growth
“We want to work together. Budapest’s success came partly from bringing in crew from across Europe. We need something like that in the Asia Pacific region too.” (Variety)
South Korean Makers’ Recipe For Success At Taiwan Creative Content Fest Forum
“Two critical pathways for markets with shrinking domestic demand: international co-production to share risk and expand reach, and shifting development from B2B to B2C, including blockchain mechanisms that allow audiences to participate as micro-investors or even influence casting.” (Variety)
Capital Investment & A New Screen For IP Draws US Studios to Microdramas
“The venture capital and foreign money pouring in, and the undeniable rankings and revenue streams that you’re starting to see in the app stores mean it’s going to be undeniable for them. Especially given the values it’s going to bring to their existing base of IP, they stand to benefit the most of anybody by leveraging it.” (C21Media)
Microdrama Boom Is A Bust for Unions
“These productions are unusual in Hollywood because they are entirely nonunion. Writers and actors who belong to the major guilds are forbidden from working on them. But some union members are doing so anyway, risking discipline.” (Variety)
Microdrama Plans For Mediwan Kids & Family
“The move signals a significant strategic move and enthusiasm about the format’s potential for the Paris-headquartered production and distribution company. [And] acknowledged Asia and Europe and Western countries in general are less advanced than Asia in both live-action and animated micro-content.” (Variety)
Streaming Accounts For 60% Of TV Time In U.S.
“This redefines ‘appointment viewing’: the broadcast schedule is no longer the moment. Culture is driven by the trends on social platforms that, in turn, drive audiences to streaming platforms. Every marketing playbook should focus on perfecting the interplay of social and streaming first, for both precision and scale.” (WorldScreen)
YouTube’s Golden Age Of Film And TV Fueled By Older Audiences
“YouTube’s vast audience makes it an attractive partner for content owners seeking to monetise their catalogues and reach beyond their regular audience. But that same scale means viewing behaviours vary widely across demographic groups. So it is crucial that content owners understand who they’re really engaging when distributing content on the platform.” (Ampere Analysis)
Disney Reaches Deal With YouTube To End Its’ Blackout
“The dispute highlighted the ongoing tensions between pay-TV distributors and programmers amid the shift to streaming. A shrinking pool of big-bundle subscribers increasingly has been asked to shoulder higher programming expenses. Distributors, including YouTube TV, have tried to hold the line on prices, cognizant that their customers are tired of ever-escalating monthly bills.” (LA Times)
The Mirroring Effect Of Bad Bunny x El Chavo Del Ocho x SNL
“Culturally bridged content doesn’t just serve as representation but drives engagement as well. Additionally, with about 20% of viewers now turning to social media to decide what to watch, platforms that lean into this momentum may benefit most. As competition for global viewership intensifies, projects that authentically reflect regional stories and nostalgia could become powerful tools for connecting audiences across different regions.” (Ampere Analysis)
Reimagining Of Egyptian Cinema At Cairo Film Festival
“Egypt’s industry is no longer defined by its commercial past or nostalgic golden age. Directors are crafting a cinema that is at once personal, political, and daring.” (Variety)
Industry Challenges Scrutinized by France’s Civil Society of Authors-Directors-Producers
“Funding for film production is the focus of everyone’s concerns given the risk of heightened polarisation between big movies (which are popular with all broadcasters) and smaller movies (with budgets of under €4m) which will survive thanks to the investment obligations diversity clause, but at the cost of mid-range films (with budgets between €4m and €7m) which often prove wonderfully surprising and are the beating heart of French arthouse cinema, which always dazzles in major festivals.” (Cineuropa)
Path For An Indie Reboot To Counter Box Office Duds
“In a world of faltering attention spans and blockbuster numbness, indie filmmakers need to start thinking more about the audience. Not in a cautious, lame, pandering way but in a bold and adventurous way. They need to meet what the marketplace is telling them. They need to start thinking like entertainers again.” (Variety)
Woody Allen Secures €1.5m Grant To Shoot Next Film In Madrid
“The project’s public-private financing agreement is framed within the Madrid government’s 2023-2026 tourism strategy, which highlights the growing appeal of film-induced tourism. Locations appearing in films or series can inspire audiences to visit those destinations.” (Screen Global Production)
Tokyo Market Aims For Asian Expansion
“TIFFCOM covers the full value chain — from Japan and Asia’s rich IPs to live-action films, dramas, animation, and both theatrical and streaming content — and we aim to strengthen its position as a valuable market in Asia.” (Variety)
Tokyo Film Commission Tackles Challenges To Attract International Productions
“Most recently being named country of honour at the 2026 Cannes market has made Japan ever-more attractive for major film productions and high-end TV series. However, production challenges remain a key topic for visiting producers.” (Screen Global Production)
Disney+ Partnership To Bring CJ ENM Originals To Japan
“The collaboration represents a significant cross-border expansion for both companies. It will also help both brands strengthen their foothold in Japan — the Asia-Pacific region’s most valuable streaming market — as they seek to chip away at Netflix’s considerable lead in the territory.” (Hollywood Reporter)
‘Great Stories Will Travel Beyond Borders’ As Disney+ Scales Originals
“We feel that we can produce the quality of product that can compete globally in these markets. Right now we’re focused on Japan and Korea, because we feel that’s where the scaled productions can come out of.” (Variety)
Laying The Path To Japan-South Korea Co-Production At TIFFCOM
“Key figures from Japanese and South Korean film bodies targeted urgent challenges. Conversations are being prepared on how to evaluate the [incentive] scheme’s schedule in a bid to host international productions from November to March, when conditions are good for filming. Representatives from both regions also said access to the respective markets was a key draw for co-production.” (Screen Global Production)
Taiwan Content Boost From South Korea’s CJ ENM
“Cross-border collaboration is the key to making Asian content global. By connecting our production expertise with Taiwan’s creativity and innovation, we are setting the stage for the next generation of international hits from Asia.” (C21 Media)
Local Industry Contraction Compels Australian Lawmakers To Require Streamer Investment
“Legislation to be introduced in parliament will mandate streaming services with more than one million Australian subscribers to invest at least 10 per cent of their total Australian expenditure – or 7.5 per cent of their revenue – on new local drama, children’s, documentary, arts and educational programs.” (if)
Format Buys And Social Media Fuel Streaming Surge Past Traditional Vietnam TV
“Vietnam is “one of the major markets in Southeast Asia you simply cannot ignore,” with its large population, rising economy, and increasingly sophisticated audiences driving demand for both local and international premium content across multiple platforms.” (Variety)
INCENTIVES
New Zealand Film Incentive Boost At New Year
“For producers, the lowered threshold will open the rebate to a broader range of projects, including mid-budget films that might previously have fallen outside the eligibility criteria. The new provisions for PDV-only projects will make New Zealand a more appealing option for studios seeking world-class post-production and visual effects services without relocating full production units. Removing the above-the-line cap further simplifies financial planning, offering producers greater certainty and flexibility in engaging key creative talent.” (TLG)
Money Talks As Commercial Production Continues To Walk Away From LA
“We are starting to have clients say, ‘No, move it,’ even though the locations were better here, the crew was better here, everything was better here. It was purely a financial decision that brought us there.” (NY Times)
Italian Funding Cuts Put 75,000 Jobs At Risk
“The 150-million-euro cut to the Film Fund and the modification of tax credit could be devastating for a sector which has been one of the few Italian industries to show growth in recent years.” (Cineuropa)
Industry Outcry Compels French Government To Reject Bill To Lower Film Tax Rebate
“The current tax credit rate “brings much more business to France than it costs. It is a question of cultural and industrial sovereignty. Our attractiveness, our jobs and our talents are at stake.” (Screen Global Production)
Hungary Incentive Pause Tests Hollywood Patience
“The freeze highlights the balancing act between fiscal oversight and industry momentum. It underscores the need for clear communication between policymakers and the creative sector — both to maintain international confidence and to protect Hungary’s broader economic interests tied to filmmaking.” (Budapest Reporter)
Zero Visibility Movement Shines Spotlight on Struggling Greek Film Industry
“Sending what it described as a “distress signal” to the Greek culture ministry and Creative Greece, the body called for an increase in funding for the country’s audiovisual sector, a concerted effort to clear the backlog of delayed payments from Greece’s cash rebate system.”(Variety)
ADVERTISING
How The Hero Film Remains Central To Storytelling
“TV still gives a campaign its centre of gravity. It’s the most effective way to reach a lot of people quickly, but more importantly, it’s the anchor for storytelling – the one place you can pull every emotional lever at once: picture, sound, music, dialogue, performance.” (LBB)
Real Time Dialogue Replaces Prime Time Broadcast
“We remember what we do more vividly than what we see. When audiences participate — when they interact, play, respond — they forge memory through action. Prime time once created shared memory by synchronising time. Participation creates it by synchronising experience. The new collective doesn’t gather in the living room, it gathers in digital spaces, at different hours, through different gestures, yet still together.” (Shots)
Growth Of Streamer Ad Tiers In U.S.
“Streaming is not just a medium, but a mirror of culture. Netflix, for one, saw 45% of viewing happen on its ad tier in August of this year, up from 34% in August 2024. Viewing on Disney+’s ad tier was up 16 percentage points, while Prime Video and HBO Max both saw ad tier viewership increase by 10 percentage points YoY.” (Marketing Brew)
Netflix Changes Metric To Boost Ad Reach
“The switch to members of a household, instead of just an account, will clearly boost the audience numbers Netflix touts to potential sponsors — though it remains to be seen how much credence Madison Avenue will grant the new metric.” (Variety)
CRAFT
Human-Shot Imagery Championed By Getty
“Brands, agencies, and audiences are craving that raw, emotional connection again. Real people, real light, real imperfections. That’s where truth lives, and it’s something AI can’t replicate.” (LBB)
The Moving Nature Of Stills In A Video-Focussed Media Landscape
“There is an artistic and directional synergy that can be created by the visual cohesion that comes with creating it all together. Second, to have the two disciplines being planned and produced under one production umbrella saves time and money and it’s exciting to have a single purpose everyone is working towards.” (Shots)
AI Skills Gap Revealed In Industry Club Report
“People are quite surprised when I open my Midjourney and my WeVe and I show them all the assets and all the really weird things where AI gets it really, really wrong. At the moment we see the 1% of hype online with ‘we did it in two minutes’ and they don’t see the pile of shit that went into it.” (LBB)
Being Human
The Liberation Opportunity In The Knowledge vs Intelligence Revolution
“The rise of AI in filmmaking exposes a systemic dependency on knowledge-based expertise rather than intelligence-based problem-solving. Most of what film professionals consider their “expertise” is actually accumulated knowledge that AI systems can now access, process, and apply more efficiently than humans. The new currency for film professionals isn’t what you know—it’s how you think.” (John Corser)
Creatives’ Climate Action On Presidential Stage at COP30
“Influence is the biggest untapped lever for change from the creative industry. By shaping stories and strategies, we know that every campaign presents an opportunity for us to act on the climate emergency. My hope is that this sector continues to lead with courage, creativity and integrity,” (LBB)
The Net Positive Result Of Offsetting Travel
Offsets aren’t a loophole or an excuse. Offsets accelerate progress toward net zero. They deliver real, measurable results that lay the groundwork for decarbonization, fund large-scale climate solutions that tourism businesses couldn’t achieve on their own, enable additional reductions beyond tourism’s value chain, and clean up the carbon already in the atmosphere. (Sustainable Travel International)
Bullying, Harassment, And Discrimination Worse In Film & TV Than Workplace Average
“The failure to grip this problem has significant economic consequences; workplace conflict leads to a staggering £1.8 billion in lost productivity and growth each year in the UK’s creative industries and impacts around 700,000 people. However, the data does reveal a gradual decline in the prevalence of bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the film and TV industry – falling from 53% in 2021 to 46% in 2022, and now 41% in 2024.” (The Knowledge)
Just The FAQ’S
FILM AND TELEVISION
- Microdramas Are a Global Rage: Hollywood can no longer afford to ignore the exploding format of verticals (microdramas), as attention becomes increasingly fragmented. US studios stand to benefit the most from leveraging microdramas given the value they can bring to their existing IP.
- The Streaming Marketing Playbook is Social-First: With streaming now accounting for 60% of TV time in the U.S., social platforms are driving culture and audiences. Every marketing playbook should focus on perfecting the interplay of social and streaming for both precision and scale.
- Co-Production is the Key to Regional Growth: For markets with shrinking domestic demand, international co-production is a critical pathway to share risk and expand reach. This sentiment is shared globally, with producers noting that Budapest’s success came partly from bringing in crew from across Europe, suggesting a similar need for cooperation in the Asia Pacific region.
INCENTIVES
- Incentive Instability in Europe: Financial pressure is building, with a freeze on Hungary’s incentive highlighting the difficulty in balancing fiscal oversight with industry momentum. Meanwhile, funding cuts in Italy put 75,000 jobs at risk in a sector that has recently shown growth.
- Money Drives Commercial Production Away from LA: Commercial production is increasingly walking away from Los Angeles, even when the locations and crew were better there, making the decision purely financial.
ADVERTISING & CRAFT
- Participation Replaces Prime Time: The new shared experience is created not by synchronous time (Prime Time) but by synchronizing experience through participation, interaction, and play, as audiences remember what they do more vividly than what they see.
- The Return to Realism: Brands, agencies, and audiences are increasingly craving raw, emotional connection and championing human-shot imagery. They seek “real people, real light, real imperfections”, which AI simply cannot replicate.
And that’s a wrap for this month. Reach out to discuss your upcoming projects and how we can help ramp them up into the new year.
Warm wishes,
Michael
