BBC Studios vs Channel 4

Mattel Partners with BBC's Bluey Across Multiple Brands

Mattel announced a multi-year global licensing partnership with BBC Studios to bring the animated series Bluey to five of its major brands: Fisher-Price's Little People, Barbie, Polly Pocket, Hot Wheels, and UNO. This move is part of Mattel's strategic shift from a traditional toy maker to a 'brand management company' focused on building lifelong fandom through an ecosystem of toys, entertainment, and live experiences. The partnership was announced by Mattel's chief marketing and brand officer, Roberto Stanichi, at ADWEEK's Brandweek. The collaboration aims to leverage Bluey's emotional resonance to deepen consumer engagement and expand Mattel's franchise ecosystem, aligning with its brand pillars of centering fans and creating immersive experiences.

• Mattel and BBC Studios signed a multi-year global licensing partnership for Bluey.
• Bluey characters will appear in Fisher-Price Little People, Barbie, Polly Pocket, Hot Wheels, and UNO products.
• The deal was announced by Mattel's CMO Roberto Stanichi at ADWEEK's Brandweek.

BBC Studios unveils next generation of reality formats at MIPCOM 2026

The Yacht, The Big Date, Silent Attraction and Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro launching to international buyers in session Reality Check: A New Era of Unscripted Formats, on Monday 12 October.

BBC Studios ANZ appoints new Senior Vice President, Head of Streaming & Channels

Liz Baldwin will lead the streaming and channel strategy across Australia and New Zealand.

Week in Review: Prime Video, UK DTT Interoperability, Channel 4 Cuts

This week in review from VideoWeek covers Prime Video's expansion of its 'Shop the Show' feature to over 8,000 titles, DTG's report emphasizing interoperability challenges for the UK's internet-delivered TV transition, and Channel 4's announcement of a 28% workforce reduction as part of a transformation strategy. Other stories include Meta's ad controversy, US military disabling ad trackers, Magnite's first agentic campaign in EMEA, The Trade Desk's S&P 500 exit, NVIDIA's video tools, Innovid's Meta MCP integration, and Telly's programmatic home screen ads. Additionally, TF1's 2027 roadmap, DOJ's widened probe into Fox's Roku acquisition, Paramount's bond request, and various publisher and agency updates are highlighted, including Coca-Cola's media review and Madison & Wall's ad growth forecast.

• Prime Video expands 'Shop the Show' to over 8,000 titles, adding 'Shop the Scene'.
• Channel 4 plans to cut 28% of its workforce (~340 roles) by end of 2026.
• DTG report stresses interoperability as key for UK's IP-delivered TV transition, with DTT sunset proposed for 2034 or 2044.

Police probe Reform UK donations and polling after C4 news report

A new police investigation follows the undercover filming broadcast on Channel 4 News in which senior figures in Reform UK arranged to get a foreign donor to pay for opinion polls and discussed a potential half a million pound donation from a supposed foreign donor.

BBC urges government to modernise funding model

In its Annual Report and Accounts for 2025/26 the BBC called for ‘radical reform’, urging the UK government to use the upcoming Charter review to modernise the broadcaster’s regulatory framework and funding model. The report said the current licence-fee-funded system is unsustainable, highlighted declining licence-fee income (around 25% lower in real terms) and stable group revenues of £2.2bn, and emphasised commercial growth and efficiency. New Director-General Matt Brittin (a former Google executive) set priorities including making the BBC’s case during the Charter process and pursuing faster experimentation on third-party platforms. The report noted partnerships (including a YouTube deal), talks with Channel 4 about combining streaming services to build a “sovereign platform”, and urged a lighter, growth-focused regulatory framework to help the BBC compete with global streaming giants and tech platforms.

• The BBC called for “radical reform” in its Annual Report and Accounts for 2025/26, urging the government to use the Charter review to modernise its funding and regulatory framework.
• Licence fee income was reported as around 25% lower (£1.2 billion in real terms) than at the start of the Charter period.
• Group revenues were reported as stable at £2.2 billion, with growth in D2C services offset by declines in commissions and ad revenues.