ESSENTIAL MEDIA GROUP'S MOM & ME PREMIERES ON HGTV IN APRIL

From Realscreen - Mom & Me premieres on April 6 with back-to-back episodes at 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV from Essential Media Group, featuring a mother/son duo who revitalize properties in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

In the Bend, Oregon-based Mom & Me, designer Karrie and her son and design assistant, Tristan, customize living spaces for families by utilizing unique materials, including locally sourced reclaimed wood, hand-painted tiles, steel shelving and concrete counter tops. Although the mother and son team deliver beautiful results for clients, they don’t always see eye-to-eye.

JAYE THE PSYCHOLOGIST DOG COMES TO LIFE - SAVE YOUR DAY FILMS

In association with Echo Bridge, here is the adorable Jaye the Psychologist Dog and his new book!

Saloon Media to Produce LIFE BELOW ZERO: CANADA

From Realscreen: Toronto-headquartered Blue Ant Media is licensing format rights to BBC Studios’ observational docuseries Life Below Zero for a localized Canadian version.

Life Below Zero: Canada will be produced by Blue Ant’s recently acquired Saloon Media, and will begin production later this month. Shot on location throughout the remote northern regions of Canada, the 8 x 60-minute series will offer an unfiltered look into the day-to-day activities of a diverse group of people, including First Nations, as they grapple with deadly weather and limited resources to find food, water and shelter.

Life Below Zero: Canada is expected to air on Blue Ant’s Cottage Life channel in 2020. A special 30-minute sneak peek episode will premiere on the channel in April.

Ovation to co-produce Save Your Day Films, Chasing the Sun Season Two

From Ovation -

NATPE, Miami: JOURNY, the streaming service from Ovation featuring distinctive cultural travel content, is in development on its first original co-production. The AVOD channel is partnering with Save Your Day Films and executive producer Stephen Friedman to produce a second season of the popular series Chasing the Sun. The announcement was made today by Scott Woodward, EVP, Programming and Production, Ovation.

Chasing the Sun follows adventure-seeker, and film maker, Stephen Friedman (host and creator of successful Fox Networks TV travel show The Blueprint) as he captures the story of the places he visits through the people of each destination. As the Locals tell their story, Stephen uses each experience to rediscover why we are all born to explore. In the new season co-produced with JOURNY, Stephen will travel throughout Asia, including stops in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, India, and Sri Lanka.

Read more on Deadline.

Congrats to Saloon Media - 9/11 Kids now at CBC

From Realscreen.com - Saloon Media has started production on a feature-length documentary titled 9/11 Kids, commissioned by CBC’s documentary Channel.

Blue Ant Media, which recently acquired Saloon Media, will showcase the film at 2019 Realscreen Summit in New Orleans this month, with delivery expected in August of this year. Blue Ant is currently looking for international buyers for the doc.

The 78-minute film will explore the lives of the children inside the Florida classroom on Sept. 11, 2001, where President George W. Bush learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center towers. Filmmakers track the lives of the kids into their mid-20s, calling them the “9/11 generation,” where some have fallen on hard times and others have experienced great success, to show the modern face of the “American Dream.”

2018 YEAR IN FACTUAL - GREAT PRESS

Great press for Essential Media Group and Saloon Media. Read the article here.

WORLD FOOD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019 MOVES TO DALLAS!

World Food Championships (WFC) announced today that it is taking its Main Event to Dallas, Texas, where the continued expansion of WFC will occur over the next several years with the help of VisitDallas, the Dallas Sports Commission and many new major sponsors.

"They say everything is bigger in Texas. Well, we're excited to make this BIG announcement for WFC and begin our transition to one of the largest metro markets in America," commented Mike McCloud, President/CEO of WFC. "Our event gets bigger and better each year, and we truly believe that relocating to Texas in 2019 is going to help us expand Food Sport and the WFC enterprise in ways never before possible."

Cara Connors in new E! Series, Dating #NoFilter

From Deadline, “E! has ordered 20 half-hour episodes of Dating #NoFilter, a new comedy blind dating series from Lime Pictures and All3Media America, for premiere next month. Dating #NoFilter will air Monday through Thursday starting January 21 at 10:30 PM, for five weeks on E! “

Click here for the commercial!

Watch Chasing the Sun on Journy

Save Your Day Films’ series, Chasing the Sun, is now airing in the US on Ovation’s JOURNY! Click here for access.

COLD VALLEY TO AIR NOVEMBER 29TH ON INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY!

Saloon Media and Pixcom’s very cool Investigation Discovery project, Cold Valley, is set to air in two parts November 29th and December 6th. Find the great reviews in Realscreen Magazine and Futon Critic.

Saloon Media acquired by Blue Ant Media - CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Many, many congratulations to Saloon Media on their acquisition by Blue Ant Media. I am thrilled for Michael and team. Here’s an excerpt from Realscreen Magazine:

Following its launch in 2013, Saloon quickly made a name for itself in the factual space, with Michael Kot bringing his years of experience to the genre from his previous roles as a senior factual executive at eOne, Canwest and Alliance Atlantis. By 2014, the company had three successful series underway: Tornado Hunters for CMT (which started as a web series and turned into a 10-episode linear order), See No Evil, a returning series co-produced with the UK’s Arrow Media for Discovery ID U.S., and six-part UK-Canada co-pro Mummies Alive for History in Canada, Smithsonian Channel in the U.S. and Yesterday in the UK. Since then, it has produced 2017′s 8 x 60-min Hunting Nazi Treasure for American Heroes Channel, History in Canada and the UK’s More4 and service work on series including six-part miniseries The Kennedys for CNN and Raw TV.

It was the combination of high-quality production, international experience and complementary specialization to its prodco network that attracted Blue Ant to Saloon, Sniderman told Realscreen sister publication Playback in an exclusive interview.

WFC Announces Partnership with WÜSTHOF

The World Food Championships has a new, multi-year partnership with WÜSTHOF as its official cutlery. 

“This is an exciting moment for WFC and Food Sport Nation. Having a legendary, industry leader like WÜSTHOF join forces with us is simply remarkable. It shows how significant Food Sport and Food Champs are becoming,” said Mike McCloud, President/CEO of WFC.

“We are eager to meet the many passionate cooks and chefs at WFC,” commented WÜSTHOF’s National Sales Director, Clark Stone. “Their dedication and passion for perfection deserve recognition at the highest levels, and we look forward to playing a role in that process.”

The 7th Annual WFC, presented by Walmart, will be held November 7 - 11 at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Congrats to Red Arrow Industries!!

USA Network has greenlit a six-episode, half-hour unscripted family sitcom centered on the honest and unfiltered Melissa Radke and her loud and proud Southern family. The series is produced by Red Arrow Industries with Danny Downing, Ryan Hardison, and Jaime Paxton Morey executive producing.

With big hair and an even bigger personality, Melissa is ready to take the world by storm with her sharp wit and candid opinions.  She began sharing parenting and family videos online as a hobby, but her larger-than-life persona and relatable topics quickly caught fire. Her videos collectively garnered over 40 million views worldwide, and in no time, Melissa became the often unspoken voice that people connected with.

Now an author on her first book Eat Cake, Be Brave, Melissa is funny, charming, and the life of every party. Both she and her husband live life unapologetically and love their two children unconditionally. Together they use their sense of humor and honesty to reflect their values of faith, family, and community in a raw and refreshing way.

This series will be the newest addition to USA’s slate of unscripted programming.

UPDATE 12/20/18 - See some clips in the 2019 USA promo here.

Congrats to QYOU!

Congratulations to QYOU on their ThinkLA IDEA Award for Best Social Campaign: DreamWorks Trolls Meets Musical.ly!!

The IDEA Awards Gala honors campaigns, agencies, clients, marketers, media partners and individuals that exemplify the best our region has to offer. In its eighth year, they celebrated Southern California's advertising, marketing and media superstars. 

Cara Connors Makes Just for Laughs Debut July 28th!!!

Cara Connors is a comedian on the rise. She is the creator, writer and star of two original digital series for CBC Comedy (Cara Cooks and Every BLANK Ever), a current semi-finalist in Sirius XM’s Top Comic contest and her first nationally televised stand up appearance at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival is airing on CBC. Cara is currently in development with Muse Entertainment and LoCo Motion pictures, is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory program and has also trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. Other credits include: Stand Up NBC, Tim Sims Encouragement Award Nominee, Chicago Funny Women's Festival, She Devil Comedy Contest NYC, Toronto Sketchfest, CBC’s Laugh Out Loud, OutTV and Kevin Hart’s LOL Network. 

QYOU's esports format, Heads Up Daily, licensed into 13 new territories

DUBLIN - QYOU Media (TSXV: QYOU OTC: QYOUF), the world's leading curator of premium 'best-of-web' video for multiscreen distribution, announced today it has partnered with a major global distributor to license its flagship esports format Heads Up Daily (HUD) in 13 countries across Eastern Europe, as it looks to capitalize on the popularity and growth of the esports genre.

Details of the partnership will follow upon future launch of the series in the summer of 2018.

The partnership will see HUD delivered across channels in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. The licensing agreement will also include format rights to build the brand across major European markets. There are over 10 million esports enthusiasts in Eastern Europe, of which 2 million are based in Poland. The genre is particularly popular among millennial and generation-Z audiences, with under-35s making up 73 percent of all global esports fans. Launched in 2018, HUD is the destination for all things relating to esports and video game culture. Each episode of HUD includes an exciting line-up of guests - from esports professionals to game developers and popular streamers on YouTube and Twitch - to discuss tournament recaps, esports top plays, and all of the hot topics in the world of gaming. This new agreement shows further momentum for the esports genre and follows The QYOU's partnership with World Poker Tour (WPT) Distribution USA to promote and distribute the HUD format earlier this month. The QYOU's HUD format is also featured on Super Channel's GINX Esports TV Canada daily. Curt Marvis, CEO and Co-founder of QYOU Media, commented: 'We are thrilled with this agreement as it drives revenue and distribution together for the HUD format to a new market where we are seeing tremendous interest in the esports genre. This deal comes hot on the heels of our partnership with WPT Distribution USA and marks another big step forward as our goal of developing HUD into a global brand continues to rapidly take shape. This all further underscores the rapid growth of the esports genre in the last year alone.'

About QYOU Media

QYOU Media Inc. is a fast-growing global media company that curates and packages premium 'best-of-the-web' video for multi-screen distribution. Founded and created by industry veterans from Lionsgate, MTV, and CinemaNow, QYOU's millennial-focused products including linear television networks, genre-based series, mobile apps, and video-on-demand formats reach millions of customers on six continents. Distribution partners include Sinclair Broadcast Group, Vodafone, 21st Century Fox, Liberty Global, Showmax, iflix, SuperChannel and TATA Sky.

Transformer Wins both Audience Awards at Hot Docs!

Paul Kemp's film, Transformer, won the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary AND the Hot Docs Audience Award!!! 

Congratulations to Saloon Media

Congratulations to Saloon Media on their honorable mention in this year's Global 100. 

Welcome Paul Kemp Productions

I'm very happy to continue my work with Paul Kemp AND very excited to see the growing interest in his project, Transformer, with HotDocs screenings starting next week. The film has already won the Best Documentary Feature prize at the Austin Film Festival. Read the review here.

World Food Championships + dick clark productions

World Food Championships have entered into an agreement with dick clark productions as part of their Final Table strategy. The event, presented by WalMart will be held at Brightwater NWA in Bentonville, Arkansas to crown the $100,000 Final Table winner on April 22, 2018.