Mediapro CEO Tatxo Benet Exits; High-Society Murder Mystery Series Wraps Shoot; Horror ‘Within Madness’ Set For AFM; DAZN Commercial Appointment – Global Briefs

Mediapro CEO Taxto Benet Exits After 25 Years

Taxto Benet, one of the longest-serving CEOs in European television production, is stepping down from Spain’s Mediapro. Following an agreement with Mediapro’s majority shareholder SouthWind, he is leaving his Chairman and CEO role after 25 years at the Barcelona-based content giant. Having been a founder of Televisió de Catalunya and director of the Olympic Channel during the 1992 Spanish Olympic Games, he founded Mediapro alongside Jaume Roures and Gerard Romy in 2000. His departure means none of the founders remain with the company, following Romy’s exit in 2016 and Roures’ departure in 2023. Mediapro made posted revenues of €1.1B ($1.3B) and an EBITDA of €182M. The company lost a contract to produce La Liga soccer matches earlier this year, but is still a huge presence in Spanish-language sports around the world, producing coverage of numerous tournaments such as the NBA in Latin America.

Indie Murder Mystery Series ‘What Ever Happened To Daisy’ Wraps Shoot

EXCLUSIVE: Whatever Happened to Daisy, an indie-produced, eight-episode scripted series billed as “a stylish marriage of Desperate Housewives meets Scream.” Directed by Halloween star and Devil May Cry voiceover actress Scout Taylor-Compton and written, created and produced by Owsley Robinson, the series follow three estranged siblings who must deduce the identity of a masked killer at their family’s gilded age estate, while ladies of their late mother’s social circle descend with their own agendas.
Christa B. Allen (13 Going on 30, Revenge), Elisa Donovan (Clueless, Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and horror stars Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever) and Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, You’re Next) are starring alongside the likes of Anthony Del Negro (Running Point), Robinson, Catherine Corcoran (Terrifier), Olivia D’Abo (The Wonder Years), Brittany Daniel (White Chicks), Justiin Davis (The Boys), Tom O’Connell (The Mandalorian), and Charlene Tilton (Dallas). Executive producers are Shane O’Brien, Zach O’Brien and Del Negro. Bryan Coyne, a writer of James Wan’s upcoming Creature of the Black Lagoon reboot, also serves as EP. Ethan Ford and John William Roberts are co-producers and DoP is Andy Patch (Little Bites). “Filming What Ever Happened to Daisy? was like getting invited to the most glamorous dinner party —only to realize someone’s about to be murdered between the second course and dessert,” said Taylor-Crompton. “I’ve never had so much fun playing in a world this twisted, this elegant, and this full of secrets.” Producers say it has been made following an indie TV model similar to Penelope, the Duplass Brothers drama series that Fremantle shops internationally, with a plan to take it out for distribution underway.

Horror Pic ‘Within Madness Set For AFM Launch – Watch Trailer

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a trailer for Within Madness: Chapter One – The Sacrament of Bondage, a psychological horror thriller from writer, producer and director J.M. Stelly and his Anatomica Films. Starring Jared Bankens (Call of the Void), Matt Story, Keegan Macy (The Are Watching) and Jamie Nipe (The Prologue), the pic is debuting at the American Film Market. The film sees detectives discover the remains of 23 women and six men at the residence of filmmaker and serial killer Mark Chapel, who is arrested along with a collaborator, Donovan Summers, who is also later detained. As detectives dig deeper, they find three disturbing films, the first of which, ‘The Sacrament of Bondage,’ shows Summers’ descent into psychopathy and the brutal murders of his first two victims. “Within Madness explores how obsession can mutate into something far darker when art and identity collapse into one another,” said Stelly, who is represented by Rodrigo Moscoso at Zero Gravity Management. The pic gets its world premiere at the AFM alongside a slate of other titles from Anatomica, with Stelly and his team searching for domestic and international sales partners.

DAZN Names Foxtel Exec As Commercial Chief

Sports streamer DAZN has appointed a top exec from its Australia pay-TV subsidiary, Foxtel, as its Group Chief Commercial Officer. Rebecca McCloy will oversee global rights and acquisitions for the global service, working with local teams on commercial initiatives. Marc Watson, DAZN’s current CCO, will segue to a new role supporting CEO Shay Segev on strategic projects for the wider business. He had joined in 2023 when DAZN acquired Eleven Sports. McCloy has been head of Foxtel’s content acquisitions and partnerships for the past 12 years. A significant part of her role was sports-focused, which makes her well placed to transition to DAZN. “Rebecca is highly regarded across the global sports landscape, having played leading roles in securing both Australian and international commercial deals for Foxtel Group, solidifying its position as Australia’s sport leader,” said Segev.