🎥 MUBI Raises $100M to Go Global

Sequoia Capital backs MUBI’s mission to make indie films great again | Streaming in Short - W23

Jun 06, 2025

This week, we cover Sequoia Capital investment in MUBI, TOD’s new non-football packs, and how Netflix turned Tudum 2025 into a full-on fandom showcase.

🎬 INDIE: Sequoia invests $100M in MUBI

👉 Big move in the world of indie cinema: Sequoia Capital just invested $100 million in MUBI, valuing the platform at $1 billion. The money will help MUBI grow globally and produce more original films.

📍 MUBI now has offices in 15 countries and over 20 million users. At Cannes Film Festival, it beat Netflix and Apple to buy Die, My Love starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson.

💡 MUBI isn’t trying to be the next Netflix, it’s building something different: a global platform for great cinema. And with Sequoia’s support, it’s betting big on the future of curated films.

🏎️ PRICING: TOD adds new packs without football

👉 TOD (from beIN) is testing new pricing in MENA. They renamed the main pack TOD TV and launched two new options:

• TOD Lite: Tennis, Formula 1, NBA, rugby… but no football.

• Shows: Series and movies from Paramount+, Disney, Sony, and TOD Studios. Plus 30+ beIN entertainment channels, but no sports.

💡 Looks like a smart way to target fans who don’t watch football, and keep users on the platform even after the football season ends.

🏟️ Netflix Tudum 2025: The Fandom Super Bowl

What happened?

👉 Netflix hosted its biggest live event of the year at the Kia Forum in LA: Tudum 2025. The lineup? Star-studded reveals, surprise guests, and live performances from Lady Gaga and Hanumankind. Think Squid Game, Stranger Things, Knives Out, Wednesday, One Piece… all on one stage.

Biggest news:

Stranger Things 5 → Final season split in 3 parts (Nov 26, Dec 25, Dec 31)
Squid Game 3 → Trailer dropped, final chapter premieres June 27
Wednesday 2 → Lady Gaga joins the cast (!), first 6 mins revealed
Knives Out 3 → Cast unveiled, premieres Dec 12
Happy Gilmore 2, One Piece, Frankenstein, The Rip and more teased

Why it matters?

Tudum was a global fan event. Netflix is doubling down on fandom as a strategy. They’re turning their IP into pop culture events you can’t miss live, social, and made for global hype.

🎯 Smaller, local streaming platform could learn from it and organize fans festival. It could be live events, crossovers, and content reveals that feel like a mix of K-pop and Comic-Con.

🖌️ ANIMATION: Fortiche is levelling up

Fortiche, the team behind Arcane, just made big changes to support more shows and films. They’ve hired new leads for production, content, and new projects, including their first original movie, Penelope of Sparta.

They’re still working closely with Riot Games, but it’s clear: Fortiche wants to grow beyond Arcane and become a global animation force.

🏈 SPORTS: ESPN gets ready for streaming

ESPN launched a new campaign called “Sports Forever” during the NBA Finals, just before its new streaming service goes live later this year. The ad shows moments from ESPN’s first broadcast back in 1979, mixed with today’s biggest sports stars.

It’s all about one message: ESPN isn’t going away, it’s just moving with the times, and soon you’ll be able to watch it anywhere.

📺 LOCAL HERO: Roya TV breaks records during Ramadan

Roya Media Group hit big numbers this Ramadan: over 2 billion views on social media and 72 million across its website and apps.

It was the #1 TV channel in Jordan for the 9th year in a row, with a 56.6% daily viewership share and over 2.8 million viewers tuning in every day.

📊 ADVERTISING: B2B brands are now using CTV

A new report from TVREV shows how B2B marketers are turning to CTV to reach decision-makers and speed up the sales cycle. Big players like Salesforce are using CTV to boost reach and cut waste, while LinkedIn data helps target the right execs.

CTV isn’t just for consumers anymore, it’s becoming a powerful tool for business marketing too.

📱 TRENDING: Micro-drama apps are blowing up

In just one year, the number of micro-drama apps jumped from 41 to over 210, with 300M+ downloads and $581M+ in revenue in 2024 alone.

The US leads in both downloads and spending, but emerging markets like Indonesia, Brazil, and India are catching up fast.

🎪 LONDON: SXSW comes to the UK, and even the King showed up!

SXSW held its first London edition this week in Shoreditch, mixing art, tech, and culture in one big creative festival.

King Charles visited the event, walked through the exhibitions, and met artists, locals, and speakers, a big moment for the UK’s creative scene. SXSW London wants to be the place where bold ideas and new voices come together.

🙏 Thanks

Moey Shawash

for covering the event!

🇫🇷 FRANCE: Annecy 2025 kicks off this weekend!

The world’s top animation festival returns to Annecy from June 9–15, packed with bold stories, global premieres, and rising voices in indie animation.

This year’s lineup features 20+ films in competition, big studio previews (Netflix, Pixar, Marvel, Ubisoft), and honors for Matt Groening, Michel Gondry, and Joanna Quinn.

🤖 Murderbot from Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz (Apple TV+, 10 episodes): In a high-tech future, a rogue security robot secretly gains free will. To stay hidden, it reluctantly joins a new mission protecting scientists on a dangerous planet...even though it just wants to binge soap operas.

🎾 Roland Garros (TOD in MENA): Coco Gauff will face Aryna Sabalenka in the women's final on Saturday.

Coco Gauff / Match demi-finales Roland-Garros 2025

🗞️ 13 years ago, on June 24, 2012, The Newsroom premiered on HBO. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the series followed a cable news anchor and his team as they covered real-world events with sharp dialogue and high-stakes drama. Known for its powerful opening monologue and behind-the-scenes look at journalism, The Newsroom became a defining show about media, truth, and responsibility.