Blue Ant hires a new senior director of sales, acquisitions ahead of MIPTV
Blue Ant Media’s distribution arm Blue Ant International has hired Mike Jackson to the role of senior director of international sales and acquisitions. Based in the U.K., Jackson’s remit with Blue Ant will include coproductions, pre-sales, sales and acquisitions. He will be responsible for leading sales for the U.K. and several regions around the world, including Nordics, Benelux, Southern Europe and the Middle East. Prior to joining Blue Ant International, Jackson was the head of global sales at Banijay International.  Jackson has also held positions at DCD Rights, Zodiak Rights and DRG’s Zeal Television. Jackson’s first market assignment will be next week’s MIPTV.

VSC rebrands as Unobstructed View
Toronto distributor Video Services Corp has rebranded under Unobstructed View. “This is mostly cosmetic because the word ‘video’ has become somewhat quaint in these meme-orable times” said founder Jonathan Gross in a release. Among the upcoming releases on Unobstructed View’s slate are Magnolia Pictures’ Tickled and United Kingdom/Luxembourg copro Sunset Song, which made its world premiere at TIFF ’15.

TIFF Studio program shifts focus 
TIFF’s Studio program is shifting its focus from producers to Canadian writer-directors. Now in its fourth year, the program will now focus its talent development efforts exclusively on writer-directors. The program is currently accepting applications for the program, with a deadline of Monday, April 25. Applicants must be in development (second or third draft) on a feature-length project or series, and should submit a project to be worked on during the program. To date, 33 producers and their projects have went through the Studio program, including Daniel Bekerman, Paula Devonshire, Floyd Kane, Matthew Miller and Ingrid Veninger.

Schitt’s Creek season two finale draws 650,000 overnight
The broadcast of Schitt’s Creek season two finale drew an overnight audience of 654,000 (2+), according to Numeris data provided by CBC. The season ender aired on CBC at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. Schitt’s was greenlit to a third season by CBC in February, and later renewed by U.S. network Pop. The second season of the show, which is produced by Not a Real Company Productions, debuted with an average overnight audience of 808,000 viewers (2+). 

Fullscreen SVOD to go live in April
After months of anticipation, Fullscreen’s ad-free SVOD will finally go live on April 26. The streaming service, which will be available internationally, will target 13- to 30-year-olds and boast a library of feature films and series, both originals and acquisitions, the company confirmed in a statement. Content will be updated daily, and the service will feature playlists curated by Fullscreen creators. (Some of the MCN’s most high-profile creators include Grace Helbig, the Fine Brothers and Rooster Teeth). According to the company, more than 800 hours of content will be available to viewers at any time.

Born to be Blue to open South Korean film fest
Robert Burdeau’s Chet Baker biopic Born to be Blue is to open the South Korea’s Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF). The Sudbury-shot film made its world premiere in the Special Presentations program at TIFF ’15 and was released in Canada through eOne eon March 11. The Ethan Hawke-starrer is produced by Canadian prodcos New Real Films and Lumanity Productions, and the U.K.’s Black Hangar Studios.

With files from Bree Rody-Mantha, Stream Daily