The week in over-the-top provides a recap of recent news related to streaming initiatives in the U.S. from various networks and platforms.
* Discovery Inc. teamed up with the PGA Tour to create an international PGA Tour-branded over-the-top video streaming service. Discovery expects to invest more than $2 billion over the course of the 12-year partnership, including licensing of the PGA Tour's international media rights and building a global OTT platform available outside the U.S., according to a June 4 news release.
* Facebook Inc. is nearing more programming deals for its Watch video platform, The Wall Street Journal reported May 31, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The content likely will include shows from 21st Century Fox Inc.'s FOX News Channel (US) and Time Warner Inc.'s CNN (US).
* Netflix Inc. will release Shakespeare-inspired film "The King" in 2019. The movie, which stars Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Robert Pattinson and Lily-Rose Depp, is about a young, disgraced prince who inherits the crown, the company said May 31.
* Twitter Inc. is partnering with Canada's Corus Entertainment Inc. on several short-form series targeting a millennial audience. The new content produced for Twitter by So.da, Corus' in-house social content studio, is centered on some of the most-consumed content on social media, such as entertainment, lifestyle and food, according to a May 31 statement.
In other platform news
* Danish original series "The Rain" will return to Netflix's streaming service for a second season in 2019. The series will go back into production later this year, the company said May 30.
* Apple Inc. placed a straight-to-series order for a show about acclaimed 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson, Variety reported May 30. The half-hour series, starring Hailee Steinfeld, will be a comedic look into Dickinson's world.
* Netflix green-lighted a supernatural drama series, "Chambers." The series, which will feature 10 episodes, stars Uma Thurman as a mother of a heart donor who forges a hesitant relationship with the young recipient of the heart, according to a May 29 news release.
