Disney-Reliance India Mega Merger: Companies Agree To Non-Binding Term Sheet; Deal Would Create Media & Entertainment Powerhouse

EXCLUSIVE: Psychological thriller She Came Back (formerly known as Maternal), starring Anne With An E and Stranger Things actress Amybeth McNulty, has set a domestic release through Tricoast Worldwide.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram, dubbed the “queen of Arab pop” by Spotify, has inked a publishing deal with U.S. indie music company Reservoir Media and PopArabia, its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region partner.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor LAS VEGAS – The Walt Disney Co. showcased its investments in cutting-edge advertising technology on Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, with top executives talking up the company’s enhanced ablity to serve marketers across linear and streaming platforms around the world. “2023 was Disney’s biggest year in our history for investments in ad technology, including theglobal expansion of Disney+ with ads,” said Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of global advertising, told the crowd at the Cosmpolitan hotel.

Universal has entered into a first-look film partnership with Point Grey Pictures, the production company of Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver. The deal comes following the companies’ past work together on breakout comedy hits including the Neighbors franchise, Good Boys and Blockers. 

BreAnna Bell Amazon MGM Studios has signed an exclusive first-look TV and film deal with “Lizzo’s Watch Out For the Big Grrrls” Director Nneka Onuorah, the studio announced on Tuesday. “Nneka has a track record of crafting stories that excite, intrigue, and inspire,” said Vernon Sanders, Amazon MGM Studios’ head of television. “This is a process we’ve been fortunate to experience firsthand, and we cannot wait to reignite our professional relationship under this formal deal.” Onuorah won the Primetime Emmy award for outstanding directing for a reality program for Prime Video’s “Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls” in September 2022.

Naman Ramachandran Viacom18, a TV and streaming group backed by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, has secured Indian media rights for field hockey from the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The agreement runs for a four-year cycle (2023-2027) and includes all FIH events, except the FIH Nations Cup.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios has signed an exclusive first-look series and film deal with Emmy-winning director Nneka Onuorah.

Kevin Negandhi will continue to be a presence on ESPN. The anchor and studio host has signed a new multi-year contract with the network in which he’ll continue to host weekday SportsCenter, as well as Special Olympics and ABC’s coverage of college football and the NBA draft.

Megan Cusack, who plays the role of nurse Nancy Corrigan in Call The Midwife, comes from a family of famous actors. She's set to return to our screens this Sunday on BBC One. In the first episode of the new series, Nancy will be on hand to help Doreen Challis, a young woman with cerebral palsy give birth.

Veteran entertainment exec Peter Liguori has taken the reins of ad tech firm VideoAmp as executive chairman amid the layoffs of 20% of its workforce in a restructuring.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The founder of VideoAmp, a measurement-technology start-up that has been vying with Nielsen and others to create a new means of tabulating video audiences, is stepping down from his CEO role just as the company plans to lay off nearly a fifth of its staff, Ross McCray, who led VideoAmp as it struck deals with titans such as Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, will remain as a shareholder and board member at VideoAmp, but will be replaced by Peter Liguori, an industry veteran who has led Fox Entertainment, FX and Tribune Media, among other companies. Peter Bradbury,, a former Nielsen executive, was named VideoAmp’s chief commercial and growth officer.

Disney and Reliance Industries have moved closer to a merger of their massive Indian TV and streaming businesses. A combination of the two – which include rival streaming platforms, India’s leading pay-TV platform and over 100 linear TV channels – has the potential to substantially re-shape the Indian media and entertainment scene. Quoting unnamed sources close to the deal, the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that the two companies had appointed lawyers to handle potential anti-trust issues that would likely arise.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Thanks to Mario, J. Robert Oppenheimer and M3GAN, Universal Pictures ranked as the highest-grossing studio at the 2023 box office. The company’s slate — a range of 24 films that included “The Super Mario Bros.

This year is shaping up to be yet another frenetic one in the international media landscape, with change incoming on numerous fronts. Here, our overseas team breaks down some of the issues we think will define the entertainment and news terrain in 2024.

Pep Guardiola has advised his players to be careful with their use of social media to avoid making themselves the target of thieves after Jack Grealish became the latest footballer living in the northwest to have his home broken into.

Warner Bros. comedy “Barbie” capping off 2023 as the highest-grossing movie ($1.44 billion) and Universal‘s historical biopic “Oppenheimer” as the third-biggest hit (a staggering $951 million). Studios were (finally!) rewarded for bucking the overly familiar and embracing the new and novel.

according to Variety. That’s less than the $519 million worldwide earnings from the first “Ant-Man” film in 2015 and the $623 million the second installment earned in 2018 (not adjusted for inflation).

Michaela Zee Neel Nanda, a stand-up comedian who appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and Comedy Central’s “Adam Devine’s House Party,” has died. He was 32. His longtime manager Greg Weiss confirmed the news to Variety, saying that he was a “great comic” and “great human being” whom he had known since Nanda was 19 years old.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and Comedy Central’s “Adam Devine’s House Party,” has reportedly died. He was 32. Several performers and fans mourned Nanda on social media Saturday as the circumstances surrounding his death remained unclear.“It is with a very heavy heart we say goodbye to comedy great, Neel Nanda,” reps for The Port Comedy Club in Baltimore posted Saturday on Instagram.

Neel Nanda, a stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Comedy Central’s Adam Devine’s House Party, has died, his manager Greg Weiss confirmed to Deadline. The cause of death is not immediately known. He was 32.