Fremantle Completes Acquisition of Asacha Media Group

Callum McLennan Comedy docuseries “The World’s Strangest Jobs,” from Johannesburg-based Mannequin Pictures, one of South Africa’s key production, finance, and distribution companies, has sold to Prime Video the rights to the African continent. Mannequin is now pursuing sales in all other territories. The eight-part series is hosted by comedian and actor Schalk Bezuidenhout.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon has acquired world rights for Beirut-set dramedy series Self Modulation from producers Falcon Films and Arna Media, in its first ever Arabic TV series acquisition.

Roskilde Festival has completed the line-up for its 2024 edition, with the likes of 21 Savage and PinkPantheress joining the bill.The 52nd edition of the Danish non-profit event is due to take place between June 29 and July 6. Foo Fighters, SZA, Doja Cat and Skrillex will all headline this year.

The Fremantle exec who fell victim to a $1M fake M&A scam has exited the business.

French Canal+ Group’s operation to take full control of African media and entertainment giant MultiChoice appears to be moving forward with both parties announcing they had finalized the terms of the mandatory offer in a joint statement on Monday.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Qatar-based powerhouse BeIN Media Group, a co-owner of U.S. indie studio Miramax, has taken distribution rights across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to live-action pre-school series “Saïd & Anna,” which has been nominated for this year’s Banff World Media Festival‘s Rockie Awards.

EXCLUSIVE: Embankment Films is making Garbo: Leave Me Alone, a feature documentary about the enigmatic movie star who died in 1990. The doc will have previously unseen archive material including personal photographs of Garbo and letters written by the iconic actress, who is regarded as one of the all-time greats.

EXCLUSIVE: MPI Media Group has acquired North American distribution rights for Saïd Belktibia’s French thriller Hood Witch starring Golshifteh Farahani and Denis Lavant.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paramount Global and its parent company are moving closer to an agreement with Skydance Media for an exclusive window for acquisition negotiations as Shari Redstone and David Ellison inch toward a deal to bring their companies together in a three-way transaction. The New York Times on Tuesday reported on the rumors that have been swirling around Hollywood for the past few days.

EXCLUSIVE: A week after veteran talent agent Jed Abrahams resigned as KMR Talent’s SVP and head of the agency’s New York office, he has joined Los Angeles-based management and production company The Rosenzweig Group (aka The Rose Group) as a talent manager. He will open and head an office in New York, making The Rosenzweig Group — founded in 2018 by Marni Rosenzweig — officially bicoastal.

Kurt Badenhausen Longtime sports team owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer have been actively investing in youth sports properties over the last two years. Now, the private equity titans are rolling up those assets into a new parent company, Unrivaled Sports.

EXCLUSIVE: There’s a lot of movement from agents that used to work at A3 Artists Agency.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Dancing With the Stars” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” staple Alfonso Ribeiro will host new wildlife series “Jack Hanna’s Passport” from Hearst Media Production Group (HMPG). The show will not star or feature wildlife expert “Jungle Jack” Hanna himself, but rather “take a fresh look at the most compelling stories from Hanna’s legendary career and his greatest past adventures across the globe.” “Jack Hanna’s Passport” will air weekend mornings starting April 6 on ABC owned and affiliated stations across the U.S.

If you haven’t seen the paparazzi photos of Timothée Chalamet with a guitar swung over his shoulder on social media, let us be the first to inform you that James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” has already begun filming. Searchlight Pictures made it official today with a cast announcement that added Boyd Holbrook, Scoot McNairy, Dan Fogler, Will Harrison, and Charlie Tahan to a growing ensemble.

One of Fremantle‘s leading execs in Europe has become victim of a sophisticated $1M scam.

Fremantle Completes Asacha Deal

Hyphenate Media Group co-founders Cris Abrego and Eva Longoria have set the company’s executive leadership team. Jada Miranda will serve as President of Television, Karla Pita Loor as Chief Strategy Officer and Alex Chang as Chief Operating Officer. All executives will report to Abrego and Longoria.

William Earl Hyphenate Media Group, the production venture and holding company launched in October by Eva Longoria and Cris Abrego with backing from Banijay, has set its leadership team with the appointments of three senior executives. Jada Miranda, formerly of STX Entertainment, has been named president of television for the Los Angeles-based company headed by actor/director/producer Longoria and the veteran producer and TV executive Abrego.

NBCUniversal Media Group has promoted veteran executive David Pietrycha to the newly created position of Chief Business Officer, reporting into the group’s chairman, Mark Lazarus. 

EXCLUSIVE: RTL has pushed back Fremantle‘s lofty €3B ($3.3B) revenue target by up to a year.