Multi-Billion-Dollar Bids For Cricket Rights Are Expected From Disney, Sony And Reliance In Duel With Global Streaming Implications

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefWarner Bros. Discovery has partnered with energy company Shell for an adrenaline-filled show, “Dare to Ride,” that has begun airing on Discovery in Southeast Asia and India. “Dare to Ride” showcases some of Asia’s most accomplished riders as they attempt to conquer the region’s most iconic routes with just their bikes, their wits, and their technical knowhow.

Mukesh Ambani has resigned as director of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the digital arm of giant Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries. His son Akash Ambani, formerly a non-executive director, has been appointed as the chair of the Reliance Jio Infocomm board of directors.Pankaj Mohan Pawar has been appointed managing director of the company and Raminder Singh Gujral and K.V. Chowdary, as additional directors, for five years, subject to shareholder approval.Reliance Jio is the market leader in India’s telecoms space and the company’s Jio Platforms, where Facebook, Google, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners are investors, operates streaming services JioTV and JioCinema.

Ben Croll As global exhibitors look to capitalize on the public’s appetite for four-quadrant blockbusters, many have turned to premium formats as a way to juice premium fees. Riding this wave of upmarket investment, France’s ICE Theaters has nearly doubled its international reach, opening immersive cinemas across three continents this year alone.The reach should soon extend even further now that ICE Theaters and India’s PVR Cinemas have finalized a deal to open three premium rooms over the next 12 months.This international focus has been a fairly recent development, as ICE Theaters – the export arm of Gallic exhibitor CGR Cinemas – only started rolling out its premium format onto the world stage just three years ago.

Those looking for the correct way to cook rice are in luck as an expert has revealed methods that won't lead to burned pots or overflowing water.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs Paramount+ prepares for its splashy, star-studded U.K. and Ireland launch in London on Monday, Paramount’s president and CEO of streaming Tom Ryan spoke to Variety about the rebranded company’s global streaming biz expansion that, besides being powered by original content, stands out in the field for its diversified model.This model involves a mix of platforms and partnerships, combining direct-to-consumer and a la carte offerings with a market-by-market approach.

Gallery: The richest people of the past 100 years (Lovemoney)Revlon is renowned for supermodel campaigns featuring famous names such as Iman, Claudia Schiffer, and Cindy Crawford.  It promised to make women 'unforgettable' but was slow to follow women giving up flashy looks like red lipstick for muted tones in the 1990s, and lost ground to celebrity start-ups such as Rihanna's Fenty Beauty.

Video: The West quietly supports India’s purchase of Russian oil, says energy consulting firm (CNBC)Final Trades: ORCL, XLE, XOM & FDXSneak Peek: ExxonMobil at the CrossroadsMarkets close out worst week since the pandemicThe reset in equity pricing isn't completely done yet, says March Capital's MandalPost-Market Wrap: June 17, 2022CNBC Markets Now: June 17, 2022Market may bottom toward the end of June, says Fundstrat's Mark NewtonThe Week That Was: Fed raises interest rate . 75%The market needs to see oil and gas come down, says Solus' Dan GreenhausMultiples need to be undervalued to get a good bottom, says Requisite's Bryn TalkingtonJob stats are bright and will keep the economy going, says Cerity's Jim LebenthalThere's signs the economy is weakening, says BD8 Capital's Barbara DoranPanic selling is making credit stocks a great opportunity, says Baird's David GeorgeCurrent valuations suggest investors should expect pretty healthy returns, says UBS's LefkowitzIt's historically likely fintech companies have reached a bottom, says Strategas' VerroneWe are pricing in a significant tightening of financial conditions globally, says Allianz's El-ErianIt promised to make women 'unforgettable' but was slow to follow women giving up flashy looks like red lipstick for muted tones in the 1990s, and lost ground to celebrity start-ups such as Rihanna's Fenty Beauty.

EXCLUSIVE: SonyLIV has ordered its most ambitious original series to date, an adaptation of Indian independence non-fiction book Freedom at Midnight, as the streamer gears up to become a global service within three years.

Paramount Global’s International CEO Raffaele Annecchino has been placed “on leave,” according to an internal note seen by Deadline.

EXCLUSIVE: South Indian content streamer ZEE5 Global has unveiled a slate of 11 Telugu originals. The titles featured at as star-studded event an event in Hyderabad and comprise comedies, dramas, romantic stories and thrillers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorApple is looking for more streaming kicks from sports.The tech giant has struck a ten-year rights pact with Major League Soccer, in a deal that will make Apple TV app the exclusive place to see every single live MLS match beginning in 2023. The new rights deal will tie Apple to soccer until 2032, and is the second recent sports deal it has made in recent months, after unveiling a pact in April to show Friday-night games from Major League Baseball.“For the first time in the history of sports, fans will be able to access everything from a major professional sports league in one place,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in a statement.

The e-auction’s over, and became clear yesterday, Viacom18 is the big winner of Indian Premier League cricket rights. The company bagged digital rights in India for 410 games over the next five years for $2.6B and today followed up with the international rights for three of the other big cricketing nations — Australia, South Africa and the UK — for around another $420M.

Viacom18, a TV and streaming group backed by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, has paid $3 billion to win an online auction for two packages of digital rights to Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket. It now has the leverage to change the Indian broadcasting landscape and to the tip the balance even further in favor of streaming.Variety understands that Viacom18 has agreed to pay $2.63 billion for a five year package of regional digital rights.

Viacom18 has bowled out the opposition and caught the sought-after streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.

Indian Premier League cricket tournament, one the world’s richest sporting events, have been sold for a combined $5 billion, according to several reports.The successful bidders have not been named as the auction, which started on Sunday is ongoing and may run to a third day.The TV rights went for $2.72 billion and the digital rights for $2.28 billion, for a five-year deal covering the 2023-2027 tournaments. In both cases the rights packages are limited to the Indian subcontinent.There are two more rights packages on offer – for selected tournament games including the playoffs, only for the Indian subcontinent; and TV and digital rights for the rest of the world.

This is absolutely heartbreaking.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Melbourne Film Festival will return to cinemas after two turbulent years caused by COVID-related disruptions – the city endured one of the world’s longest pandemic lockdowns – and will run Aug 4-21, 2022. It will open with powerful Australian-U.K.-Serbian-made first film “Of An Age,” by renown shorts director Goran Stolevski.

Brian Cox And Rose Matafeo Unveiled For Packed Edinburgh TV Festival Lineup

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorSlovak director Denis Dobrovoda’s feature debut “The Cathedral” took the best film prize in the International Documentary Competition section of the 62nd Krakow Film Festival, which runs May 29-June 12.The film focuses on Justo Gallego Martínez, who started building a cathedral in Spain’s Mejorada del Campo 60 years ago without any qualifications, architectural plans or official permission. He invested his own funds and built it almost entirely with his own hands, mostly out of waste and recycled materials.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Taipei Film Festival has named prolific writer-director-producer Kevin Chu (aka Chu Yen-ping) as the recipient of its Outstanding Contribution Award. During the 1980s and the 1990s, Chu made many popular memorable commercial films and discovered several promising new actors — Chu wrote the script of “Never Too Late to Repent” and won the best screenplay award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival. After that, Chu made this directorial debut, “The Clown and the Swan,” which was a critically-acclaimed box office success in which comedy actor Hsu Pu-liao established his name.