Sony Calls Off $10 Billion Merger With Indian TV Giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises

Antiques Roadshow saw a particularly special and rare item break records during one episode, with an incredible valuation shocking the entire crowd of onlookers. An elderly couple arrived at the roadshow with an unusual and cultural design piece in the form of an Imperial robe from China.

Netflix's One Day traces the love story of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew over two decades.The students speak for the first time on 15 July 1988 and each episode finds them a year older on the anniversary of that date, but how have their lives changed in that time? Taking on the lead roles in the 14-part series based on the novel by David Nicholls are This Is Going To Hurt star Ambika Mod and The White Lotus actor Leo Woodall. Speaking about her huge new role, Ambika said: “To be in the series adaptation is really special. I’ve been a big fan of the novel for years." As Ambika returns to our screens, let's take a look inside the actor's life...

Blur To Release Two Films With Altitude 

Naman Ramachandran “Delhi Crime” creator Richie Mehta‘s Prime Video series “Poacher” is the first time Los Angeles-based QC Entertainment has ventured into India. Led by partners Sean McKittrick, Raymond Mansfield and Edward H. Hamm Jr., QC – which stands for Quality Control – backed Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning “Get Out” and “Us” and Spike Lee’s Oscar, BAFTA and Cannes-winning “BlacKkKlansman,” among many other successful ventures.

Naman Ramachandran Viacom18 and Marflix’s Bollywood actioner “Fighter” was the highest grossing film of the weekend at the global box office, with box office revenues of $25.1 million, according to data from ComScore. The film, directed by Siddharth Anand, whose previous film, Shah Rukh Khan starrer “Pathaan,” was one of the biggest Indian hits of 2023, stars Bollywood A-listers Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor. “Fighter” revolves around the Indian Air Force and released on Thursday, Jan.

Toho International’s Godzilla Minus One – with an Oscar nom and a $2.6 million estimated three-day gross – was no. 10 at the U.S. box office in week 9, and hit a milestone Friday. The giant radioactive reptile, on 2,001 screens, became the third highest-grossing foreign-language film Stateside passing Hero (2002, $53.7m) and Parasite (2019, $53.4m).

Helen George, beloved for her role as Nurse Trixie Franklin in the hit BBC series Call the Midwife, recently stunned fans with a dazzling transformation for her role as Anna in a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I at London's Dominion Theatre. Known for her signature long blonde locks as Nurse Trixie, the 39 year old actress showcased a remarkable change with a copper-toned updo for her portrayal of Anna in the musical set in 1860s Bangkok. Helen, who spoke about the challenges of singing in corsets and donning "enormous and heavy" dresses for the role, expressed enthusiasm for the intricate details of Anna's wardrobe, featuring Indian linen and ethnic twists.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor Apple announced plans to provide grants to the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, as a part of the company’s Empowering Creatives program. The grants aim to “continue Apple’s work to support and partner with Indigenous communities” by “supporting organizations that help people in underinvested communities unlock their creative potential.” Per Apple, both grant recipients are “dedicated” to amplifying the voices and experiences of Native and Indigenous peoples.

After seeing its Martin Scorsese pic Killers of the Flower Moon, depicting the “Reign of Terror” in Osage territory, score 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Apple has announced new grants to the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, in support of Indigenous storytelling and the preservation of Native American history.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) is not proceeding with a $1.4 billion cricket rights deal it had struck with Disney Star in 2022, according to a report from Reuters. Cricket is the most popular sport in India, the world’s most populous nation. In August 2022, Disney Star had won Indian TV and digital rights to both men’s and women’s global events conducted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2024 through 2027.

Sony Group Corporation has initiated a Singapore arbitration case against Indian TV giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), alleging breaches of their failed merger agreement, Variety has confirmed. The $10 billion merger, which would have seen the two entities merge their TV and streaming businesses in India, was terminated on Monday by Sony after a two-year process. Sony is seeking a $90 million termination fee from ZEEL.

Sonali Shah, known for presenting on BBC's Escape to The Country and Magic FM, has had quite the journey. From reading news on BBC children's Newsround to presenting on BBC's world news, she's had a successful career in journalism. But there's more to Sonali than meets the eye.

Gurinder Chadha is forging an indie Christmas movie about an Indian Ebenezer Scrooge set in London, financed by Zygi Kamasa’s new UK distributor True Brit.

Great British Bake Off star Ruby Bhogal has revealed she is engaged to BBC presenter James Stewart.

Sony has terminated plans for its long-in-the-works merger of its television and streaming operations in India with local giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises, saying that closing conditions were not satisfied.

Siddhant Adlakha A mother and daughter both come of age in “Girls Will Be Girls,” Shuchi Talati’s gentle English-Hindi high school drama set in the Himalayan foothills. In this engrossing feature debut about angst and desire, the draconian Indian boarding school setting robs its teen protagonist of the language to express (or fully understand) her burgeoning sexuality.

Origin, starring as a celebrated writer diligently solving the puzzle that is her latest book, while also facing unfathomable personal adversity.The book she’s writing happens to be the nonfiction best-seller that inspired this film: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, by Isabel Wilkerson. In Caste, published in 2020, Wilkerson examines the racial hierarchy in America as a caste system, not unlike systems of oppression in India and in Nazi Germany that have enforced dynamics of superiority and inferiority based on characteristics other than race.“We call everything racism.

The upcoming Gandhi streaming series has gone into production in Gujarat, India.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pitch International have signed a package of rights that will see them broadcast live international cricket hosted in India on its linear and digital platforms, TNT Sports and Discovery+, for the next five years.

Naman Ramachandran A screening of Isabel Herguera‘s San Sebastian winner “Sultana’s Dream” will kickstart the inaugural edition of AniMela, India’s first-ever international festival for animation, VFX, XR, gaming and comics, in Mumbai. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Herguera, alongside her Spanish and Indian crew, including Indian animation expert Upamanyu Bhattacharyya.