Warner Bros. Discovery, Meta, Prime Video, Viacom18 India Chiefs Talk Growth Plans at FICCI Frames Conference

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video is bullish about the large, diverse and volatile Asian streaming market, driven by growth in India and Japan, the streamer’s top executives responsible for the region have said. The region’s online video component, excluding China, where international streamers cannot be present, is projected to grow at 9.2%, to reach $46 billion by 2028, according to a study from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia.

As David Newlyn Gale reached his mid-80s, he lived in his own home, but not in the most resplendent conditions. He cohabitated with an untold number of mice in a hoarder’s horror of detritus, a place chocked with tins of food that probably fell off store shelves around World War II.

India has driven more subscribers to Amazon than any other country bar the U.S. over recent years, according Head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios Mike Hopkins.

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video has unveiled a 69-title 2024 slate of new and returning series and original and licensed films. The slate was revealed at a star-studded event in Mumbai on Tuesday hosted by Indian media personality Karan Johar. Amazon executives present at the event included Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, Kelly Day, VP Prime Video International, ⁠James Farrell, VP, international originals, Gaurav Gandhi, VP, APAC and MENA, Sushant Sreeram, country director, India, Aparna Purohit, head of originals, India and Southeast Asia, Manish Menghani, director, content licensing, India, and Nikhil Madhok, head of Hindi-language, India.

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video has revealed a title and the extended cast for the Indian instalment of “Citadel,” the espionage action series created by the Russo brothers. The Indian series within the “Citadel” universe will be called “Citadel: Honey Bunny.” As previously announced, Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu will lead the cast. Prabhu will play Honey and Dhawan portray Bunny.

Naman Ramachandran Onir, one of a handful of out and proud Indian filmmakers, is speaking out about the current scenario for LGBTQ filmmakers in the country. “There are a lot of non-Indian queer films and series available on streaming and also a lot of queer short films and reel videos being made across the country. Having said that, I feel the mainstream industry and streaming platforms when it comes to queer content are mostly still taking baby steps, and also looking at our stories from a very heteronormative gaze,” Onir told Variety.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Paramount Global has sold its 13% ownership stake in TV and streaming company Viacom18 to Reliance Industries for $517 million. Reliance was already the majority owner of Viacom18. The pact comes two weeks after Disney and Reliance Industries announced a blockbuster $8.5 billion deal merging their massive Indian TV and streaming businesses.

Paramount Global has sold its 13% equity interest in Viacom18 Media to Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries for the equivalent $517 million.

If Vladimir Putin was watching the Academy Awards on Sunday night from his dacha on the Black Sea, his mood may have been blackened by the Best Documentary Feature category. As Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast had predicted, the Oscar went to , Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing film about the early days of Russia’s brutal siege of the Ukrainian port city. 

Naman Ramachandran Oscar, BAFTA and Grammy-winning composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) is set to release 16 new compositions with the Dubai-based Firdaus Orchestra. Firdaus Orchestra is an all-woman ensemble of 50 musicians from 23 Arab countries, mentored by the composer.

Naman Ramachandran India’s B62 Studios has an early 2024 hit with February release “Article 370,” and also has an ambitious slate lined up with plans for expanding into eastern Asia. B62 was launched by the brothers Dhar — Lokesh and Aditya — and is named after their address in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar neighborhood, where they grew up watching the best of Bollywood alongside arthouse cinema. Lokesh Dhar went on to a flourishing career in film marketing, distribution and syndication before turning to producing, while Aditya Dhar directed military action film “Uri: The Surgical Strike,” one of the biggest Indian box office hits of 2019.

Naman Ramachandran India premieres of France’s “The Taste of Things” and Korea’s “Exhuma” will open and close respectively the first edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival. Tran Anh Hung won best director at Cannes 2023 for “The Taste of Things,” which was subsequently submitted as France’s official entry to the Oscars’ international feature category.

Naman Ramachandran Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Indian media giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, will now work directly with the revenue department of the company’s broadcast business. Ashish Sehgal, chief growth officer, advertisement revenue, will now directly report into Goenka. Rahul Johri, who led the revenue and monetization vertical, has stepped down after a three-year stint with Zee.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor A new Los Angeles film festival featuring independent films, documentaries and artist talks is set for April 4-7 at venues in Chinatown, Eagle Rock and Filipinotown. The Los Angeles Festival of Movies was launched by Micah Gottlieb and Sarah Winshall, and will open April 4 with Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow.” Closing night film is Conner O’Malley and Danny Scharar’s “Rap World” on April 7. Both films screen at Vidiots.

Naman Ramachandran The Indian media and entertainment industry grew 8% in 2023 to reach a value of $27.9 billion, according to the annual EY report released during the ongoing Frames conference in Mumbai, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The growth was 21% above its pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The report collates data from television, digital media, film, animation and VFX, out of home media, live events, music, radio, online gaming and print.

Busan Names Asian Contents & Film Market Director

Room to Read, a global education nonprofit tackling illiteracy and gender inequality, announced a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery for the premiere of , the first nonprofit-led animation and live-action film project to promote gender equality through the stories of young women around the world.

$10 billion Sony-ZEE merger plans and late February’s confirmation that Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (which incorporates Viacom18 and streamer JioCinema) is to tie up most of Disney’s streaming and pay-TV businesses in an $8.5 billion deal, Indian media is set to gain a new market leader. For local and international operators in the world’s most populous nation, the consequences of those tectonic shifts extend across streaming, pay-TV, channels, advertising, sports and content.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has revealed its upcoming 2024 Indian slate and Monika Shergill, VP, content has outlined the streamer’s commissioning philosophy and strategy for the country. New titles on the slate include: Luv Ranjan comedy film “Wild Wild Punjab”; Neeraj Pandey heist film “Sikandar Ka Muqaddar”; scripted Anubhav Sinha thriller series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack”; Kapil Sharma’s unscripted comedy series “The Great Indian Kapil Show”; and cricket themed docu-series “The Greatest Rivalry – India vs Pakistan,” featuring top Indian and Pakistani cricketers.

Walt Disney Company and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries have merged their massive Indian TV and streaming businesses, ending months of speculation. As per the agreement, Reliance’s Viacom18 is merging with Disney’s Star India. The deal is estimated to be worth $8.5 billion on a ‘post-money basis,’ the companies said.