News Broadcasting
Buena Vista partners with Fujisankei Commns Intl to produce reality game show for US
MUMBAI: Buena Vista Productions (BVP) has partnered with Fujisankei Communications International to develop and produce the mega-hit Japanese reality game show Run for Money for US and international markets. Reality entertainment veteran Scott Messick has been roped in as executive producer for the show.
“The current marketplace calls for shows that will be talked about, and ‘Run for Money’ makes a lot of noise,” said BVP executive vice president Gwynne Thomas. “It is a huge spectacle in a high-energy environment with lots at stake. We are always looking for long-living franchises, and believe ‘Run for Money’ will be just that.”
Run for Money, was originally broadcast on Fujisankei Communications’ corporate parent Fuji Television. It is a high-tech game of hide-and-seek featuring celebrities on the run from a pack of menacing “hunters.” Broadcast in Japan in 2004 and 2006 as a series of late-night specials, the show became a ratings juggernaut in just three airings, informs an official release.
The show will be licensed to international broadcasters as the original BVP-produced series and a format by Buena Vista International Television.
Fujisankei Communications executive producer Akifumi Takuma said, “We are thrilled with this co-production deal with BVP for one of our top-rated formats. It will further strengthen and expand our long-standing relationship with the Disney Media Networks that ranges from ABC News to content deals with ESPN.”
Four-time Emmy Award winner Scott Messick has been tapped as executive producer of Run for Money. Messick currently serves as president of Mess Media, with current productions including Pros vs. Joes for Spike TV, Nascar Drivers 360 for FX, Madden Nation for ESPN, and Fight Girls, a two-hour reality-film for Oxygen Network, adds the release.
Messick has produced and directed a number of shows for broadcast and cable, including the 2002/2003 Fox series Boot Camp and Bachelorettes in Alaska. He also served as director and supervising producer of the inaugural season of the primetime hit Survivor.
“Scott is a proven innovator in the reality genre. With a director’s eye and masterful storytelling skills, he is ideal for this high drama, big event format,” said Thomas.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
