MAM
FremantleMedia signs distribution deal with Sundance Channel
MUMBAI: Fremantle International Distribution (FID), the distribution arm of global production company FremantleMedia, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to distribute Sundance Channel’s original programmes internationally.
Sundance Channel airs feature films, shorts, documentaries, international cinema and original programmes. Among the programs currently available from FID for 2006 are documentary series Iconoclasts. It deals with innovative and provocative creative leaders – in fields ranging from fashion to food, design, music and technology – are seen through the eyes of a fan and admirer, in this case another leading force from another creative arena.
Each episode presents a unique pairing: actor Samuel Jackson on basketball legend Bill Russell; designer Tom Ford on artist Jeff Koons; movie producer Brian Grazer on media mogul Sumner Redstone; actor Renée Zellweger on CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour; chef and restaurateur Mario Batali on musician Michael Stipe; actor, director and Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford on actor, philanthropist and entrepreneur Paul Newman.
Meanwhile TransGeneration, explores the lives and struggles of a group of transgender college students. Through the stories of four students on four different campuses, along with their friends, families and communities, the series highlights a growing movement among young people towards a new kind of sexual/gender identity, and the growing debates on everything from housing and sports teams to dormitory bathrooms and medical services.
Tanner On Tanner is a four-part dramatic series from Garry Trudeau and Robert Altman that picks up on the characters and themes of Trudeau and Altman’s groundbreaking 1988 series Tanner ’88.
Sundance Channel is also set to air The Hill, an original documentary series that will offer a glimpse into the highly charged world of congressional politics by following the personal and professional lives of Capitol Hill staffers, in fall 2006.
The package of shows also includes Festival Dailies. This daily programme looks at the films and filmmakers of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
FID MD David Ellender says, “Sundance Channel is renowned for its innovative and thought-provoking programs and we’re extremely excited to be able to introduce them to international audiences”.
Sundance Channel executive VP, programming and marketing Laura Michalchyshyn says, “We are positive that our original programs will have tremendous international appeal and we believe that Fremantle International Distribution has the reputation and global network to maximise their potential.”
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
