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ESS ropes in five sponsors for English Premier League
MUMBAI: ESPN STAR Sports kicked off the 2005/2006 season of the English Premier League (EPL) with five of Asia’s most recognizable brands as broadcast sponsors of its coverage of the League.
Tiger, Toshiba and Toyota have returned as sponsors for another exciting season of Asia’s most popular TV sport, while Malaysia Airlines comes on board with its first broadcast sponsorship agreement on ESS, stated an official release.
All four brands enjoy regional association with the 2005/2006 season of the English Premier League through a number of multi-level integrated benefits including on-air and online entitlements as well as marketing benefits around all ‘live’ matches and repeats on ESPN and STAR Sports.
In addition, mobile communications provider Celcom has returned for a third year as the broadcast sponsor of ESPN STAR Sports’ EPL coverage in Malaysia on Astro, the release adds.
Says ESPN STAR Sports VP ad sales Charles Less, ” We are delighted to have Tiger, Toshiba, Toyota and Celcom back this season and welcome Malaysia Airlines on board as broadcast sponsors of our coverage of the English Premier League. Our creative advertising solutions, extensive reach and platform provide an excellent vehicle for them to reach out to their audience. We look forward to helping them achieve that and to bringing the excitement of the League to diverse audiences in a fun, interactive and entertaining way.”
Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd Group Commercial director Les Buckley said, “As an ardent football supporter, Tiger Beer is delighted to be sponsoring yet another season of EPL broadcasts. We know how passionate our customers are about EPL football, and our partnership with this premium, international competition serves as an ideal platform for Tiger Beer to stay connected with the millions of fans in the region. Launching this season across the region we will also have Tiger FC, a football club for Tiger Beer drinkers where members can look forward to catching the best in EPL football action at the outdoor viewing parties to be brought to them exclusively by Tiger Beer.”
Toshiba Singapore MD Akio Ozaka said, “Toshiba strives to improve the viewing experience of people watching the exciting live broadcasts of Premier League games throughout the season by offering the very best picture quality in our new flat panel TV displays. As an international brand, we see this as a wonderful opportunity to enhance our brand further and ESPN STAR Sports gives us the platform to do just that.”
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Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
