MAM
Viacom-Blockbuster head for splitsville
MUMBAI: Viacom and Blockbuster have jointly announced terms of separation. The divestiture is to be achieved through split-off exchange offer to Viacom stockholders.
The registration statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, yesterday.
Prior to the commencement of the exchange offer, Blockbuster anticipates paying a pro rata special cash distribution of $5 per share, or a total of approximately $905 million based on the number of shares currently outstanding, to all stockholders, including Viacom.
According to an official release, as the owner of approximately 81.5 per cent of Blockbuster’s outstanding shares, Viacom anticipates receiving a cash payment of $738 million in the distribution free of income taxes.
JPMorgan, Citigroup and Credit Suisse First Boston have offered Blockbuster a financing commitment for a new $1.45 billion credit facility subject to customary conditions. It will be used to finance the special distribution and replace Blockbuster’s current revolving credit facility.
Viacom expects the divestiture to be completed in the third quarter of 2004, says the release.
A special committee of independent directors of Blockbuster has unanimously recommended the credit facility, payment of a $5 per share cash distribution (subject to certain conditions), certain inter-company arrangements and the filing of the Blockbuster registration statement. In addition, both the Viacom and Blockbuster boards have approved the exchange offer and the inter-company arrangements, informs the release.
According to Viacom chairman and chief executive officer Sumner Redstone, “Viacom’s separation from Blockbuster is a major event that begins a new chapter in the Viacom growth story and brings significant advantages for both companies as we pursue our separate paths to success. Following the split-off, Viacom will devote all its energies and resources into expanding in core areas, particularly the content creation engines that we believe will drive our future performance. The split-off, which is also expected to result in a reduction of Viacom’s outstanding shares, enables Blockbuster to focus on its mission to become a specialty retailer of home entertainment.”
While Blockbuster’s chairman and CEO John Antioco offered, “We are pleased to be moving forward with our split-off from Viacom, and we believe that by becoming a separate company we will be better able to pursue our retailing strategy. Additionally, we believe issuing a special cash distribution will offer value to our stockholders without inhibiting us from executing our business plan.”
The exchange offer will provide Viacom stockholders with the opportunity to exchange, on a tax-free basis, some or all of their shares of Viacom Class A or Class B common stock for shares of Blockbuster Class A and Class B common stock held by Viacom. The exchange ratio for the exchange offer will be set prior to the commencement of the exchange offer, informs the release.
Viacom currently owns 144 million shares of Blockbuster Class B common stock. Viacom has agreed to ensure the tax-free nature of the exchange offer and convert a portion of these shares of Blockbuster Class B common stock, on a one-for-one basis, into shares of Blockbuster Class A common stock prior to the completion of the exchange offer.
As a result of this conversion, the outstanding Blockbuster common stock after completion of the exchange offer is currently expected to consist of approximately 60 per cent Blockbuster Class A common stock and 40 per cent Blockbuster Class B common stock. After the transaction is completed, the number of votes per share of Blockbuster Class B common stock will be reduced from five votes per share to two votes per share, informs the release.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
