English Entertainment
Cherry Lu and Kelvin Ko are new sales managers at Keshet International
MUMBAI: Keshet International (KI) has hired Cherry Lu and Kelvin Ko as new sales managers taking advantage of the company’s momentum in recent months which has seen it close deals in China, India, Vietnam and Thailand. . The two will report to KI’s Asia head Gary Pudney.
Talking about the hires, Pudney said, “We are very pleased to welcome Cherry and Kelvin on board as we continue to grow our operations in Asia. Their dynamic experience and understanding of the region’s rich content industry makes us well-positioned to further build on our success.”
Lu was previously head of International projects at Beijing Century Media, leading her to work on the Chinese edition of KI’sinteractive talent show Rising Star. She was responsible for coordinating international TV format acquisitions and productions. She brings her wealth of experience working with local Chinese broadcasters and her understanding of the local TV IP trade market to her new role. Based in Beijing, Lu will champion the KI catalogue and identify commercial opportunities for acquisitions and co-development deals across the region including China, Taiwan and Mongolia.
Ko has over 15 years of content, sales and distribution experience and was previously TV Sales manager at Hit Entertainment, part of the Mattel Group. Based in Hong Kong, he will leverage his experience and strong relationships with Asian broadcasters, distributors and digital platforms to support and grow KI’s business across Asia including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
KI has also licensed a number of its hit formats and premium dramas across Asia and has also announced the Indian remake of its drama format, Prisoners of War with Star Plus.
The second 12 episode season of its children’s singing format Master Class, produced locally by 3C Media, has just finished airing on Beijing Satellite TV and Sichuan Satellite TV. KI Asia has also closed deals for the show in Vietnam (TTN Media Corp.), its branded entertainment car game show Trade Upin China (CCTV-2) and its original variety game show Who’s On Top in Indonesia (RCTI). RCTI is also home to series two of KI’s interactive talent show Rising Star which will air this Winter.
The production house is actively acquiring content from the region and staffing up its local operations.
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
