English Entertainment
China revises norms for ‘foreign’ TV content producers
MUMBAI: Indian companies can expand their horizons in Asia now. In a first-of-its-kind decision, the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft) has relaxed controls on TV software production firms and invited private producers to showcase content independently.
Sarft officials have approved the creation of competition for content producing over and above the 155 provincial and national state-run television companies that have a monopoly at present.
Earlier, private and global TV production houses had to pay fees to the state run “partner” – something similar to the Indian system of paying telecast fees – but the state run “partner” contribution was minimal (in India, DD charges telecast fees for airing shows of private producers).
Now, global companies don’t necessarily need to have a local Chinese partner; will be allowed to make a TV show independently and own copyright too. The recently announced concessions, says media analysts, are bound to create cost savings for that operate in China.
However, the content produced will be subject to stringent censorship norms specified by the Chinese government.
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.
