Fiction
CINTAA urges producers to follow Covid SOPs, says lapse could impact the whole unit
KERALA: The Cine and Television Actors’ Association (CINTAA) has urged producers to follow standard operating procedures (SOP) during the shooting and production stages to protect actors from Covid-19. The request from CINTAA comes at a time when several actors have tested positive for Covid, and some of them have even succumbed to the deadly virus.
In an open letter on Facebook, CINTAA has appealed to production houses and producers to follow all health and safety protocols and made it clear that even minor negligence could have a severe impact on the entire unit.
Actors succumbing to Covid-19
Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, several actors in the Indian entertainment industry have fallen victim to Covid. Some of the noted actors who lost their lives due to Covid-related complications include veteran Bollywood actress Shripradha, Marathi actor Abhilasha Patil, and veteran Punjabi actor Satish Kaul, who had featured in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat.
Apart from these artists who lost their lives after battling the fatal infection, several top Bollywood stars like Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, Aamir Khan, and R Madhavan also tested Covid positive in recent weeks.
With Covid cases on the rise among the acting fraternity, CINTAA has aired its concerns over their safety, as they are at a higher risk of contracting the virus due to regular traveling.
SOPs to protect artists from Covid infection
The association urged producers to formulate SOPs by keeping the transmissibility of the new Covid variant in mind, which might show negative in the first RT-PCR and would mean isolating the cast and crew before and after the shoot.
Citing the example of the IPL bio bubble failure, CINTA predicted that the secure bubble maintained in television shooting sets may be breached soon.
“It is wonderful that TV shoots are shooting in a bubble, with necessary precautions, but we are worried that a secure bio bubble of the IPL has been breached, it will not take long for this disaster to strike TV shoots. There is a traffic of actors travelling to and from shoots, using flights and airports and the danger of infection is tenfold,” said a CINTAA spokesperson in a recent press release.
Request for 30-day payment
CINTAA has also requested film and TV showrunners to follow the 30-day mode of payment until the end of the pandemic.
“With medical costs sky-rocketing, it is only prudent that expenses are completely covered with no burden to our members,” added the spokesperson.
The association has also demanded an explanation from producers who have replaced actors who were unwilling to take part in shoots due to the second Covid wave. Seeking compensation from producers, CINTAA asked who will be responsible if an actor contracts the lethal disease.
“We are appealing to all the stakeholders that we want to know on whom does the moral responsibility lie: If the actor contracts Covid who is going to take care of the entire hospital/medical expenses, the insurance, injury cover, death cover, etc. Is the broadcaster taking the onus, studio taking the onus, or the producer association or individual producer is taking the onus, that is what we wish to know,” it questioned, adding that actors are also no less than frontline workers.
Fiction
Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
