iWorld
GRB Media Ranch announces over 330 hours of acquisitions ahead of MIPCOM
Mumbai: GRB Media Ranch co-principals, Gary R. Benz and Sophie Ferron announced the acquisition of over 330 hours of new programs for their new international distribution catalog, to be offered at MIPCOM. The catalog features 300+ hours from the US network that embraces the vast spectrum of all things paranormal – The Dark Zone – as well as factual crime, a Lebron James and Maverick Carter executive-produced documentary, two new Nacelle factual titles, and a TV movie thriller. Their MIPCOM Stand is # R7. A16.
The Dark Zone paranormal programs consist of 10 series including Ghost Ship: The Queen Mary Experiment; Lizzie Borden Murder House; The Conjuring House: A Homecoming; The Paranormal Files; Paranormal Quest; The Witching Hour, featuring never-before-seen footage of well-known paranormal incidents.
Being presented at the market, along with The Dark Zone portfolio:
– Who is Stan Smith? The Sole of a Champion: The iconic shoe bearing the name and face of tennis legend Stan Smith graces the feet of everyone from John Lennon to Jay-Z, but many have no clue who he is. From executive producers LeBron James and Maverick Carter, go on a lyrical adventure through time and pop culture, charting the extraordinary life of Stan Smith, the tennis champion turned sneaker icon and humanitarian.
– scripted true crime series about what happens when friendships turn deadly: I Killed my BFF as well as a movie based on a trued story, I Killed my BFF: The Preacher’s Daughter
– a fictional thriller tv movie, Ruined, about a woman seeing a counselor to save her marriage. She is unaware that her therapist shares a secret past with her husband and is out for revenge. In this psychological thriller, no one can trust anyone, and someone may not survive.
– Paranormal doc: Aliens on the Moon: The Truth Exposed exploring Apollo 11 footage revealing possible alien presence.
– Anew titles from partner Nacelle: Icons Unearthed: James Bond about the exciting James Bond spy franchise
– Magnolia’s Hope – a documentary about Rett Syndrome, a debilitating disorder affecting live female births, and a family’s struggle to deal with this disease while the Covid pandemic is raging around them.
– Boy Boy: a humorous documentary series offering viewers an insider’s look into Montreal’s gay porn industry, a major hub on the international scene. Meet the actors, cult filmmakers, specialists in sex health, and models’ entourage revealing all the secrets about the porn star life.
Sophie Ferron stated, “GRB Media Ranch is thrilled to start our very first market as a JV with a broad variety of new programs – over 330 hours. We are offering a 360-degree approach with our factual, fiction, and format programming. Our motto at GRB Media Ranch is “…we’ve got stories”! And we certainly do, with over 5,000 hours in our catalog!”
Gary R. Benz added, “We will make our initial market appearance with a rich catalog and a large, strong team. It embodies what we contemplated when we created our joint venture.”
iWorld
Telcos push for unified rules as spam shifts to OTT platforms
Over 80 per cent fraud moves online, operators seek common framework.
MUMBAI: The spam may have left your phone network but it hasn’t left you alone. India’s telecom operators are once again dialling up the pressure for a unified regulatory framework, warning that fraud is rapidly migrating to internet-based platforms where oversight remains far looser. According to industry communication, a leading operator has written to multiple arms of the government including the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance arguing that tighter controls on traditional telecom networks are inadvertently pushing bad actors towards over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms.
The concern is not new, but the framing has sharpened. What was once an industry grievance is now being positioned as a consumer protection issue. Operators say that tackling spam in silos no longer works, as fraudsters seamlessly shift across platforms, exploiting regulatory gaps. The result: a moving target that traditional safeguards struggle to contain.
Executives point to a clear shift in fraud patterns. OTT platforms are increasingly being used for phishing links, impersonation scams and bulk unsolicited messaging, with industry estimates suggesting that over 80 per cent of spam activity has now migrated online. In this environment, the lines between telecom networks, messaging apps and financial fraud are blurring fast.
At the heart of the industry’s demand is a call for a technology-neutral regulatory framework, one that applies consistently across telecom and internet-based communication services. Operators argue that the absence of uniform safeguards, such as sender verification systems, robust spam filters and clearly defined accountability mechanisms, has created enforcement blind spots that fraudsters are quick to exploit.
The proposal is straightforward but far-reaching. Telcos are pushing for baseline anti-fraud measures across all communication platforms, alongside faster response systems and deeper coordination between ministries. Given the interconnected nature of telecom networks, digital platforms and financial systems, they argue that fragmented oversight only weakens the overall defence.
The broader issue is regulatory arbitrage, the ability of bad actors to hop between platforms based on which is least regulated at any given time. Without harmonised rules, operators say, efforts to curb fraud risk becoming a game of whack-a-mole.
As digital communication continues to expand, the debate is shifting from who regulates what to how consistently it is regulated. For now, telecom operators are making their case clear: in a world where spam travels freely, regulation cannot afford to stay fragmented.
