English Entertainment
In Singapore, Star World’s ‘American Idol’ beats all
MUMBAI: Star World’s primetime premiere of American Idol propelled the channel to become the No.1 cable channel in Singapore on 19 January (4+ with cable, TNS Peoplemeter Singapore, 9 pm – 10 pm).
The premiere of the US talent contest was also the most popular programme on Star World since the ratings survey began in 2001.
The primetime telecast attained 2.8 TVRs and 8.7 per cent channel share for all cable viewers during 9 pm – 10 pm on 19 January.
In addition, the new American Idol also debuted to astounding success on Fox in the US with 33.5 million viewers tuning in, surpassing the combined viewership of the other five competing networks in the country during the broadcast.
The latest season of American Idol has renowned judges like Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, along with a host of celebrity judges, who go through more than 100,000 auditions of aspiring popstars in search of the one and only American Idol.
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.
