Hollywood
‘Jurassic Park’ – monster movie rakes in mammoth ratings
Jurassic Park, the 1994 record busting Spielberg epic that aired on Star Movies in the last week of March, has notched ratings that would make a Kyunkii… green with envy.
According to figures put out by AC Nielsen’s TAM ratings, a small city like Cochin has garnered TVRs of 8.18 ( C&S 15-44 yrs), beating Chennai (6.03), Bangalore (3.88), Delhi (2.75) and Mumbai (3.76).
The figures have beaten the record set by Mummy, that aired on HBO in January this year. Mummy had drawn a TVR of 2.6 (Intam) and 2.88 (TAM). The film had made it to the top 100 shows of the week, setting a record of sorts. With a TVR of 2.98 according to Intam, Jurassic Park has managed to sneak ahead. The data collected is for all C&S homes in all 24 panels. The six metros and nine markets monitored by TAM have thrown up TVRs of over 3.4 for the C&S 4+ category.
It still rules viewers’ imagination – Jurassic Park continues to appeal to audiences across the country
Figures put out by Intam are equally gushy. According to the agency, Chennai drew the highest viewership, with TVRs of 6.17 (TG C&S 4+), while Mumbai managed TVRs of 4.57. Bangalore with 4.51 and Delhi with 4.52 followed. One million plus towns in Maharashtra too had a combined TVR of 4.35 while those in Kerala had a figure of 5.63. Even small towns in Andhra Pradesh (1,00,000 to 5,00,000 population) have notched up TVRs of 0.59, the lowest managed by the movie.
Mummy was touted as HBO’s first big movie of the year and was surrounded by a lot of on and off air promotional activity. Star too had spared no efforts in promoting the telecast of Jurassic Park, which had a successful run in theatres nearly eight years ago. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that premiered on AXN in December 2001 earned a rating of 1.2 among Indian cable AB viewers in the top five metros, making it the top programme on international channels between 1 and 29 December, according to AXN Asia MD Todd Miller. None of these movies has however been able to break Titanic’s record score of 8.2 (TAM data for nine main cities 4+) when the movie premiered on Star Movies on 31 December 1999.
Hollywood
UK watchdog CMA to probe Warner Bros-Paramount merger deal
Phase 1 review to assess competition risks as industry voices opposition
LONDON: The Competition and Markets Authority is set to launch a preliminary investigation into the proposed $110 billion merger between Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount, marking the first formal regulatory step in assessing the deal’s impact on competition.
The UK watchdog has initiated a consultation process with industry stakeholders, inviting comments until April 27. This phase, known as a Phase 1 review, will evaluate whether the merger could harm competition across the film and television sectors, both of which play a significant role in the UK economy.
“We expect to launch our phase 1 investigation in the coming weeks,” said Competition and Markets Authority spokesperson, in an emailed statement to Reuters. “The film and TV industries contribute billions to our economy, so it’s important we assess whether deals between studios may harm competition.”
The proposed transaction, which also involves Skydance Media, would bring together two of Hollywood’s largest studios, combining extensive content libraries and potentially reshaping the global entertainment landscape.
Following the initial assessment, the regulator will decide whether to escalate the matter to a more detailed Phase 2 investigation, which typically involves deeper scrutiny of market dynamics and competitive risks.
The deal is already facing growing resistance from within the creative community. More than 1,000 industry professionals, including Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo and Ben Stiller, have publicly opposed the merger, warning it could reduce opportunities, limit storytelling diversity and place further strain on an industry still adjusting to rapid change.
As regulators begin to weigh the implications, the proposed merger is shaping up to be a defining test of how far consolidation can go in a media industry already in flux.
