News Broadcasting
Saban Entertainment Group brings a Virtual Studio product to Mipcom
MUMBAI: Saban Entertainment Group (SEG) has launched a new venture dedicated to incubating, developing and marketing family entertainment properties.
The new virtual studio will unveil its first project, Hollywood Star Dogs, at the upcoming television trade event Mipcom in Cannes, France. The event takes place from 9-13 October 2006
Led by Haim Saban and Saban Capital Group chief creative officer, Joel Andryc, the new venture will leverage the executives’ access to world-class financial and creative resources, including industry-leading producers, writers, artists, production houses and grass roots marketers, to create a virtual studio that employs targeted freelance teams for every project.
The new venture will focus on identifying and creating intellectual properties and brands capable of being distributed across numerous multi-media platforms and connecting with audiences across a variety of entertainment genres, with a particular focus on new media.
Haim Saban said, “I am thrilled to return to my roots and focus on developing media properties for children and families. The SEG team’s extensive background in children’s entertainment gives us unique expertise in recognizing breakthrough creative content. We will bring together specialized freelance talent to help develop, brand and promote each project. This strategy will enable us to create a best-in-class studio that is custom tailored for the needs of each individual project.”
Andryc said, “In today’s new media environment, we plan to capitalize on cutting-edge interactive technologies to engage the youth market. Our audience will discover and experience unique characters and story content through the media outlet they prefer; be it broadcast, cable, VOD, broadband/internet, direct-to-home-video, videogames or mobile devices.”
For their first virtual studio project, SEG has partnered with Holly Goldberg Sloan. Hollywood Star Dogs features a troupe of live-action talking dogs portraying classic fairy tales.
Andryc ads, “We were instantly drawn to Hollywood Star Dogs because of the property’s innovative take on classic literature. With its unique use of live animals and advanced CGI animation to tell timeless tales and other stories, it is a high quality, distinctive property that lends itself to number of distribution outlets. It has been a pleasure to work with Holly. She is a great creative talent and together we are confident that we can build Hollywood Star Dogs into a successful entertainment franchise and an enduring evergreen brand.”
As part of its new virtual studio, SEG has also entered into a development deal with Tiny Island Animation, a Singapore-based animation studio led by David Kwok, a veteran leader in the Singapore animation industry. SEG will provide development resources to Tiny Island Animation, which focuses on producing computer-generated entertainment for international television audiences. A comedic CGI animated series is already currently in development and is expected to make its debut in 2007.
SEG’s virtual studio, which will focus on developing a limited number of projects at any given time, is currently in the advanced stages of negotiation and/or development of several other properties, which will be announced shortly.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
