English Entertainment
Sony AXN scripts deal with Pinewood; buys stake in SVOD service Hopster
MUMBAI: Folks at Sony Pictures Television (SPT) are in a celebratory mood. Not only has it signed a six-series deal with Pinewood Television but has also acquired a minority stake in the London-based video subscription service for kids content – Hopster.
With its partnership with Pinewood, Sony plans to develop and produce shows for their English entertainment channel AXN. The channel will carry the resulting drama originals across Asia, Australasia, Europe and Latin America. Co-financed by the two ventures, the creative director Helen Gregory will lead the initiative. The drama deal was brokered by SPT Networks (SPTN) executive VP, programming and production, Marie Jacobson, and Pinewood Television director Peter Gerwe.
Jacobson said that they were looking for alternative paths to expand original series development, and Pinewood TV made for ideal partners. She said she was looking forward to developing projects that play both, in the UK and on our channels around the world.
As for their investment in the digital service, the financial details weren’t disclosed. But, with this, Sony will become a strategic equity investor and take a seat on the company’s board. SPT Western Europe EVP Kate Marsh said that investing on this platform will offer an advantage to the entire network in this rapidly growing subscription led kids space. Additionally, this deal will also provide an opportunity to the network for its expansion in the on-demand services.
Hopster provides service for the preschool crowd at a cost of $4.99 per month and is available on iPad, Android and selects TV-connected devices. The company claims to have more than 800,000 users and aims to differentiate itself from the competition by offering videos, TV shows and interactive content. Kids can also use the app to play learning games and listen to nursery rhymes. The platform also makes it possible for parents to download shows for their kids for offline viewing.
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.
