Film Production
Turner International hires Ricky Ow as Marcopoto’s replacement
MUMBAI: Turner International’s Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific has been beset with some bad news or the other emerging from it over the past couple of years. Restructuring, layoffs and the sudden stepping down of its long serving boss Steve Marcopoto earlier this year all caught the headlines.
A hunt for his successor was on, the company had stated at the time of Marcopoto’s announcement.
The good news now is that the company has announced his replacement. And it is international television executive Ricky Ow who will be joining Turner International as President of Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific effective January 2014. The announcement was made by Gerhard Zeiler, President of Turner Broadcasting System International.
Most recently Executive Vice President & General Manager for Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks Asia, Ow will lead Turner International’s portfolio in the Asia Pacific region, based in Hong Kong.
As President of Turner APAC, Ow will have executive oversight for all entertainment and kids networks, the digital and media services offered, the distribution of CNN’s services in that region, and all licensing and merchandising activity in APAC.
“We are delighted that Ricky is joining us and look forward to the leadership and wealth of international media experience he will bring to one of the most strategically important areas of Turner International,” said Zeiler in a press release. He continued: “His vast experience in the region, his successes in launching and establishing channel brands both locally and regionally, his experience in local content production, as well as his deep understanding of sales and marketing, make him the ideal choice to lead our business in the Asia Pacific region into the next stage of growth. Looking with fresh eyes at our business as a true leader, he will be a strong addition to Turner International. We all look forward to working with him to extend our core brands and build international scale.”
“I am very excited to join Turner and it is an honour to work with Gerhard and the team that has built some of the most valuable media brands in the world including CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network, Pogo and Turner Classic Movies,” said Ow. “This is an opportunity to leverage on our incredible heritage of creativity and innovation to grow a dynamic portfolio of iconic brands, to develop new ventures and to strengthen relevance and value for our viewers, partners and the business community.”
Ow joins Turner after a 14-year career at Sony Pictures, most recently as Executive Vice President & General Manager for Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks Asia. In that role, Ow was responsible for overseeing the networks business across Asia as well as developing new channel opportunities in the region. He also had oversight of SPT’s two Korean joint ventures, AXN Korea and Animax Korea. Prior, Ow was the Senior Vice President & General Manager, Networks Asia, overseeing the company’s channel brands, including AXN India and Animax India. He joined SPT in 1999 as Head of Sales and Marketing. Under his leadership, AXN became the leading English language general entertainment channel in Asia while SPT Networks Asia grew into a bouquet of entertainment brands including “One”, the leading Asian language channel in Southeast Asia. Additionally, Ow has led SPT’s networks in Asia to pioneer various award-winning pan-regional entertainment productions. Prior to joining SPT, Ow held positions at SBC Enterprises (now Mediacorp TV), Asia Business News, and CNBC.
Film Production
Arka Mediaworks onboards 88 Pictures as animation studio partner on ‘The Eternal War – Part 1’
Arka Mediaworks announces that 88 Pictures, the acclaimed animation and visual storytelling studio known for its cutting-edge CGI and cinematic artistry, is on board as the animation partner for the highly anticipated Baahubali: The Eternal War, a groundbreaking two-part 3D animated feature film set in the globally beloved Baahubali universe.
Baahubali: The Eternal War represents a bold new chapter in the Baahubali saga envisioned for national and international audiences and crafted with the ambition of delivering one of India’s most ambitious and globally benchmarked animation projects to date.
88 Pictures will execute the animation production, bringing to life the film’s richly detailed worlds, epic battle sequences, and larger-than-life characters with its signature blend of artistic vision, performance-driven animation, and advanced production pipelines. Working closely with the film’s creative leadership and technical partners, the studio aims to set new benchmarks in animation quality, cinematic storytelling, and global scalability.
This animated epic follows the successful re-release of Baahubali: The Epic (the combined theatrical version of the original live-action films) on 31 October 2025 across India and the USA. During the film’s interval, legendary creator and director S.S. Rajamouli (Baahubali 1 & 2, RRR) stunned audiences with a surprise teaser for The Eternal War – Part 1. The video immediately went viral, garnering widespread national and international acclaim across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for its ambitious visual style and scale.
Produced by Arka Mediaworks and led by co-founder and CEO Shobu Yarlagadda – producer of the iconic Baahubali duology, The Eternal War brings together fantastic storytelling and cutting-edge animation.. The film is directed and written by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla (Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Star Wars: Visions – “The Bandits of Golak”) and screenplay by Scott Mosier (The Grinch). Mihira Visual Labs, the studio co-founded by Yarlagadda anchors the film’s animation, visual development, and execution.
The partnership with 88 Pictures brings significant pedigree to the project; the studio is well-regarded for its work on high-profile international titles including DreamWorks’ series Trollhunters, the HBO Max original series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Disney’s animated short An Almost Christmas Story to name a few.
Yarlagadda shared, “We are happy to onboard 88 Pictures as the animation studio partner for our prestigious and most expensive animated film from India. We believe that their expertise and capabilities will allow us to produce a first-of-its-kind, world-class animated feature film from India.”
88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde said, “Baahubali changed the way cinema is perceived and became a defining milestone that turned the tide for Indian live-action filmmaking. Expanding the franchise into an entirely new universe—at a never-seen, never-done scale—through an animated feature created in India for a global audience is set to redefine how the world views Indian animation. We are truly thrilled to be part of this landmark project and to bring it to life under the visionary direction of Ishan Shukla, guided by the experience and leadership of acclaimed producer Shobu Yarlagadda.”
Shukla expressed, “Eternal War requires a level of visual and emotional precision that can only come from teams who truly understand both craft and intent. Working with 88 Pictures, alongside Mihira Visual Labs, has been a deeply collaborative experience. This association brings together technical excellence and creative sensitivity, enabling us to translate an ambitious vision into a compelling cinematic reality.”
Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is scheduled for release in 2027
