ITV

Tag: CBS Studios

  • Prime Video presents: Trailblazers, celebrates women of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios

    Prime Video presents: Trailblazers, celebrates women of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios

    Mumbai: The inaugural Prime Video presents: Trailblazers took place in London today, an event celebrating the women of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Hosted by Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke and Prime Video International VP Kelly Day, the showcase featured guest appearances from actors Priyanka-Chopra Jonas, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, directors Charlotte Brändström and Louise Hooper, and producers Amy Pascal, Sue Vertue and Lindsey Weber, at Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s South Bank Centre.

    Creative talent from both in front of and behind the cameras joined Salke and Day at the event, attended by industry guests and Prime Video female executives, including global heads of Amazon MGM Studios and regional Prime Video leaders. Hosted by broadcaster Clara Amfo, the event discussed global franchises, appealing to younger audiences, and the rise of action heroines. Participants included Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Octavia Spencer, the cast and directors of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and Bryce Dallas Howard. The event previewed international series and films like Citadel: Diana, The Devil’s Hour Season 2, Culpa Tuya, My Fault: London, La Virgen Roja, The Office Australia, and Pimpinero: Blood and Oil.

    During the live showcase, Jennifer Salke commented: “We’ve had a mission to be a destination for women all around the world, and we’re starting to see progress with that” and Kelly Day added “we’ve expanded the storytelling so much for women, and it’s brought so many new customers to the service and ignited a lot of passion for our female viewers.”

    As part of an on-stage fireside chat, Octavia Spencer said, “For me, there weren’t a lot of female executives. So, to see how vastly different the industry is, how many opportunities are made available to us, I think it’s imperative that we come into the industry with as much in our arsenal as we can give.”

    Commenting on the upcoming Australian Original adaption of The Office, Felicity Ward told Clara Amfo: “Ricky Gervais approved a female lead. He was very excited about a female lead” and on the importance of female commissioners, Laura Osma (Pimpinero: Blood and Oil) said “so many stories have been hidden for so long but now we can delve into them”.

    During a fireside conversation with Jennifer Salke, on what the industry is getting right, Priyanka Chopra Jonas said, “I was wanting to get out of the box and here with Amazon is where I got that, it takes huge courage to back local stories”

    “Women are at the core of our business – from our incredible actors, our inventive producers and our executive teams,” said Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke. “We also know that women around the world love to be moved by incredible storytelling and we look forward to bringing them all a compelling slate featuring some of the most talented women working both in front and behind the camera.”

    “As we look to grow Prime Video internationally, women will be central to driving that success,” added Day. “From the millions of viewers globally, to the women running the Prime Video and Studios teams in Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the US, to the women starring in and delivering our biggest shows and movies, Prime Video is being shaped by trailblazing women.”

    The following announcements were made at Prime Video presents: Trailblazers:

    . Greenlight: Prime Video announced a spinoff series, The Untitled Neagley Project, starring Maria Sten (Reacher, Swamp Thing). Created by co-showrunners and executive producers Nick Santora (Reacher, Prison Break) and Nicholas Wootton (Law & Order, Prison Break), and produced by Amazon MGM Studios, Skydance Television, and CBS Studios, the series will premiere on Prime Video in over 240 countries. It follows Frances Neagley, a private investigator, seeking justice after a friend’s suspicious death.

    . First-look clip: An exclusive clip from Citadel: Diana, the highly anticipated Italian series from the Citadel universe, was revealed. Starring Matilda De Angelis, the action sequence is set at the Cretto di Gibellina in Sicily. De Angelis performed most of her own stunts, with the series featuring approximately 850 stunts. The show premieres globally on 10 October.

    . First-look images: Images from the new UK Original movie My Fault: London, set to launch in 2025, were unveiled. Based on Mercedes Ron’s bestselling Culpables trilogy and following the success of Culpa Mia, it stars Asha Banks and Matthew Broome.

    . Trailer: The official trailer for Season 2 of The Devil’s Hour was introduced by Jessica Raine. Premiering globally on 18 October, the psychological thriller stars Peter Capaldi, Nikesh Patel, Phil Dunster, and new cast member Saffron Hocking.

    .  Skills: The £10 million Prime Video Pathway programme, launched in 2022, has seen 64 per cent of all places filled by women, including in traditionally male-dominated fields like Sound, Camera, and Lighting at the National Film and Television School Craft Academy.

  • AXN and CBS Studios lock multi-year television content deal

    AXN and CBS Studios lock multi-year television content deal

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) English entertainment channel in India, AXN has announced a multi-year content deal with CBS Studios International. The new deal gives AXN access to all content distributed by CBS, including exclusive rights to air some of the studios’ biggest existing television series, Hawaii Five-0 and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The deal will also give AXN the access to all new shows produced by CBS Television Studios.

     

    Commenting on this occasion MSM CEO NP Singh said, “This acquisition marks a memorable milestone in the journey of MSM. It has been our endeavour to create a differentiation for our viewers through product offering and innovations, both through our marketing and content novelties. The CBS deal allows us to more effectively build and deliver a rich library of content to our viewers, thereby strengthening the commitment of MSM to the Indian entertainment market.”

     

    Talking about the deal MSM English cluster head Saurabh Yagnik commented, “This deal with CBS Studios International has only strengthened our long-standing relationship with them. Increasing our brand presence and reach in key markets is a cornerstone of our growth strategy. Now, with the new deal, we are bringing some of the most cutting edge shows from the US. This deal is all set to strengthen the ever expanding bouquet of AXN programming.”

     

    CBS Studios International president of sales Barry Chamberlain added, “We are thrilled to expand our relationship with AXN India and deliver more of our world class programming to audiences across India and the subcontinent. We have an exciting slate of new and returning content that will be right at home on the channel.”

     

    CBS Studios International distributes some of the best long-running shows, like Blue Bloods, Survivor, Elementary, Beauty and the Beast, NCIS, Hawaii Five-0, among others. Hawaii Five-0 won the favourite new TV drama award at the 37th People’s Choice Awards. Last year, Lucy Liu, who stars as Joan Watson in Elementary, won Best Actress at the Teen Choice Awards and the Seoul International Drama Awards. 

     

    The Studio distributes some of the most exciting new series. Extant, starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry and from Amblin Television, is a mystery thriller about an astronaut trying to reconnect with her family when she returns after a year in space.  Her experiences in space lead to events that ultimately change the course of human history. And in Penny Dreadful, some of literature’s most famous characters – including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and iconic figures from the novel Dracula, all re-imagined in a whole new light – have become embroiled in Victorian London. The series stars Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton and Eva Green.

     

    This year’s line-up has shows including CSI: Cyber, a spin-off of the hit CSI franchise focused on the Cyber Crime Division of the FBI and NCIS: New Orleans, a sequel to the popular NCIS procedural set in the Big Easy. Other new CBS dramas include Madam Secretary, which stars Tea Leoni as the newly appointed secretary of state and Scorpion, which is about an eccentric genius and his team of brilliant misfits who help protect against high-tech threats of the modern age.

  • RTL-Reliance Broadcast terminate Big RTL Thrill joint venture

    RTL-Reliance Broadcast terminate Big RTL Thrill joint venture

    MUMBAI: First CBS exited from its three channel joint venture with the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL) late last year. Now the RTL Group and RBNL have decided not to continue with the joint venture that the two had set up to run the male-skewed action channel Big RTL Thrill.  RBNL has stepped in and bought out RTL’s holding as a consequence.

     
    RTL – owned by German media behemoth Bertelsmann –  had got into bed with RBNL in May 2011, with the Big RTL Thrill channel launching in November  2012. The content for the same had been acquired from international production majors such as FremantleMedia, Endemol, Red Bull, along with a library of international action films. Amongst the key shows which ran on the channel figured:  Fear Factor, Cobra 11, Criss Angel, Wipe Out and Baywatch.
     
    Just three years later, the two broke up with RBNL buying out the Luxembourg-based entertainment network’s holding. The transaction was completed in May.
     
    With the parting of ways, RBNL has dropped RTL from the channel’s name calling it simply Big Thrill. All the international content on Big Thrill will be dropped and replaced by locally produced programming as the licensing deals come to an end. Big Thrill will give company to the other RBNL  regional Big Magic channels which are targeted at Bihar, Jaharkand and Punjab.
     
    RTL sources acknowledged – in international media – the contribution of RBNL in understanding the Asian market. And they said that they would now be focusing on their Singapore-based partnership with CBS Studios International – RTL CBS Entertainment Network. The two got together in August 2013 to launch two thematic channels in English and local languages and distributed in up to 29 Asian markets including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

     

    The first channel named RTL CBS Entertainment rolled out last year with general entertainment hits such as RTL Group’s The X Factor, America’s Got Talent and Celebrity Apprentice as well as CBS’s Elementary, Under the Dome, Late Show with David Letterman and Entertainment Tonight.

     

    The second branded RTL CBS Extreme launched in March 2014 with a menu consisting of action adventure, reality series and extreme sports. Programming included  Fear Factor, Red Bull, NCIS: Los Angeles and Hawaii Five-0.  The venture has access to first-run shows and library titles from RTL Group’s content arm, FremantleMedia, and from CBS, which owns America’s number one network, and a vast catalogue of more than 70,000 hours of programming.