Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav largely evaded questions about NBA talks and Paramount Global‘s potential as a WBD merger partner, but he did weigh in on the hot topic of executive pay.
24.04.2024 - 09:55 / variety.com
Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) South Asia has a sizzling summer slate lined up in the kids space including a mix of anime and homegrown IP. Launching on the Indian animation-focused Pogo channel in May is new Indian IP “Jay Jagannath.” The series portrays the friendship between the Hindu God Lord Jagannath, who has taken the form of a child, Jagan, and his devout follower Balaram.
The stories follow their adventures, while also delving into folktales. WBD has two immensely popular Indian IPs in “Chhota Bheem” and “Little Singham” who met in 2023 in the film “Aag Aur Pani Ki Takkar.” The sequel to that, “Aag Aur Pani Ka Badla,” is also due on Pogo. In addition, the channel has several films and mini-series featuring the individual characters coming up during the summer.
On WBD’s international animation-focused Cartoon Network, the summer programming features new Japanese anime arrivals “One Piece: Land of Wano” and “My Hero Academia” Season 4, new seasons of American animation “Teen Titans Go!” and new seasons of French animation “Grizzy and the Lemmings.” Over on Discovery Kids, there will be new seasons of India-Singapore animation “Titoo.” In all, there will be 200 premieres across the three kids’ channels, which are broadcast across India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. “As a legacy global company we have a huge library of global content. And the Indian audience, which is also huge in number, gives us an opportunity to connect with them and cater to them with stories and characters which are very locally focused,” Uttam Pal Singh, head of the kids’ cluster, South Asia, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav largely evaded questions about NBA talks and Paramount Global‘s potential as a WBD merger partner, but he did weigh in on the hot topic of executive pay.
EXCLUSIVE: Ed Adams, who has been with Warner Bros. Animation for 15 years, is retiring.
My Hero Academia is widely regarded as one of the best anime shows around.Based on the manga by Kōhei Horikoshi, the anime adaptation follows Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers, who is enrolled in a prestigious high school for superheroes in training after being granted a “quirk” by the world’s greatest hero, All Might.The series began in April 2016 and has become a worldwide hit since. After a four-part recap, titled My Hero Academia: Memories, aired in April, the show’s seventh season is set to debut this month on Crunchyroll.The first episode is released on Saturday May 4 at 2.30am PT/5.30am ET in the US on Crunchyroll.
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Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Classic TV network MeTV is turning its cartoon block into a new network. Owner Weigel Broadcasting Co. announced Wednesday that it will launch MeTV Toons as a new national TV network focused on classic animation, “from Hollywood-era shorts to made-for-television favorites.” MeTV Toons, which launches June 25, is a collab between Weigel and Warner Bros.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Victoria Justice, best known for her starring role on Nickelodeon’s “Victorious,” recently said on SiriusXM’s “Hits 1 LA with Tony Fly and Symon” that her upcoming role in the movie “Depravity” required her to film her first sex scene. The experience was “uncomfortable” but the crew pulled it off with “taste.” “My first day on set I had my first ever sex scene. I’m like, ‘Really, guys? We’re gonna schedule this for the first day? Cool.
Glen Kyne is exiting his role as Senior Vice President and Head of Networks at Warner Bros Discovery Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) on July 5.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Internet-TV provider Fubo dropped all Warner Bros. Discovery networks from its lineup, alleging that the media company was seeking “above-market rates” and refused to license Turner Sports networks separately. In a statement Tuesday, Fubo said it attempted to renew its Discovery content agreement with WBD for networks including Discovery, HGTV, Food Network and TLC.
feature adaptation of “Avengelyne” from Olivia Wilde, Margot Robbie and “X-Men” producer Simon Kinberg is being set up at Warner Bros. The studio is close to finalizing a seven-figure film rights deal. Robbie is eyeing the role of the titular angel who fights the forces of evil and often finds herself face-to-face with demons and monsters.
Olivia Wilde and Margot Robbie‘s LuckyChap are teaming up for Avengelyne, and Warner Bros is currently negotiating a 7 figure deal for the rights.
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros is negotiating to close a seven figure film rights deal for Avengelyne — Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld’s signature comic book creation about an angel who fights the forces of evil. Most of the deals are closed. Deadline hears Margot Robbie is eyeing to star as the title character (subject to script), Olivia Wilde will direct, and Poor Things scribe Tony McNamara will write the screenplay. Aboard to produce is LuckyChap, the shingle Robbie runs with Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, and Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon through their Genre banner.
Google is strengthening advertising ties with major media companies amid a broader push into ad-supported streaming.
The Wolfe Tones‘ frontman Brian Warfield has spoken to NME about their upcoming final shows and long-lasting legacy. Check out footage from the show above and our interview with the band below.The legendary Irish rebel band have chosen to commemorate their 60th anniversary as a band by formally calling an end to their career with a run of final concerts.Their final ever shows will take place in Dublin’s sold out 3Arena on October 11 and 12, and before that they will play to their biggest ever audience at London’s Finsbury Park on July 5 – you can get your tickets for that here.They warmed up for those huge shows with a surprise intimate performance in Finsbury Park pub The Faltering Fullback last night, when NME caught up with frontman Brian Warfield to discuss coming to terms with the end of the band, their legacy to “the Irish diaspora” and their impact on the current boom in Irish guitar music.NME: Hello Brian – 60 years of the band you formed as a teenager are coming to an end. Have you come to terms with it?Brian Warfield: “Yeah, we more or less have.
Fathom Events will partner with Warner Bros. Pictures in bringing filmmaker Daniela Völker’s documentary The Commandant’s Shadow to theaters across the U.S. on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, with an encore presentation the following day. Screenings will be available in 500+ theaters across the Fathom network of cinemas. Tickets go on sale from today at Fathom Events and participating theater box offices.
One Tree Hill actress, Sophia Bush, opened up about identifying as queer and her deeply meaningful relationship with athlete Ashlyn Harris, 38, following her divorce from Grant Hughes in 2023. Breaking her silence on her romantic life in an essay for Glamour magazine, Sophia shared: "I feel like I can finally breathe." The Chicago PD actress added that she had unexpectedly found love with Ashlyn, with the pair becoming friends in 2019 before starting a relationship in 2023 after both their marriages ended.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sylvester Stallone revealed on the TMZ special “Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons” (via The Daily Mail) that a near career-ending injury in the lead up to “Rocky II” threatened to end the boxing franchise before its first sequel got off the ground. Stallone was training with bodybuilder Franco Columbu about a month and a half before the “Rocky 2” shoot when he ripped his pec muscle right off the bone. “So, I go down, and it’s maybe only 200 [lbs].
Percy Jackson and the Olympians co-executive producer Joe Tracz has been confirmed as writer, executive producer and co-showrunner on the upcoming second season of Netflix’s breakout hit One Piece.
Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “One Piece” live-action series at Netflix is bringing in Joe Tracz to serve as its new co-showrunner for Season 2. Tracz will helm the popular series based on the Eiichiro Oda manga of the same name alongside Season 1 co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer Matt Owens. Steven Maeda, who developed the series with Owens and was co-showrunner on Season 1, will step down but continue to serve as an executive producer on the series.
Two top Congressman want Bob Iger, David Zaslav and Lachlan Murdoch to provide some solid answers about Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and Fox’s proposed sports streaming service.
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Pictures Animation is heading to the Discovery vault to adapt their Animal Planet series, Meerkat Manor, into a feature animated movie. Think Happy Feet. That George Miller hatched franchise which centered around tap-dancing penguins raked in over a half billion at the global box office.