The Indian Sea formally gives up its merger ambitions

THE END OF THE SEA IS NEAR

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the disappointed bride in the failed engagement between Zee and Sony India, has formally ended its search for a merger. On Tuesday it withdrew its application to the sector regulator National Company Law Tribunal and said it will focus on internal growth instead. Withdrawing the NCLT application also makes it slightly easier for Zee to pursue arbitration and other legal action against Sony.

The plan to merge the two mid-sized film and TV companies had been on the table for more than two years, but finally collapsed (acrimoniously) in January 2024. Sony is also demanding restitution from Zee, which it claims has failed to meet the agreed terms. merger conditions. Since the wedding bells stopped ringing, Zee has also announced that it will reduce its workforce by 15%.

DESI CHANNEL

Viacom 18‘s DesiPlay TV channel, a free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel in the general entertainment space, has become operational in Canada on the Pluto TV platform. The channel offers a range of inspiring Indian stories, Hindi shows and blockbuster Bollywood films. Hindi TV series include: “Naa Aana Iss Des Laado,” “Comedy Nights With Kapil,” “Uttaran,” “Mahakaali,” “Radha Prem Ki Deewani” and “Mrs. Pammi Pyarelal.” Desi TV shows are available with English subtitles.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with IndiaCast on the brand new DesiPlay TV channel, which offers a range of diverse content to Pluto TV viewers across Canada,” said Vanessa Case, VP Content, Pluto TV, Canada. “We are part of a diverse country and our goal is to curate content that resonates with every viewer.” IndiaCast is jointly owned by TV18 and Viacom18, both of which are controlled by Reliance Industries’ Jio group.

JEONJU JOURNEY

Next month’s Jeonju International Film Festival South Korea (May 1-10) will see a special presentation of all ten films in the so-called Walker Series, by Taiwan-based Tsai Ming Liang. Inspired by monk Xuanzang in the Chinese classic ‘Journey to the West’, Tsai started the collection in 2012 with ‘No Form’ and feature film actor Lee Kang Sheng as a walker dressed in a red robe walking slowly and barefoot through several cities, including Taipei, Hong Kong, Kuching, Paris and Washington, DC. Korean premiere. The series’ short films, each under 40 minutes, are grouped into clusters of three.

FOLLOW THE SCRIPT

Banijay Asia has promoted Rajesh Chadha to COO of its script division. He was previously EVP and business head of scripted. He will now lead the development, production and strategic activities of the scripted division.

Chadha is a media veteran with more than 30 years of experience Endemol, BBC Studios And RBNL. And led the content execution of multiple seasons of the award-winning streaming series “Criminal Justice,” “Out of Love,” “Rudra,” “The Night Manager,” and “The Trial.” As the founder of IMRC Entertainment, he also previously produced fiction and non-fiction shows Star Network, Sony TV, Zee TV And To colour.