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David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has a Monday deadline to submit its best and final offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount is expected to come back with a better offer than its previous offer of $30 a share for WBD, hoping to outwit Netflix and win the deal. Warner Bros. Discovery’s board of directors, with Netflix’s permission, has established a seven-day period to discuss an improved offer with Paramount. The discussion period will end at 11:59 pm ET on February 23rd, after teams from both companies worked over the weekend. Paramount declined to comment on its next move. Sources told…

Japan remains one of the world’s most closed TV format markets, exporting globally successful unscripted hits while importing few foreign concepts, according to data presented by The WIT CEO Virginia Mouseler during the Fresh TV: Japan session at Mip London. Using the company’s real-time tracking database, Maurer said Japan currently ranks as the world’s seventh-largest format exporter, “on par with South Korea,” despite incorporating little international intellectual property. According to WIT’s Top Format Tool, Japan’s “Dragon’s Den” continues to rank as one of the most widely adopted unscripted formats around the world over the past year, alongside global hits such…

“Golden Swan” will have its world premiere at the 28th Thessaloniki International Airport International Competition. The documentary festival trailer has been released for the first time. The film, directed by Annette Ostro, recalls the year 1995, when her brother, Hans Christian Ostro, traveled to India in search of meaning and artistic growth. A few months later, he was kidnapped in Kashmir and taken hostage by the militant group Al-Faran. During his five weeks in captivity, he secretly wrote poems and letters to his sister. These documents, discovered in his body after his execution, became the basis for an intimate reconstruction…

The rapid rise of Korean dramas in Europe is entering a new phase, moving from streaming success to regional adaptation and co-development, executives said at a MIP London session examining the genre’s growing regional influence. Speaking on “The Rise of K-Dramas in Europe,” CJ ENM Marketing Manager Jinnie Lee said that Korean dramas are “very clearly on the rise, not only in global recognition, but also in actual regional performance, as well as strong and sustained engagement within individual markets.” In addition to Lee, the panel discussion was also attended by Diane Min, head of European sales at CJ ENM,…

Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo had the N-word hurled at them Sunday while presenting an award at the BAFTAs 2026. As the stars of “Sinners” were presenting the award for best visual effects for “Avatar: Fire and Ashes,” the audience heard a shocking outburst from campaigner John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome. Davidson was the inspiration for the BAFTA-nominated film I Swear, which was based on his real life. Jordan and Lind continued to present despite the awkward moment, and BAFTA host Alan Cumming later apologized. Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were hurled the N-word at the 2026…

The BBC has apologized for not editing out a racial slur from the tape-delayed broadcast of the BAFTA Film Awards and will remove it from the version of the ceremony on iPlayer. The rant was made by John Davidson, an activist with Tourette syndrome who was also the subject of the biographical film “I Swear,” who was sitting in the audience during the ceremony. Davidson’s condition causes involuntary vocal tics, including the N-word, which occurred when actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took to the stage to accept the award for best visual effects, which ultimately went to “Avatar:…

Ted Sarandos dismissed Donald Trump’s social media demands for Netflix fire commissioner Susan Rice, saying the streamer’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery is a business matter, not a political one. “He likes to do things on social media,” Netflix’s co-chief executive and chief content officer said on BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Monday morning, when asked by presenter Amol Rajan to respond to the president’s intervention. Sarandos added: “This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal. This deal is being managed by the U.S. Department of Justice and regulators in Europe and around the world.” The remarks…

COL Group International has officially established a transcontinental distribution structure, expanding its global microdrama catalog to more than 1,700 titles, the company revealed at MIP London and London Screening 2026. The Singapore-headquartered division was launched last year as the world’s largest specialty microdrama distribution slate and is now entering a structured second phase of international growth built around regional distribution partnerships across MENA, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. At the heart of the new architecture are three sales contracts. Narrative will oversee expansion across MENA, CIS and Africa, while Harbor Lights will be responsible for Europe and Latin America.…

Baz Luhrmann is about to dive back into his long-aborning Joan of Arc movie. But before he does, he had to return to the Elvis well, and the King’s new and returning subjects are glad he did. “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” opened exclusively in Imax theaters this weekend before going wider to slightly smaller screens on Friday. there was little doubt the audience for Presley is still there, or at least for an Elvis seen through the eyes of one of contemporary cinema’s biggest name-brand directors. “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” may not make it to the $151 million…

As the U.K. TV industry scrambles for cash beyond U.S. players, the 2026 London TV Screenings weigh in as a tribute to its resilient status as international’s biggest talent hub. This year’s line-up takes in upcoming shows by Jack Thorne, George Kay, Chris Brancato and Bill Dubuque, co-creators of “Adolescence,” “Lupin,” “Narcos” and “Ozark.”  Talent attracts talent. Stars in Screenings shows – drawn from their four founders Banijay, Fremantle, ITV Studio and All3Media Intl., plus the BBC, big U.S. players and U.K. and overseas independents – take in Bella Ramsay and Daisy Haggard, Shemar Moore, Catherine Zeta Jones, Brenda Blethyn…