Thailand: Last News

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fresh from a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, TV coverage of Formula One motor racing is set to shift broadcasting partner in Asia-Pacific. Sports Business reports that pay-TV broadcaster beIN Sports is finalizing a multi-year deal beginning in 2023 reaching across most of its Asia-Pacific footprint, but excluding Australia, where Foxtel recently renewed its deal, and New Zealand.

Following the announcement of huge cuts to the BBC World Service, with many staff being asked to relocate overseas, journalists have said plans to move the Vietnamese service to Thailand will pose dangers to press freedom. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has not had the start to the season he would have wanted at Manchester United.

Michaela Zee editor Ron Howard will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Directing at the 25th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Sunday, Oct. 23. Recently, Howard directed and produced the biographical survival feature, “Thirteen Lives,” starring Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton. Based on the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018, the film revolves around a team of divers and their mission to rescue twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team who are trapped in a system of underground caves. “Thirteen Lives” will be screened at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, followed by an in-person conversation with Howard about his career.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Centricus has acquired a majority stake in SK Global Entertainment, the independent film and television production and finance company behind “Crazy Rich Asians.” The pact is in in the low to mid nine figures, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction. The deal will provide SK Global with capital to grow its company, potentially through mergers and acquisitions, a well as provide more financing to expand its slate of content. The company plans to double its output, producing four to five movies annually and at least five series. Earlier this year, SK Global acquired Critical Content, a production company focused on unscripted television series such as MTV’s “Catfish” and Netflix’s “Get Organized with The Home Edit.”

Naman Ramachandran The BBC has revealed wide-ranging savings proposals across its World Service that will result in the closure of 382 positions and the relocation of journalists from London to Asia and Africa. The move is part of a push towards digital and a wider savings plan. Under the proposals, some half of the BBC’s 41 language services will be digital only. The relocation proposals include the Thai service moving from London to Bangkok, the Korean service to Seoul, the Bangla service to Dhaka and the “Focus On Africa” TV bulletin to broadcast from Nairobi. “Changing audience needs around the world – with more people accessing news digitally – go alongside a challenging financial climate. High inflation, soaring costs, and a cash-flat licence fee settlement have led to tough choices across the BBC, and the BBC’s international services need to make a saving of £28.5 million [$30.7 million], as part of the wider £500 million of annual savings and reinvestment to make the BBC digital-led,” the BBC said in a statement.

Stray Kids have unveiled a new batch of dates for their ‘Maniac’ world tour in Asia, Australia and the USA – find the full list below.Today (September 29) the K-pop boyband revealed that they will play two stadium shows in Jakarta, Indonesia this November. In February, they will head to arenas in Bangkok, Thailand, Singapore and then Melbourne and Sydney in Australia.Stray Kids had to reschedule shows in Atlanta, Georgia and Forth Worth, Texas while touring the US in July as three of their eight members tested positive for COVID-19.

EXCLUSIVE: Some BBC World Service teams are to be asked to relocate away from the UK as they prepare for impending cuts, Deadline understands.

Naman Ramachandran Leading practitioners of the Asian theatrical business participated in a lively discussion on the future of the sector post-pandemic and the signs are encouraging. Speaking at the APOS conference in Singapore on Thursday, moderated by Variety Asia editor Patrick Frater, Stephen Laslocky, VP at leading research firm Media Partners Asia, provided a handy overview of the theatrical market in Southeast Asia. Laslocky said that Indonesia, the largest market in the region, would be back to 2019 levels of theatrical business by the end of 2022. “In Malaysia, the demand generally appears to be back, the issue was the pipeline just wasn’t so great, particularly this year. But next year, they think that’s going to improve for both local, which has done very well this year, and for foreign films next year,” Laslocky said.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards, Features Editor The Newport Beach Film Festival has announced it’s 2022 Festival Honors, which includes Oscar winners Ron Howard and Eddie Redmayne and actors from Jonathan Majors and Patton Oswalt to Keke Palmer and Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly.) The artists will be honored at a brunch in conjunction with Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch taking place on Oct. 16 at Balboa Bay Resort. Howard is receiving the Variety Legends and Groundbreakers Award for his creative leadership. After starting as an actor in such classics as “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Happy Days,” Howard became an Oscar-winning filmmaker whose movies as director include “A Beautiful Mind” and “Apollo 13.” Most recently he directed “Thirteen Lives,” the true story of the rescue of a soccer team and their coach from a cave in Thailand. “Thirteen Lives” is available on Amazon Prime.

Nicole Williams looked radiant as she proudly displayed her growing baby bump in a blue Chanel swimsuit with matching tote bag. Posing poolside with her belly on full display, the 34-year-old model also flaunted her blinding 5.14-carat oval diamond engagement ring from her husband Larry English, 36. In her caption she said she was pregnant while in a bikini.These new images have been posted to Instagram after a grueling IVF journey for the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Rookie and her former NFL player.  Pregnancy glow: Nicole Williams basked by the pool, caressing her bump with her massive Ritani diamond engagement ring in new images shared to Instagram on TuesdayNicole has been very open about her fertility struggles in the past.'So, I wasn't going to post this,' she shared on Instagram, 'but I decided it's an important step to this whole fertility journey and although it's not glamorous, it's real life.'  The former WAGS star had 13 eggs retrieved with eight ultimately becoming embryos. 'This was my egg retrieval day!' she declared in the candid post.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asian streaming firm Viu is approaching profitability by staying its lane and sticking with the business principles that have made it a regional success story – Asian content, AVOD and SVOD models under one roof, and resistance to over-expansion. “The industry for streaming has matured very rapidly [in part due to COVID],” said CEO Janice Lee, speaking Wednesday at the APOS convention in Singapore. “But what makes Asia different is that Asia has not yet reached mature market status.” After some six years in business Viu is now EBITDA positive. “We always been focused on monetization. Our AVOD-SVOD mix remains the sustainable model,” said Lee, who also confirmed the company has been able to raise subscription prices in selected markets. The launch of advertising-supported models is now a direction being embraced by the sector giants Netflix and Disney.

Jackson Wang has announced concerts in London, Paris, Singapore, Dubai and more as part of his ‘MAGIC MAN’ world tour.The tour was confirmed by concert promoter AEG Presents on social media on Wednesday (September 28). The tour currently consists of six dates: three this year, and three next year.

Naman Ramachandran Localization, and in some cases hyper-localization, is the modus operandi for growth in global markets for Amazon Prime Video, according to Kelly Day, VP, International, for the streamer. “When we think about launching in a new country, we really want to make sure that we bring a truly local feel to it. So, we’re trying to be very thoughtful when we enter a new region to make sure that we’re not only bringing all of these amazing global series and tentpoles, but that we really do it right, locally,” Day said while delivering one of the keynotes at the APOS conference in Singapore on Wednesday. The service launched recently in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines and the company has hired a local team in the region. Day was also part of the Prime Video team that launched a 40-strong Indian slate in April.

Gareth Thomas has signed up for ‘Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins'. The former Welsh rugby star, 48, is thought to have been enlisted for the Channel 4 military endurance show alongside ex Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton and former ‘Love Island’ star Montana Brown for the next season. A source told The Sun newspaper's TV Biz column: “Gareth is the latest big signing to have joined the 'Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins' line-up.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Despite 13 years passing since “Avatar” first hit theaters, moviegoers are apparently still dazzled by the striking world of Pandora. In anticipation of the sequel “The Way of Water,” which opens in December, Disney re-released James Cameron’s original science-fiction epic to promising returns. The film generated $10 million in North America and $20.5 million internationally over the weekend, a huge result for movie that opened more than a decade ago, even if that movie happens to be the highest-grossing global release in history. With this weekend’s returns, “Avatar” widens its lead as the biggest movie of all time with $2.85 billion worldwide.

Alicia Hannah-Kim’s latest role as the first female sensei in Netflix’s may give observers the false impression that she’s an overnight success.

Married At First Sight UK star Lara Eyre stunned fans at home with her dating history, after she revealed in a recent Instagram Q&A that she had once dated a Hollywood star. The 49 year old waitress, who appeared on the latest series of the E4 dating show and married Richie Dews, revealed that her celebrity ex was none other than Charlie Hunnam.

Fifteen years after 20-year-old Matthew Leveson walked out of Sydney gay nightclub ARQ and disappeared, never to be seen again alive, his parents have shared an emotional tribute. “Matty, it is fifteen years today that you were murdered and our lives changed forever.  A part of our hearts went with you to heaven,” Faye & Mark Leveson, Mathew’s parents, posted on .Matthew Leveson (right) was last seen on September 23, 2007, leaving ARQ nightclub in Sydney with his then boyfriend Michael Atkins (left).Matthew had walked out of ARQ in Darlinghurst, Sydney, in the early hours of September 23, 2007. CCTV footage showed him leaving the club with his boyfriend Michael Atkins (then 45 years old). On September 25, 2007, Matthew’s parents reported him missing and two days later on September 27, his car was found abandoned at Waratah Park Reserve in Sutherland. Matthew’s parents Faye & Mark Leveson.Matthew’s parents continued their search for their son’s body and in 2015 a coronial inquest into the death was resumed.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Columbia Pictures and local developer Amazon Falls have confirmed that their Aquaverse theme park will open in Pattaya, Thailand on Oct 12, 2022. The development is the Sony Group’s first theme and water park and was delayed for roughly a year by the COVID-19 pandemic. With Thai authorities having already dismantled most of their pandemic-era measures and poised to soon drop COVID from its list of notifiable diseases (expected to happen on Oct. 1) multiple large entertainment projects are now rushing to open. Carnival Magic opened in Phuket earlier this week, while another, Bangkok World, is expected to open adjacent to the Siam Amazing Park on the outskirts of the Thai capital on Nov. 25, 2022.

A real-life superhero. Tom Hardy quietly entered a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition in his home country of England and took home the gold medal.