English Entertainment
Sky & CBS ink pan-European deal for Showtime programming portfolio
MUMBAI: Sky and CBS Corporation have inked a long-term licensing agreement for Sky Atlantic to be the exclusive home to Showtime’s growing portfolio of programming across all its territories in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. Previously, Sky has licensed select Showtime content from CBS on a programme by programme basis.
The deal will span all new and future series including Billions, which premiered in the US with the best series debut performance ever for a Showtime original series. Other new series include the return of Twin Peaks and new seasons of hits such as Ray Donovan and The Affair. The agreement also means customers will have on-demand access to an acclaimed catalogue of premium Showtime programming including Californication, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, The Borgias and Brotherhood.
Additionally, customers can watch these shows where they want using mobile TV service – Sky Go. Customers who use Sky’s streaming platforms, NOW TV and Sky Online also have access to this must-see channel live and on demand.
The deal is the latest multi-territory agreement secured by Sky as it extends its market-leading offering across entertainment, sports, arts and movies. Alongside an expanding portfolio of the best shows from the US and around the world, Sky is also growing its investment in original production, which includes a successful partnership with Showtime to co-produce the gothic horror series, Penny Dreadful.
For CBS Corporation, this is the largest and most expansive international deal to date for Showtime and the first time its content portfolio has been licensed to a single media company across multiple European territories. It also marks a significant next step in the company’s global expansion strategy to distribute Showtime’s prestigious brand and broad programming slate as a bundled offering.
Last year, CBS and Bell Media announced a similar exclusive agreement for Showtime in Canada.
Alongside scripted content, Sky will have an exclusive option to take all new Showtime distributed unscripted shows such as documentaries, late night and reality shows. Premiere dates for the programming may vary by country and current rights agreements with other platforms will remain unchanged.
Sky managing director – content Gary Davey said, “This is one of the most important content deals Sky has ever agreed, cementing Sky’s position as the market-leader in Europe for world-class drama. We are enormously proud that Sky will be the exclusive home to new Showtime programmes for many years to come, building on a relationship that has grown over time including producing three successful seasons of Penny Dreadful together. The agreement means our customers can enjoy an incredible slate of upcoming new dramas like Billions, Twin Peaks and also explore hundreds of hours of amazing series such as Dexter, Californication, The Affair and House of Lies on demand from the back catalogue of one of the world’s most exciting pay TV networks.”
CBS Global Distribution Group president and CEO Armando Nu?ez added, “This is the most significant international deal in the history of Showtime, and further signals the value and prestige of its content brand in the global marketplace. Showtime CEO David Nevins and his team have built an incredible roster of award-winning, critically acclaimed programming. This deal shows how robust and profitable Showtime has become as a stand-alone product and revenue stream. We look forward to working with our outstanding partners at Sky to present Showtime to its customers across Europe and on a wide range of their platforms.”
English Entertainment
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount deal
Investors wave through a $111 billion megamerger but deliver a stinging, if toothless, rebuke over half-a-billion-dollar goodbye packages
NEW YORK: The shareholders said yes to the deal. They said no to the cheque. At a virtual special meeting on Thursday that lasted barely ten minutes, Warner Bros. Discovery investors voted overwhelmingly to approve Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of the company — and then turned around and voted against the lavish exit pay packages lined up for chief executive David Zaslav and his fellow outgoing executives.
Not that it will make much difference. The compensation vote is purely advisory and non-binding. The Warner Bros. Discovery board can, and almost certainly will, pay out as planned.
But the symbolism stings. It is the second consecutive year that WBD shareholders have voted against the executive compensation packages, and this time they had good reason. Zaslav’s exit deal is, by any measure, extraordinary. Under the terms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he is set to receive $34.2 million in cash severance, $517.2 million in equity in the combined company, and $44,195 in continued health coverage — a total of at least $550 million. On top of that, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to reimburse Zaslav up to $335 million for taxes assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on his accelerated stock vesting, though the company says that figure will decline depending on when the deal closes. As of March 11, Zaslav also held $115.85 million in vested WBD stock awards — and last month sold a further $114 million worth of WBD shares.
Shareholder advisory firm ISS recommended voting against the compensation measure, citing “problematic” tax reimbursements to Zaslav and the full vesting of his stock awards.
Zaslav will be bound by a two-year non-competition covenant and a two-year non-solicitation of customers and employees after the deal closes.
His lieutenants are not walking away empty-handed either. J.B. Perrette, chief executive and president of global streaming and games, is in line for $142 million, comprising $18.2 million in cash severance and $123.9 million in equity. Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, will receive an estimated $121.5 million, including $18.8 million in severance and $102.7 million in equity. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels is set for $120 million, made up of $6.6 million in cash severance and $113.1 million in equity. Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, will get $82.6 million, including $11.9 million in severance and $70.7 million in equity.
The deal itself, clinched in February after Netflix declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros., still needs regulatory clearance from the Justice Department and European authorities. Several state attorneys general are also weighing legal action to block it.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, was unsparing. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal,” she said after the shareholder vote. “State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
If it does go through, the combined entity would be a formidable beast, bringing together Paramount Skydance’s stable — CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, BET, MTV and Nickelodeon — with WBD’s portfolio of HBO, Max, Warner Bros. film and TV studios, DC, CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV and Discovery+. Paramount has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings from the merger, which is Wall Street shorthand for mass layoffs on a significant scale.
The ten-minute meeting was presided over by chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr., with Zaslav, Campbell, Wiedenfels and chief communications officer Robert Gibbs in virtual attendance. Di Piazza was bullish. “We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio,” he said. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community.”
Zaslav echoed the sentiment. “Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. Discovery and returned the company to industry leadership,” he said. “Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.”
Paramount Skydance struck a similar note. “Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” it said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to “closing the transaction in the coming months.”
The shareholders have spoken on the merger. On the pay, they were ignored before the vote was even counted.
