English Entertainment
‘Asia’s Next Top Model’ finale on Star World smashes ratings record in SE Asia
MUMBAI: The closing episode of Star World’s hit reality series Asia’s Next Top Model (AsNTM) Season 3 recorded the highest finale ratings ever in the show’s history on Star World in Singapore and the Philippines when it aired across Southeast Asia on 17 June.
Across both countries, season 3 was on average the highest-rated season of the reality series. Ratings increased more than 140 per cent amongst a wide general audience aged 4+ as well as young female viewers from late teens all the way up to mid-thirties, a key target audience for Star World.
In Singapore, the finale telecast made Star World the No. 1 ranked western general entertainment cable channel in that timeslot amongst all people 4 years+ as well as women aged 18-39.
In the Philippines, Star World also claimed the top spot amongst all general entertainment cable channels in the finale telecast timeslot amongst all people 2 years+. Even more impressively, the channel was ranked the #1 cable channel overall in the country in that timeslot amongst female viewers aged 16-34.
Fans also burned up the social media space discussing the finale episode online, with more than 306,125 conversations generated surrounding the finale episode on the show’s social media channels. The total number of online conversations around the show since this season began airing is 5,436,937, and still growing. The hashtag #AsNTM3Finale was top trending on Twitter worldwide as well as in Indonesia, the Philippines and the city of Hanoi during the telecast and continued well into the evening, garnering more than 47,000 tweets.
‘Asia’s Next Top Model’ as a search term was trending amongst the top three topics in Singapore and the Philippines. Web search interest on Google for ‘AsNTM,’ ‘AsNTM3,’ and ‘Asia’s Next Top Model’ doubled worldwide during the finale telecast, with more than 20,000 searches in Philippines alone, for ‘Asia’s Next Top Model’ on the day of the finale telecast.
An original production of Fox International Channels (FIC), Asia’s Next Top Model is a reality series based on Tyra Banks’ popular Top Mode franchise, where aspiring models are mentored by industry professionals as they compete to become the next big thing in fashion.
On the final episode of Season 3, the judges crowned Ayu Gani from Indonesia as the season 3 winner. As the newest Asia’s Next Top Model, Gani took home a Subaru XV; a contract with one of Europe’s biggest agencies, Storm Model Management; a cover and fashion spread in Harper’s Bazaar Singapore; and is the 2015 Face of TRESemmé.
Fox International Channels head of entertainment and factual channels for Hong Kong & Southeast Asia Keertan Adyanthaya said, “We are thrilled with the success of this latest season of AsNTM and look forward to producing more original shows that fans love. This was a fantastic collaboration between Star World, our brand partners and frankly the fans. Their enthusiasm for the show has helped propelled this season to new heights and we can’t wait to bring them even more great content they can engage with.”
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.
