English Entertainment
Fox to launch My Network TV in September
MUMBAI: Fox will launch My Network TV, a new primetime program network scheduled to debut in September this year. Fox Television Stations, Inc., and Twentieth Television will operate the new venture.
The announcement was made by News Corporation president and COO Peter Chernin, Fox Television Stations chairman Roger Ailes and Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy.
Upon its launch on 5 September, My Network TV will feature primetime programming from 8 to 10 pm Monday through Saturday, totalling 12 hours of original content per week.
A statement issued by the company says that
Providing broadcasters a viable and station-friendly option for primetime, involving no reverse compensation, My Network TV will position stations with operational flexibility through an appealing affiliation term and attractive inventory split, further building asset value.
Chernin said, “No other media company comes close to Fox when it comes to launching new networks and gauging audience appetites. Over the past 20 years, we’ve proved it time and again with FBC, FX, Fox News Channel and National Geographic Channel among many others. And with My Network TV, we think we’ve come up with a unique format that will resonate with today’s consumer and a model that can be profitable from day one.”
Fox Television Stations’ WWOR/New York, KCOP/Los Angeles, WPWR/Chicago, KDFI/Dallas, WDCA/Washington, D.C., KTXH/Houston, WFTC/Minneapolis, KUTP/Phoenix, WRBW/ Orlando and WUTB/Baltimore will serve as anchor affiliates of My Network TV, representing 24 per cent of the US.
Supported with powerful branding and marketing initiatives that tie-in locally, the service will maintain and strengthen affiliates’ community brand recognition with a complete look and feel of a national network that empowers localism.
Ailes added, “Backed by the strongest media company in the world, My Network TV is a viable alternative brought to you by proven winners who know quality programming. Independent stations are in need of a solid option for primetime and we believe no other company is providing this service to the market.”
Abernethy said, “We’re thrilled to be launching My Network TV this fall. We consider this to be a station-friendly alternative that will deliver more local inventory to its affiliates, uphold each station’s localism and feature quality programming supported by strong branding and marketing. We are looking forward to signing additional affiliates in the coming weeks.”
Twentieth Television’s new hour-long scripted dramas “Desire” and “Secrets” will inaugurate My Network TV. Structured in a 65-episode story arc stripped Monday through Friday for 13 weeks, “Desire” and “Secrets” are based on the worldwide success of the telenovela format. “Desire” chronicles the destruction of a family and the bonds of brotherhood take center stage when two brothers on the run from the mafia find themselves in a heated battle of passion, betrayal, deceit and murder over the woman they both love.
“Secrets” goes deep behind-the-scenes to focus on the glamorous, yet sometimes brutally ruthless fashion industry, in which greed, lust and blind ambition surround a violent corporate takeover of the business’ hottest company. Principal photography on the dramas will commence early March.
Twentieth Television is aggressively developing additional programs and proven formats spanning reality, drama, comedy, game, news, movies and talk for My Network TV as the network develops, while also exploring opportunities with its sister companies. The company is opening its doors to all other major Hollywood studios to negotiate future programming concepts. Programs currently in development include:
“Catwalk” (Twentieth Television) — The ultimate search for the next “It” supermodel begins by crossing the country to discover 30 of the hottest, hippest and freshest faces who will compete for the once in a lifetime opportunity to be catapulted into stardom.
“Celebrity Love Island” [Granada (“Nanny 911”)] — Six gorgeous celebrity and six non-celebrity singletons are thrown together in a fantasy island setting, where a star-studded search for love takes place.
“On Scene” (Fox News) — This crime investigative series will cover all angles, examine all of the evidence and trace every single clue of the most compelling crimes committed today.
“America’s Brainiest” (working title) [Celador (“Who Wants to Be A Millionaire”)] — This quiz show, based on the hit British program, will find the country’s smartest individuals and reveal them in an exciting format.
In addition, Twentieth Television is in advanced negotiations with FremantleMedia North America (“American Idol”) on an international format.
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.
