iWorld
Veere Di Wedding premiereson ZEE5
MUMBAI: After the phenomenal success of digital premieres of movies such as Padman and Parmanu, ZEE5 now brings theblockbuster VeereDi Wedding to your fingertipsonWednesday, 1st August 2018. That’s another stereotype the movie breaks – THEATRE KE BAAD, PEHLI BAAR on ZEE5!Since its theatrical release in June 2018, the film will now be available exclusively for ZEE5 subscribers.
Watch the trailer here:
Manish Aggarwal, Business Head – ZEE5 India said, “THEATRE KE BAAD, PEHLI BAAR is a property we created with Padman and are committed to reach incremental audiences by giving them blockbuster releases on ZEE5 straight after the theatre release and before the movie airs on broadcast channels.Padman, Parmanu and now Veere Di Wedding – the past two months have been exciting for us and the offering has been widely appreciated by our subscribers too.”
He further added, “Premiering a movie such as Veere Di Wedding, one that celebrates friendship, just ahead of Friendship Day is very special. With this, we are taking another step towards building a robust portfolio of content – original as well as syndicated.”
Commenting on the premiere,Ekta Kapoor, Producer, Veere Di Wedding said, “When we decided to make Veere Di Wedding, we knew it was going to be nothing like anything else. These are girls who don’t conform to stereotypes and in fact go on to shatter glass ceilings, with pure entertainment. The unprecedented box office numbers sky rocketed Veere Di wedding into another space and I am excited about the big digital premiere on ZEE5.”
Veere Di Wedding revolves around four childhood friends Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor), Avni (Sonam Kapoor), Meera (ShikhaTalsania) & Sakshi (Swara Bhaskar) and their unbreakable bond of friendship. Things start to change when the pack of four meets after 10 years.Exploring the themes of sexuality and sisterhood, the movie went on to create quite a stir among movie-goers, initiating conversations across platforms.
ZEE5 has a wide repertoire of visual content including movies as well as web series under multiple genres such as comedy, drama, thrillers, horror, biopics and so on.
Download the App using the special offer – 2 months’ subscription @99/- only or @499 for a year – special offer until 15th August.
ZEE5 has a rich bouquet of original content in six regional languages along with the latest blockbuster movies. The platform will launch 20 originals in 2018 and will have 90+ shows by the end of March 2019.
With over 3500 films, 500+ TV shows, 4000+ music videos, 35+ theatre plays and 90+ LIVE TV Channels across 12 languages, ZEE5 truly presents a blend of unrivalled content offering for its viewers across the nation and worldwide. With ZEE5, the global content of Zindagi as a brand, which was widely appreciated across the country, has also been brought back for its loyal viewers.
Availability: The ZEE5 App can be downloaded from Google Play Store http://bit.ly/zee5 and iOS App Store http://bit.ly/zee5ios. Also available at www.zee5.com, as a Progressive Web App (PWA), and on Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick. ZEE5 also supports Chromecast.
Pricing: Freemium pricing model with both free and paid premium content (including Originals) to cater to a mix of audiences. Viewers who subscribe to the ZEE5 subscription pack will get access to the entire library of content at a special offer price of INR 99 for two months and INR 499 for a year – special offer until 15thAugust.
iWorld
Universal Music to sell half its Spotify stake, expand buyback plan
Ackman pressure mounts as label posts €2.9bn revenue and strong subscription growth
HILVERSUM: Universal Music Group has unveiled plans to sell half of its stake in Spotify and double its share buyback programme to €1 billion, signalling a sharper capital strategy as investor scrutiny intensifies.
The company said it will launch an additional €500 million buyback after completing the €500 million programme announced in March, taking the total authorisation to €1 billion. Proceeds from the Spotify stake sale will help fund the buyback and will also be shared with artists, in line with long-standing commitments.
The move comes amid pressure from billionaire investor Bill Ackman, whose firm Pershing Square Capital Management holds over 4.5 per cent of UMG. Ackman recently made an unsolicited offer valuing the company at around $64 billion to $65 billion and has argued that the label’s shares are undervalued.
As part of his proposal, Ackman suggested selling the entire Spotify stake to raise €1.5 billion after taxes and artist payouts, while also pushing for a US listing and changes to the company’s financial reporting structure. UMG’s board has instead opted to move independently, approving a partial stake sale on its own terms.
The decision also aligns with what is informally known as the “Taylor Swift clause”, a commitment made when Taylor Swift re-signed with the label in 2018, ensuring that any proceeds from Spotify stake sales are shared with artists on a non-recoupable basis.
With investor pressure building and strategic levers now in motion, UMG appears to be striking a careful balance between rewarding shareholders and reinforcing its long-term growth play in the streaming era.
