English Entertainment
Latest shows on Star World throughout July
MUMBAI: Star World, an English Entertainment channel, has been a forerunner in introducing some of the most star-studded, critically acclaimed, popular and award-winning shows to its audiences. This monsoon, get ready to enjoy a power-packed line up of TV shows that will be launching throughout the month on the channel.
Veep: Kick-starting the line-up is a political satire called ‘Veep’ starring comic genius Julia Louis Dreyfus who has broken the record for winning 5 Emmy awards in a row for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for this show alone. Veep follows Selina Meyer’s (Dreyfus) hilarious, awkward and, sometimes, embarrassing journey from Vice President to the President of the United States of America. Catch Seasons 1 – 4 of Veep on Star World from 6 July weekdays at 8 PM!
Have you wondered about what goes on behind the cameras of a reality television show? Tune-in to Star World from 17 July weekdays at 9 PM and watch ‘UnReal’ Seasons 1 – 3; you’ll know everything there is to know! Starring Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer among others, UnReal revolves around the life of Rachel, a young reality television producer, pushed by her unscrupulous boss to swallow her integrity and do anything it takes to drum up salacious show content that will spike ratings. The show takes an exciting, deep and dark dive into the ethics of reality-television producing along with gender equity in the workplace. The show will be airing on a dedicated slot called ‘Star World Recommends’ that will be synonymous with airing must-watch shows.
TLO Nora and Kevin 1 BK: Keeping up with the dramatic momentum, the critically acclaimed and star-studded series The Leftovers, Seasons 1 – 2 will premiere on the channel on 17th July, weekdays at 10 PM. Based on the book of the same name by Tom Perrotta, The Leftovers starts three years after a global event called the ‘Sudden Departure’ results in an inexplicable, simultaneous disappearance of 140 million people, 2% of the world’s population. The excellent performances by the series cast featuring Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Christopher Eccleston and Amy Brenneman are sure to keep viewers on the edge of the seat.
It may seem like the excitement is over, but it has only begun as ‘The Great War is Here’, finally! The penultimate Season 7, of TV’s biggest show, ‘Game of Thrones’, is due to uncover some of the largest theories! So viewers can hold on to their seats as they bear witness to ruthless killing, action-packed battle scenes and war sequences, momentous prophecies coming alive and the many twists and turns every Tuesday from 18 July onwards at 11 PM on Star World! Will the plot see an uneasy alliance forged between Cersei, Daenerys and Jon to fight against the White Walkers?
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.
