English Entertainment
33pc of SES channels are HD, 60pc MPEG-4, growing in Asia
MUMBAI: SES S.A. continues to lead High Definition TV (HDTV) development representing the largest HD and Ultra HD (UHD) platform.
SES is a leading satellite operator and the first to deliver a differentiated and scalable GEO-MEO offering worldwide, with more than 50 satellites in geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and 12 in medium earth orbit (MEO). SES focuses on value-added, end-to-end solutions in four key market verticals (video, enterprise, mobility and government).
In 2016, the number of HD channels on the SES fleet grew by 7 per cent to 2,495 channels. Today, 33 per cent of all the 7,538 channels on the SES fleet are in HD, with SES carrying 27 per cent of all HD channels globally. In addition, over 60 per cent of all channels on SES’s fleet are now broadcast in the MPEG-4 compression standard.
The on-going trend of the increasing HDTV penetration in Europe was the key driver of SES’s overall HDTV development, where the number of HDTV channels grew by 14 per cent to more than 750 channels. This performance was complemented by the growth in HDTV across the Americas.
SES is also continuing to maintain its strong momentum in the introduction of commercial agreements now secured for 21 UHD channels, compared with eight channels a year ago. Today, SES is broadcasting nearly 50 per cent of all the UHD channels carried over satellite globally.
In 2016, the acquisition of RR Media and the subsequent creation of MX1 through a merger with SES Platform Services supported SES’s unrivalled market traction on new HDTV and UHD channels across Europe and North America, as well as the further expansion of SES’s Video business across fast-growing emerging markets.
The launch of SES-9 and the continued development of SES’s HD and Ultra HD business were also significant factors supporting growth in Asian markets, where the company is applying its differentiated strategy. The launch of SES-10 and SES-15 later this year will deliver further growth potential for the Americas.
“With more TV channels than ever before, this confirms SES’s leading role as a TV broadcasting infrastructure and driver of global digitisation” said SES chief commercial officer Ferdinand Kayser. “Through the growth of its channels portfolio and through major acquisitions in 2016, SES is exceptionally well placed to leverage major growth opportunities, especially in new and emerging markets. Our current launch programme is a dynamic engine for this future growth. With more and more channels being broadcast in HD and Ultra HD, 2017 and beyond will see continued growth and accelerated development for SES’s video segment.”
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.
