English Entertainment
AMC Networks expands across portfolio of channels
MUMBAI: AMC Networks International (AMCNI) has expanded its portfolio of globally renowned, locally relevant 24/7 linear television services across EMEA, the CIS, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific regions.
AMC Global, AMCNI’s international AMC-branded television network seen in over 115 countries and territories, continues to experience major growth around the world since the company launched the brand for the first time outside of North America late last year.
Distributor demand for the network is underscored by substantial first window programming acquisitions, including the upcoming premieres of Fear The Walking Dead, Into the Badlands and the new season of Halt and Catch Fire. Each series will debut on AMC Global less than 24 hours after the US premiere.
“AMC Networks International has experienced record-breaking growth with new distribution agreements on subscription television platforms around the world,” commented AMC Networks International executive vice president of global distribution Ed Palluth.
“There is clear and strong demand for our line-up of globally renowned, locally relevant channels with many platform operators adding or repositioning our services onto their basic tiers in recent months to make them widely available to customers. AMC and Sundance Channel Global remain among the first choice of operators looking to offer a wide selection of exclusive original dramas, and we’re particularly excited about the debut of series such as Fear The Walking Dead, Badlands, and the new season of Halt and Catch Fire less than 24 hours after the US premiere,” added Palluth.
In Latin America, Axtel in Mexico has launched the entire AMCNI portfolio of channels for the first time, including AMC, Sundance Channel, elgourmet, Europa Europa and Film & Arts. AMC has launched in Brazil for the first time on several cable TV systems that are members of Neo TV following the network’s debut on SKY earlier this month. AMC has also launched for the first time on multiple pay-TV platforms in Uruguay including TCC, Montecable, Nuevo Siglo and Equital. Tigo platforms throughout the region have launched or repositioned AMC on the basic tier. Casa Club TV was launched on Red Intercable in Argentina for the first time and is available on the basic tier. Sundance Channel continues to gain momentum across Latin America with launches on many new platforms, including Cablevision and Supercanal in Argentina, among others. In addition, Movistar TV has repositioned AMC to the basic tier in Colombia.
In Central Europe, Slovak Telekom in Slovakia has launched Sundance Channel for the first time and Sport1 HD to complement the SD service. Skylink in the Czech Republic and Slovakia has moved Sport2 to the basic tier doubling the subscriber count. Both Skylink and Slovak Telekom have extended the entire AMCNI portfolio carriage through multi-year agreements.
Additionally, AMC has been repositioned to the basic tier in Hungary on Magyar Telekom and Tarr. AMC Hungary’s subscriber count has almost doubled since the MGM rebrand. New multi-year agreements for AMC have been signed with several operators in CEE including PR-Telecom in Hungary and Telekom Serbia.
In addition, AMCNI recently rebranded MGM’s SD channel as AMC across all its systems in the CIS and the Baltics including on MTS, Rostelecom, Beeline and NTV + in Russia. Across Africa, the company recently announced the first-ever launch of Eva, a new telenovela channel, on the DStv platform owned by MultiChoice. In the UK, it was recently announced that Horror Channel launched on Freeview resulting in 90 per cent DTT coverage. Horror Channel is already the second largest FTA movie channel in cable and satellite homes due to carriage deals with Sky and Virgin.
In the Asia-Pacific region, audiences in Taiwan can now see Sundance Channel on Asia Pacific Telecom. PPCTV in Cambodia recently launched Sundance Channel, and Sansar Cable in Mongolia will launch the network soon. This follows the recent announcement that Singtel TV in Singapore launched AMC for the first time.
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.
