English Entertainment
Colors Infinity experiments with locally developed English reality show ‘The Stage’
MUMBAI: Ever since its launch a little more than a month back, Viacom 18’s new English Entertainment channel Colors Infinity has been invading untouched territories. Continuing to tread on the same path, the channel is now set to launch a locally curated English musical reality show called The Stage.
The one of a kind reality show will premiere on 10 October and will be aired on weekends from 9 – 10 pm. The channel has roped in celebrated names from the music world like Vishal Dadlani, Monica Dogra, Ehsaan Noorani and Devraj Sanyal as judges. The show will be hosted by Shibani Dandekar.
The Stage unlike other reality shows will not limit its exposure to the on-air episodes. “We will have on ground activities, live concerts, the winner will get a contract with Universal and a musical single will also be released. Hence its not just about 20 on-air episodes. We will go beyond and will leave no stones unturned,” said Viacom 18 EVP and head of English entertainment Ferzad Palia.
The talent in the show will be nurtured by a group of experienced musicians. “We have contestants from across the country, and they are highly talented. The Stage will provide them with the platform to become popular and then nurture them to grow as professionals. The Stage will be a show where the winning contestant will be remembered for a long, long time. It is the most real reality show with very little edit,” Palia added.
“It is not true that English content is consumed only by people in metros. Close to 62 – 65 per cent of English music viewership comes from non-metro areas. So English as a language is spreading across the country and that’s one of the primary reason why we decided to experiment with The Stage. We will target VH1’s audience with the show,” informs Palia.
The Stage is presented by Renault and powered by the dating app Trulymadly. SOL is the production company on board.
Renault India marketing head Virat Khullar said, “As a company, we at Renault stand for innovation and passion and The Stage is a fresh new concept in Indian television, which is bound to change the scope of entertainment in this country. This belief in the show is the foundation of our partnership with Colors Infinity. We are glad that we can be a part of this huge transformation of English entertainment in India.”
Filmmaker and Colors Infinity co-curator Karan Johar said, “When I first heard about The Stage, I was amazed at the introduction of such a novel concept for Indian television. I can see a paradigm shift in the reality TV shows in India.”
Actor and channel co-curator Alia Bhatt added, “English music is such an important part of our playlists but we don’t get to see it anywhere on our music platforms. So The Stage is an idea whose time has come.”
Since the IP remains exclusively with Colors Infinity, it is highly possible that the channel will later syndicate the format to a different platform or other territories. “Syndication can be a possibility in the long run but at this stage our focus is to establish The Stage and innovate with other locally created English content,” summed up Palia.
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.
