English Entertainment
Colors Infinity to premiere ‘The Royals’ on 19 May
MUMBAI: Colors Infinity is all set to air British dramedy titled The Royals. The show will premiere on 19 May every Monday to Friday at 10 pm.
Commenting on the new show VP programming head of English entertainment Hashim D’Souza says, “The Royals is a unique spin on the lives of royalty. The entertaining and glamorous series makes for good storytelling, which reflects Colors Infinity’s core programming ideal of constantly introducing fresh and bold content. Queen Helena and her family will fit right in to the Indian context of familial ties and relationships.”
Elaborating on the marketing campaign, vice president marketing head of English entertainment Sabrina D’Souza says, “The Royals, being an internationally acclaimed series, fits right in to the Colors Infinity’s banner. The scale and grandeur of the series demands the extensive campaign that we have launched, with our marketing innovations and premium partnerships. We are taking the essence of the series and serving it to the consumers as a first-hand ‘Royal’ experience.”
Set in modern-day England, the show follows the lives of a fictional British Royal family who inhabit a world of opulence and regal tradition that caters to any and every desire, but one that also comes with the price tags of duty, destiny and intense public scrutiny. Prince Liam is thrust into the spotlight after the death of his older brother puts him next in line to the throne. When King Simonannounces that he is considering abolishing the monarchy the manipulative Queen Helena will do whatever it takes to remain in power. This elite drama stars the Elizabeth Hurley, who is back on the small screen with this series as the fierce and alluring Queen Helena along with William Moseley, Vincent Regan and Alexandra Park amongst others.
The channel has announced the show with an extensive and exhaustive campaign, including an innovative newspaper jacket cover on a leading daily. From billboard innovations with paparazzi flash-lights, resembling a red carpet walkthrough for the Royals to radio campaigns including special programming where the jockeys talking about the scandals of the Royal families of various countries,the campaign extends across markets to various cities. Apart from partnerships with premium salons and Hokey Pokey outlets, the channel has partnered with premium bars and pubs in Mumbai and Delhi for a royal themed party on the weekends.
The social media fans can look forward to a unique contest where the winner will not only receive a once-in-a-lifetime VIP experience in London, but will also get a glimpse of the Royal life at Buckingham Palace. Viacom18 network’s massive on-air reach further adds muscle to this integrated campaign, through spots on their popular channels like Comedy Central, Vh1 and MTV.
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.
