English Entertainment
Discovery Travel & Living to air two localised series in 06
BANGALORE: International lifestyle channel Discovery Travel & Living (DTL) is bringing out two series next year which will be localised in India. DTL is also making a five episode series on speed as an element slated to launch by the end of this month.
This was revealed to indiantelevision.com today on the sidelines of a media briefing to kick off a series on revolutionary music that left an indelible mark on the world — Impact: Songs That Changed The World.
We are going to bring out two series next year which are going to be localised for India, made by Indian production houses. Its for the first time that well be seeing a product made and commissioned by Indian producers. Our idea is not just to showcase the world to India, but to showcase India to the world. These series-one food and one travel show- will be broadcast abroad as well as in India said DTL manager corporate communications Rajiv Bakshi.
Additionally, DTL is making a five-episode series on speed as an element, what it means to various people, speed as in used for car racing, super-sonic jets, speed as used by women and women coming into driving, into speed racing. The show is slated to launch by the end of this month, said Bakshi.
Speaking about Impact: Songs That Changed The World, bakshi said the series is celebrating the songs and not the singers per se and 12 songs have been selected. The weekly show kicked off on 12 November on DTL and has been slotted at 8:30 pm. A rerun will air every Saturday at 4:30 pm.
Most of the songs are in demand even today, and songs of singers such as Bob Marley sell more than they did when he was alive. His freedom anthem I Shot the Sheriff , Elvis Presleys Heartbreak Hotel or Aretha Franklins female empowerment mega-hit Respect, these songs represent several indisputable milestones in the history of popular music.
The series includes the following songs in the episodes:
(1) MAYBELLENE, Chuck Berry
(2) HEARTBREAK HOTEL, Elvis Presley
(3) I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND, The Beatles
(4) RESPECT, Aretha Franklin
(5) I SHOT THE SHERIFF, Bob Marley
(6) I WANNA BE SEDATED, The Ramones
(7) STAYIN’ ALIVE, The Bee Gees
(8) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS?, Band Aid
(9) WALK THIS WAY, Run DMC & Aerosmith
(10) LIKE A VIRGIN, Madonna
(11) SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, Nirvana
(12) ANY MAN Of MINE, Shania Twain
People could say that we could have added more songs or some of the songs should not be there, we understand that and we appreciate that, said Bakshi while speaking with Indiantelevision.com.
Other interesting subjects that DTL plans to cover would be the effects of collisions between comets, a two episode series on the Titanic the first episode would cover the building of the ship and the second would show the reasons for its sinking, based on new findings.
Another program that is likely to be telecast – Voyage to Tsunami would be telecast on 26 December , to coincide with the anniversary of the event that devastated a large portion of South East Asia and India.
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.
