English Entertainment
Eros International-Central Partnership step into content distribution
MUMBAI: Eros International PLC, a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, has announced a strategic partnership with leading Russian distribution and production company Central Partnership (CP), affiliate of Gazprom Media Holding, to promote and distribute Indian and Russian content across multiple platforms in both countries.
This association includes exploitation via licensing of intellectual property rights owned by each party in their respective markets and distribution of film projects for both India and Russia, opening up the market for the two companies to explore new geographies. CP will dub films from Eros’ extensive film library in Russian language which will enable the company to cater to a much larger audience in Russia and CIS. Eros can further utilize the dubbed content on its digital platform, Eros Now, to reach out to a wider audience in Russia.
With the rapid growth of satellite pay TV in Russia, there is an increased demand for premium digital and television content. This alliance will pave the way for CP to showcase extensive repository of Bollywood films from the Eros library on pay TV. Furthermore, CP will also approach free TV channels to explore showcasing of Indian titles. Similarly, Eros will endeavor to distribute CP media assets on Indian television.
This collaboration will also enable the launch of Eros Now, the on-demand OTT digital platform of EROS, in Russia and CIS. CP will endeavor to showcase Eros Now’s VOD content on the leading digital distribution network RUFORM through Rutube (web video streaming service targeted in Russia) while Eros will facilitate featuring Russian content on Eros Now.
Eros International group CEO & managing director Jyoti Deshpande said, “With our entry into the Russian market, we continue to build our strong global position and are delighted to take the lead in associating with the prestigious Russian film company Central Partnership. Russia’s domestic market potential is promising and coupled with the rise in digital consumption by local audiences, we see a huge opportunity in exploiting exciting, unique and high-quality content together to reach audiences across the two diaspora.”
Central Partnership CEO Pavel Stepanov added, “Our strategic partnership is a big step for both companies in their international expansion, since content from India is now underrepresented in Russia and vice-versa. Our plan is to benefit from both companies’ leading positions in domestic markets to change this layout.”
Russia’s box office grew in the first half of this year by 8.6% to 29 billion rubles (US$ 413 million), while attendance was up year-on-year by 9% (112 million tickets sold). Foreign films continue to be the main driver of growth in the market. Between January-June box office for foreign films grew by 9.6% to 23 billion rubles (US$ 327 million), while attendance rose from 78.6 million to 88 million. Meanwhile, box office for Russian films in the period increased by 5.1%, to about 6.1 billion rubles (US$87 million), while attendance improved fractionally from 24.5 million to 24.7 million people.
Eros International acquires, co-produces and distributes Indian films across all available formats such as cinema, television and digital new media.Central Partnership, the exclusive distributor of Paramount Pictures in Russia, owns the largest library there comprising over 700 features and 3300 hours of TV series.
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.
