English Entertainment
Fox Kids Europe increases revenues by 17 per cent
MUMBAI: Pan-European integrated children’s entertainment broadcaster Fox Kids Europe has announced financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2004.
Revenues increased by 17 per cent to $87.4 million and operating income increased from $3.2 million to $9.1 million. Subscribers increased by 4.4 million year-on-year to 37.2 million households in 57 countries. However it anticipated that revenues from programme distribution for the year will be down 25 per cent.
The broadcaster is in the process of undergoing an initiative to create a new global action-adventure network for kids Jetix. As part of the rebranding excercise the company’s name will be changed to Jetix Europe in the coming months. In this respect an Extraordinary GM will be held in order to approve such a change.
Fox Kids Europe chairman and CEO Bruce Steinberg added, ” Our core channel business continues to go from strength to strength. We expect this success to continue as we begin to rename our channels from Fox Kids to Jetix over the next twelve months.
“Being part of a global programming alliance with Disney is a very exciting prospect for our company and, over time, we hope to increase the amount of programming that we co-produce with Disney. This alliance started last year with the co-production W.I.T.C.H, and since then we have already added to that with the co-production Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, . This is due for delivery next year.”
Steinberg conceeded that the programme distribution business had experienced a drop in revenues due to a reduction in the volume of rights acquired for shows outside of Europe and the Middle East. He however claimed that the reduction in revenues was not as great as had previously been anticipated.
“We are also seeing tangible signs of improvements in both the quality and quantity of programming that we acquire. The number of episodes added to the library in the period increased from 84 to
122 year-on-year. One of these shows, Tutenstein, has recently won an Emmy
award.”
Holland was the standout performer with a 32 per cent share among kids. The broadcaster further claimed that in France ratings increased by 66 per cent among kids aged 4-10. Meanwhile ad revenues went up by over 50 per cent against a television advertising market in Europe that has shown low single digit growth over the same period.
On the merchandising front he added that Power Rangers merchandise was now on sale in more than 100 Disney Stores throughout Europe. “This should contribute to further growth in our consumer products business.”
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.
