English Entertainment
Fox ropes in Fremantle’s David Lyle to head Reality Channel
MUMBAI: The man behind American Idol is going to be leading the effort to get Fox television’s upcoming Fox Reality Channel off and running.
David Lyle will take charge of Fox’s upcoming reality channel in the US. Lyle was previously president of entertainment for FremantleMedia. Lyle will serve as COO and GM of Fox Reality Channel.
During Lyle’s time at FremantleMedia, he led a team that launched and guided American Idol to three seasons of growth at Fox. Both that programme and others he guided helped to establish new ways of integrating top sponsors like AT&T, Coca-Cola, Ford, Sears and Proctor & Gamble into unscripted production.
Lyle’s three years atop FremantleMedia resulted in a deep diversification in programming for the company, as he produced primetime network shows and key series for major outlets including MTV, Lifetime, TLC, GSN, Pax TV and the Food Network.
Fox Reality Channel has set itself the target of premiering in more than 17 million homes in the US next year. Only four new networks in the history of cable or satellite television (FX, Fox News Channel, Animal Planet and National Geographic Channel) have surpassed 20 million homes in their initial year, according to Nielsen data.
Fox Networks Group president and CEO Tony Vinciquerra said, “Fox Reality Channel is a natural complement to the studios, networks, programme libraries and international operations we have around the globe. David’s skills will prove a tremendous benefit to Fox Reality Channel as it establishes itself as a key destination within the unscripted world.”
Lyle said, “Great reality shows leave viewers wanting more, and the Fox Reality Channel will provide more current reality favourites, more never-before-seen footage, and more new productions. The Fox Reality Channel will be the place for the huge number of fans of unscripted television for whom too much reality is barely enough.”
During his 25 year career Lyle has also served as the head of development and acquisitions for the Kerry Packer owned Nine Network, which is based out of Sydney. He was among the first international broadcasters to create local versions of top formats like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire .
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.
