English Entertainment
FremantleMedia acquires two factual docs from Arrow Media
MUMBAI: FremantleMedia International (FMI) has extended its relationship with UK’s Arrow Media, having acquired international distribution rights to two new factual titles namely Operation Burma (2 x 60) and Nightmare on Everest (1 x 60).
FMI director of non-scripted, UK, EMEA and Asia Pacific Angela Neillis said, “It’s great to be working with the Arrow Media team again and to represent them on such diverse stories. Arrow’s trademark ability to deliver a compelling narrative, uncover new footage and gain the trust of first-hand eyewitnesses is unparalleled, and that’s why FremantleMedia International is proud to have these shows in our catalogue.”
Arrow Media joint creative director John Smithson added, “Our heritage is in unearthing fascinating stories and telling them in a way that will appeal to audiences all over the world. Operation Burma and Nightmare on Everest are a testament to this. Both reveal the truth behind two very different events, but equally take viewers on an emotional journey back in time. We are delighted to be working with Fremantle on both docs and extending our relationship further.”
Operation Burma – tells the story of world-renowned mountaineer, Joe Simpson as he embarks on a journey of discovery to learn more about the father he barely knew. Best known for his book and film adaptation, Touching the Void, Joe takes viewers on a unique 160 mile adventure in an unexplored part of the world as he undertakes this most personal of quests. Accompanied by survival expert, Ed Stafford, the first man to walk the length of the Amazon, Joe uses details recorded in his father’s secret, coded diary, to retrace the steps his father took seventy years ago as part of the second Chindit “Special Forces” campaign against the Japanese. Operation Burma is a BBC Two commission and Nick Metcalfe is executive producer.
Nightmare on Everest – tells the gripping and emotional story of two days in the spring of 2015 which saw two catastrophic earthquakes strike the Himalayas killing 18 mountaineers and trapping many more for days. Almost one year on from this momentous event which took place on 15 April, the series uses a combination of user-generated content, previously untold stories and CGI to capture the impact of the natural disaster which sparked a series of devastating avalanches on Mount Everest. It has been commissioned in the UK by Channel 4.
FremantleMedia International also represents two additional Arrow Media titles. Dogs: Their Secret Lives, which has gone on to sell into 43 territories and is a fascinating hidden-camera series that captures the extraordinary behaviour of some of the nation’s dogs and their owners; and Hitler: The Biography (w/t) a six-part documentary series which chronicles Hitler from childhood to his downfall and has several pending deals across global territories.
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.
