English Entertainment
MGM Channel launches in Thailand on UBC
MUMBAI: Further accelerating its presence throughout Asia, MGM Networks, a unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. has launched the MGM Channel to subscribers in Thailand via UBC.
“In just over a year, we have seen tremendous growth throughout Asia. The MGM Channel has quickly achieved the status of ‘must-have’ channel for cable and satellite operators throughout the region. Through UBC, we will bring the MGM Channel directly to consumers across this key and growing market. We anticipate a very warm reception from Thai viewers,” said MGM Networks executive vice president Bruce Tuchman.
The MGM Channel became available this month as part of UBC’s Silver and Platinum Packages. MGM and UBC also plan to introduce Thai subtitling to the channel in the near future.
“This is a superb opportunity for UBC to add value to its silver and platinum packages with MGM Channel Asia’s content of well-loved films. For us, this deal signifies a positive move towards the South East Asia and Greater China markets,” said CNBC Asia Pacific president & CEO Alexander Brown.
The agreement with UBC is the most recent in a lengthy series of distribution deals forged by MGM Networks across Asia over the past year. Among other Asian operations, MGM Networks has a strategic alliance in the Greater China and South East Asia market with CNBC Asia Pacific, which assists MGM in the operation and distribution of a dedicated MGM channel in the region. The UBC deal will be part of this regional alliance. It follows announcements of the MGM Channel’s launch in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia.
“UBC is committed to providing the best-quality programs to widen knowledge of the world and bring entertainment variety to our customers,” said UBC director marketing and sales Ongard Prapakamol.” The MGM Channel is an outstanding addition to our new package offerings. We are confident that Thai viewers will be entertained by the variety of movies available on the MGM Channel.”
Separately, MGM Networks holds interests in MGM-branded and other channels reaching scores of countries and territories worldwide. In the Asia-Pacific region, these interests include two branded channels in Korea and one in New Zealand.
In addition, branded MGM Channels reach millions of subscribers across Europe, Latin America and Africa. Among MGM Networks’ latest channel launches are The MGM Channel in Spain, which premiered in summer 2004, and a Russian-language version of the MGM Channel that debuted in Russia last fall.
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.
