English Entertainment
Nick Grimshaw, Rita Ora join ‘The X Factor’, Fernandez-Versini & Cowell return
MUMBAI: ITV, Syco and Thames announced that Nick Grimshaw and Rita Ora have signed as judges for the new series of The X Factor, as well as confirming that Cheryl Fernandez-Versini will return to the judging panel alongside show creator Simon Cowell.
Popstar Rita Ora is no stranger to The X Factor having first appeared on the show in 2012 as a guest judge. Ora burst on to the music scene in 2012, scoring a No.1 single with her collaboration with DJ Fresh on ‘Hot Right Now’. She went on to have a No. 1 debut album which produced two further No.1 singles. The first single from her second album, ‘I Will Never Let You Down’, became her fourth UK number one when it debuted at the top of the charts.
Speaking about joining the show, Ora said, “I am excited to be coming back to The X Factor – I had a ball here in 2012. This is a journey I can’t wait to embark on to find some talented singers. It’s the new generation taking over. Booooom.”
As the host of BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast show since 2012, Grimshaw is one of the most respected Radio DJs in the business. A massive champion of music, he will bring a new and fresh perspective to the panel in the search for the next big singing sensation.
A well-known fan of The X Factor, Grimshaw said, “I love X Factor and have watched the series religiously since it started, so obviously I’m hugely excited to be joining the show. Music is my job and my passion and I’m really looking forward to seeing what talent we can find and nurture this year. I can’t wait for Judges Houses in Oldham!”
Fernandez-Versini returns to the panel for her fifth series, after last year taking Lauren Platt all the way to the semi-finals. She was previously a judge on The X Factor from series five to series seven, securing victory in 2008 with Alexandra Burke and 2009 with Joe McElderry.
Fernandez-Versini said, “I haven’t been as excited about an X Factor season since I first became a judge. The addition of Rita and Grimmy along with some interesting changes we’ve made to the format has refocused us to do what we do best, finding talent and making stars. I cannot wait to get started!”
Cowell, who last year mentored the winning act, Ben Haenow, as well as the runner up Fleur East, said, “It’s taken a while! But I am very happy to be able to confirm our line-up of judges for The X Factor this year. The combination of Nick, Cheryl and Rita is going to be a lot of fun! They all bring a lot of enthusiasm and passion for music to the show. I have a feeling I am in for a bit of a rough time but sometimes you have to embrace the craziness and now, with luck, we hope to find a star.”
ITV director of entertainment and comedy Elaine Bedell added, “We’re delighted that Cheryl is returning to the show with Simon and we welcome Rita and Nick on board. Nick will bring his unique perspective and extensive musical knowledge to this year’s X Factor panel, while in Cheryl and Rita we have two of the UK’s most successful female recording artists.”
FremantleMedia UK acting CEO Richard Holloway said, “Rita and Nick are brilliant additions to the panel. Nick began his career in the music business and is hugely passionate about finding and breaking new talent, while Rita knows what it takes to be a successful artist. Alongside the welcome return of Cheryl and Simon, we have a formidable judging panel for what is shaping up to be quite the series.”
The new panel is part of a number of changes to this year’s series of The X Factor, which also include the brand new hosts Caroline Flack and Olly Murs. The new series will see the auditions move out of the rooms and straight in to the arenas, with hopefuls having to perform in front of an arena audience from the start in the hope of making it through to the next stage. Further changes will be announced in due course.
The X Factor returns to ITV in autumn this year and applications for the new series are open now.
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.
