English Entertainment
Peter Roth extends tenure as president at Warner Bros.TV
MUMBAI: One of the most successful and respected executives working in television today, Peter Roth, has signed a long-term deal extending his tenure as Warner Bros. Television president, while expanding his duties to include oversight of the newly created Warner Horizon Television.
The newly created television arm is designed to create lower-budget scripted and reality primetime series for network and cable. These announcements were made today by Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) group president Bruce Rosenblum.
“Peter’s track record at Warner Bros. Television really speaks for itself, not just in the quantity of successful shows he’s launched, but more importantly, in the quality of the series created under his leadership,” said Rosenblum. “To say that we’re absolutely thrilled that Peter will be with us for many, many more years would be a gross understatement. He is truly the best in class. His creative instincts and execution, as well as his relationships with people both in front of and behind the cameras, from the writers’ rooms to the network boardrooms, are unmatched.
“As the television business continues to change and business models evolve, Warner Horizon Television will enable us to take more creative risks,” continued Rosenblum. “We’re incredibly excited about the prospect of this new television arm at the Studio and know that it couldn’t be in better hands than Peter’s.”
Roth joined Warner Bros. Television as its president in March 1999 and has maintained the company’s position as the industry’s preeminent producer of award winning primetime television series. In addition to being the most prolific television studio in Hollywood the last three years, WBTV has been the leading supplier of primetime series 16 of the last 19 television seasons. For the 2005-2006 season, WBTV placed 33 series on the primetime schedule, including a record 17 returning series, 11 new series and five midseason series.
During his tenure, Roth has been responsible for such series as the multiple Emmy Award winning The West Wing, Two and a Half Men, Without a Trace, The O.C., Cold Case, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, George Lopez, Supernatural, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Nip/Tuck and The Closer, as well as the successful continuation of such series as Friends and ER.
Prior toWBTV, Roth served as Fox Broadcasting Company president. There, he was responsible for the development and programming of the Emmy Award-winning Ally McBeal, That ’70s Show, Family Guy and King of the Hill. He also held posts as president of 20th Century Fox Television, Twentieth Network Television (currently 20th Century Fox Television), and of Production at Twentieth Network Television, where he oversaw such hits as the multiple Emmy Award winning Picket Fences, The X-Files, The Practice, Chicago Hope and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Before working at Twentieth, Roth was president of Stephen J. Cannell Productions, where he was involved with the creation and sale of such critically acclaimed series as 21 Jump Street, Wiseguy and The Commish.
Roth began his television career at the ABC Television Network in children’s programming where he served as both a manager and later a director before moving into current programming where held both director and vice president posts, states an official release.
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.
