English Entertainment
Romedy Now completes 2 years; commands 58% share in English GECs
MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel (GEC) Romedy Now has completed two years and as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India data, the channel today commands 58 per cent share viewership in the genre. Additionally, 18 shows out of the top 25 shows in the English GEC genre are on Romedy Now.
What’s more, as compared to last year, the channel’s ad rates have also gone up by 50 – 60 per cent.
Since its launch on 22 September, 2013, Romedy Now has been home to some of the most romantic movies and funniest shows. Shows like FRIENDS, Ally Mcbeal, Witches Of East End, 2 Broke Girls, Friends With Better Lives and Jane The Virgin have all partnered in the growth of the channel and have contributed to its success.
Speaking on the channel completing two years, Times Network head English entertainment cluster senior vice president Vivek Srivastava said, “The channel has done very well in the last two years in terms of numbers. We are constantly number one in BARC India and TAM Media Research (TAM). Romedy doesn’t command the share of mind but the share of heart and that’s the strength of our brand. The channel command 58 per cent viewership in the genre and in the last 13 weeks, 18 shows out of the top 25 shows in English GEC space are on Romedy Now. That is the power of the content we have. Moreover, Romedy Now is not compared with the movie channels’ segment but with the English entertainment space. That said, even if it were compared with the movie channels’ segment, it holds the leadership position.”
Recently Romedy Now added an extra hour of content with The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is being simulcast in India with the US. “The mood of the channel determines the content that we acquire and the mood of the channel is happy. So any romantic movie or feel good factor will feature on the channel and that is the kind of content that we acquire,” he added.
Throwing light on the channel’s ad revenue compared to last year as well as the category of clients that have come on board, Srivastava said, “We have almost doubled our revenues as far as Romedy is concerned because it is the only segmented and differentiated brand in the category. It has a very strong appeal so advertisers’ pull on the brand has been fantastic. The ad rates have gone up by 50 – 60 per cent from last year. We don’t have to hard sell the brand and that’s an advantage we have. E-commerce, automobile, jewellery and FMCGs are the big category clients that we have on board.”
As part of the second anniversary celebrations, the channel premiered the Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson starrer British comedy The Love Punch on 22 September at 9 pm.
Romedy Now has also launched an anniversary contest called ‘Happy 2gether.’
On the programming front, the channel launched one of America’s best sitcoms – Hot in Cleveland on 21 September, which is being aired from Monday to Friday at 8.30 pm. In October the channel is planning to launch Addicted to Love in the romantic slot at 9 pm, whereas November will see How I Met Your Mother launching. For Diwali, the channel will be airing a special called Diwali Delights as well as the Romedy of the month movie – Girl Most Likely.
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.
