English Entertainment
Romedy Now steps into a new avatar, undergoes a brand refresh
MUMBAI: Romedy Now, India’s No.1 English Entertainment channel has unveiled a refreshed brand identity with the introduction of originals, new shows and movie premieres. The channel unveiled its refreshed identity with its first original show The Love Laugh Live Show.
The refreshed Romedy Now infuses ‘Happy in Life’ quotient, while retaining the channel’s core premise of Love. Laugh. Live that will continue to guide the essence of the brand. With the added 'happiness quotient' and engaging storytelling, interweaved with a whole new look & feel across originals, new shows and movie premieres, the brand persona of Romedy Now broadens the emotional spectrum, from being happy in love to being happy in life. Bringing excitement and liveliness on screen, Romedy Now adds bright red and blue to its overall colour pallet and introduces a touch of asymmetry in the logo with the tilted ‘E’ that represents a ‘wink’. The new packaging reflects happiness, vibrancy, fun and quirkiness that is symbolic of the channel’s refreshed identity.
Talking about the brand's new identity, Vivek Srivastava, President – Strategy and Business Head – English Entertainment Cluster said, “Romedy Now in its new avatar resets the dial with re-energized content to offer viewers an unparalleled and complete English Entertainment viewing experience. Our foray into original content is a testament of our commitment to offer an engaging, real and distinctively entertaining array of content to complement the viewer’s evolving consumption patterns. The Love Laugh Live Show marks our debut in originals and will explore various categories across travel, food, beauty & lifestyle, bringing 2 exciting shows a quarter to the viewers. I’m confident that with the refreshed identity, Romedy Now will continue to be the loved brand by our viewers.’’
The refreshed avatar of Romedy Now strengthens the brand promise – Love. Laugh. Live with marquee shows and films. Featuring exclusively on Romedy Now are award-winning shows like 30 Rock, Parks & Recreationand Wahlburgers and ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, which will make a comeback with its latest season.
Complemented by the foray into original programming, this repertoire is designed to appeal to a wider range of audiences while making the viewing experience richer and more immersive. The first original on the channel, The Love Laugh Live Show indulges in cosy conversations with India’s favourite celebrities, giving a peak into the unexplored ‘Romedy’ side of their life. The show hosted by Faye D’Souza will air every Saturday at 9pm on Romedy NOW and also be available for viewers on Sony LIV.
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.
