English Entertainment
Star World launches in Thailand, beams on UBC
MUMBAI: Star World has started beaming in Thailand on UBC digital channel 57 from 1 February.
Star World brings viewers in Asia the best in television entertainment of all genres – drama, comedy, reality, daytime soaps, talkshows, games shows, news and current affairs, childrens programmes, concert specials and international awards shows.
Starting 15 February, the channel will feature Thai subtitles during the prime time slot 8 pm – 9 pm (Thailand) for popular shows including The Casino, Manhunt, Third Watch, Outback Jack and Dog -The Bounty Hunter. The channel also plans to increase the hours of Thai subtitling in March.
Star senior vice president programming Ross Crowley said, “The launch of Star World on UBC underscores our commitment to bringing the world’s must-see television to viewers in Thailand. The latest broadcast of programmes including American Idol, Charmed and Wild Card has shot Star World up at the ratings charts in other markets. I am sure the channel, with the inclusion of Thai subtitles during prime time, will be well-received in the market while further strengthening Star’s programme offering to our viewers.”
UBC director marketing and sales Ongard Prapakamol said, “We at UBC are very excited that our viewers will have an even more complete television experience with the addition of Star World on our platform. Star World boasts top quality shows including American Idol, the international runaway hit that is praised as the original talent search. I am sure Star World will be a highly rated channel on UBC soon.”
The most exciting show currently on Star World is the fourth season of American Idol that has been breaking ratings records around the world and is now making its debut in Thailand. Thai viewers of Star World will be the first in Asia to catch the electrifying competition direct off satellite.
Comedies on Star World include The Office, That 70s Show, Miss Match, The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond and The King Of Queens. In the reality genre, the channel showcases The Apprentice, The Simple Life, Cops, Manhunt: The Search For Americas Most Gorgeous Male Model and Growing Up Gotti, the new series that created ratings history in the US.
Other series include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Charmed, Wild Card, Enterprise, J.A.G., The Oprah Winfrey Show, Parkinson and The Kumars At No 42, to name a few.
Star World also boasts its own Star News Asia, a thirty-minute weekday wrap-up of the latest news relevant to the region.
In addition to Star World, other Star channels currently available on UBC TV in Thailand are Star Movies, Channel [V] Thailand, Star Sports, ESPN and National Geographic Channel.
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.
