English Entertainment
US Streaming platforms achieve record share of television viewing in Nielsen Report
MUMBAI: Nielsen’s March 2025 report on The Gauge indicates a shift towards more seasonal television viewing patterns in the US. Overall television viewing declined by six per cent compared to February, influenced by seasonal changes. However, the streaming category continued its growth, capturing 43.8 per cent of total TV usage in March, a 0.3 percentage point increase from February.
A notable finding is that for the first time in a monthly Gauge report, the top ten most-watched streaming programmes originated from seven different platforms: Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, Netflix, and Apple TV+. Max experienced the largest month-over-month growth among streaming services, increasing by six per cent, primarily driven by viewership of The White Lotus. YouTube also achieved a new platform record for the second consecutive month, accounting for 12 per cent of total TV watch time, despite a slight decrease in viewing hours compared to the previous month.
Cable television benefited from the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in March. Cable’s share of viewing rose to 24 per cent, a 0.8 percentage point increase, supported by a 29 per cent rise in cable sports viewing and consistent viewership for cable news. The most-watched cable sports broadcasts included NCAA Elite Eight games on TBS. Cable news programmes represented seven of the top ten cable telecasts, with Fox News Channel’s coverage of the presidential address on 4 March attracting 11 million viewers on the network and over 36 million viewers in total.
The broadcast category saw strong performance with ABC’s broadcast of The Oscars on 2 March, which was the most-watched programme in March with 20.3 million viewers across ABC and Hulu. Data indicated that viewers streaming the Oscars on Hulu were significantly younger compared to those watching via traditional broadcast. Scripted dramas accounted for 28 per cent of total broadcast viewing in March, with Tracker on CBS having five of the top ten broadcasts, each averaging over 10 million viewers. However, the absence of football contributed to an overall nine per cent decrease in broadcast viewership from February, resulting in a 20.5 per cent share of total TV viewing for the month.
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.
