English Entertainment
AXN welcomes the New Year with best of reality shows and political drama
MUMBAI: Home to the longest running shows in India, AXN is bringing you the best of International Television this New Year 2015. The channel has a fresh line up of four new shows, fulfilling the promise to keep thrilling and exciting its viewers with – Madam Secretary, Wake Up Call, Top Chef Season 10 and Top Gear Season 21. Starting the year with fast paced cars is Top Gear Season 21 followed by the most spoken about political drama Madam Secretary co-produced by acclaimed actor Morgan Freeman. Emmy Award winning show, Top Chef Seattle with host Padma Lakshmi will be back along with the latest season premiere of Dwayne Johnson’s reality show Wake Up Call.
BAFTA and Emmy award winning series Top Gear, the world best motoring show takes the viewers to amazing locations to test the world’s most powerful and exotic cars. The famous trio of cuttingly funny Jeremy Clarkson, quirky Richard Hammond and contemplative James May makes it hugely entertaining and visually fantastic. Started on Jan 3rd, watch it for the love of automobile and for the love of intelligent entertainment, every Saturday & Sunday at 8:30 pm on AXN India.
Adding to The Not So Ordinary Weekend is the much awaited People’s Choice Award Nominee for New TV Series, Madam Secretary. With this show AXN aims to bring the best of the latest American Television to the Indian viewers. Co-Produced by Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman, the show is a political drama rooted in White House diplomacy. Tea Leoni portrays the role of an unusual politician Elizabeth Faulkner Mc Cord, a former CIA analyst turned college professor promoted suddenly to the position of United States Secretary of State under strange circumstances. In the US, Madam Secretary ranks as Sunday’s #1 scripted broadcast and #4 new series averaging 13.53 million viewers. Witness the drama unfold from Jan 10th every Saturday at 11 pm on AXN India.
The classic and famous Emmy winner cult cookery show Top Chef Seattle Season 10 with the lovely Padma Lakshmi is back to set our taste buds to new gastronomic delicacies with 21 professional chefs. The master of all cookery shows has the judges- Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Gail Simmons and Hugh Acheson, all set to evaluate the contestants on some ordinary as well as not so ordinary culinary expertise like knife skills and creating a breakfast on a stick! The thrilling quick fire challenges are back in vogue on Top Chef, starting Jan 26th, Monday to Thursday at 8pm.
A reality show like no other! Dwayne Johnson is back with Season 2 of The Hero – Wake Up Call.The former wrestler and Hollywood actor would be seen lending a helping hand to people who are facing enormous challenges in their lives whether they are dead beat dads, sports team with no team spirit or business owners struggling to survive. Wake up Call produced and hosted by Dwayne Johnson will bring in Rock style motivation on the TV screen, with the motto- when life gives you lemons, crush them! Catch him in all his glory with his team of contestants from Jan 31st every Saturday & Sunday at 9pm.
Commenting on the onset of 2015, Saurabh Yagnik, Executive Vice-president and Business Head, Sony PIX & AXN India said “AXN’s new show line up is all about bringing the best of American TV to Indian television. Dwayne Johnson’s new show Wake Up Call could not have been launched at a better time, the show resonates with the way India feels right now- building a new future. We are delighted to premiere Madam Secretary, which is a welcoming addition to our already wide programming spectrum, a political drama produced by Morgan freeman and Lori McCreary. The channel has been home to Top Gear and Top Chef for years. Top Gear is the best show on automobile, meant for both who love cars and who don’t. We work dedicatedly to bring wide variety of shows and genres and these new shows are a step in the same direction, a New Year gift to our viewers. With world’s best reality shows and drama AXN is definitely a must watch destination for all age groups.”
Drive in to the fast lane with Top Gear which premiered on 3rd January, Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 pm. Watch the captivating political drama unfolding on Madam Secretary starting 10th January, Saturday at 11 pm. Get the kitchen set for new recipes from Top Chef Seattle starting 26th January, Monday to Thursday at 8 pm. Last but not the least, a reality show with a difference Wake Up Call sees all-rounder Dwayne Johnson make a difference in the lives of the commoners premiering on 31st January, Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm only on AXN.
Later during the year 2015, Not so ordinary weekend would be new launching three shows- Golden Globe nominated legal procedural series Ray Donovan starring Wolverine famed Liev Schreiber. Home to singing reality show- The Voice, Season 8 will see the return of the global singing sensation Christina Aguilera making the audiences ask for more! The daily dose of action on the channel ups the ante for the adrenaline lovers with French- Canadian action adventure crime series Transporter Season 2 and the internationally acclaimed series 24. The year 2015 assures to be an exhilarating year for AXN fans.
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.
