English Entertainment
&flix launches #FML (Flix Movie League) with Hollywood’s biggest heroes in an innovative league format
MUMBAI: This summer, pick your favourite hero every night as you watch Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster movies only on &flix and cheer him to victory! With the summer heat on and the T20 league just getting started, &flix plans to add to the excitement and the fan frenzy as it brings The Flix Movie League (#FML) to your television screens. As the destination for Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster hits and television premieres, the channel will dish out back-to-back blockbusters featuring Hollywood’s most celebrated Heroes. Through the month, movie fans will witness the likes of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Christian Bale, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Will Smith, Tom Cruise and several other Hollywood Superstars. The channel has developed an exciting format where Hollywood’s biggest and badass heroes will go face to face in a unique 9PM Vs 11PM battle in #FML.
Starting April 1, weeknights at 9PM and 11PM only on &flix, the league promises to leave the viewers spoilt for choice as they watch the best of Hollywood play out for six weeks! About 60 blockbusters from Hollywood will be played on the channel, under #FML.
Fans can take to social media and cheer for their favourite heroes as the channel will equip them with interesting trivia and stats about these celebrated Heroes. From Dwayne Johnson and team entering the jungle to play out Jumanji to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic “I am back” moment, from the entertaining and daring stunt legend – Jackie Chan to the very ferocious Wolverine, &flix has curated movies in the league that promises to deliver several riveting moments that will make the thrill-seeking audience #LeapForth with adrenaline and excitement! The spectacular line-up of films includes titles like Men in Black, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Iron Man 3, Ant-Man and Transformers to name a few. The Marvel Cinematic Universe will also feature as a part of the #FML league adding to a delightful movie watching experience all through the month.
Speaking about the league format and the campaign, Shaurya Mehta, Head, Premium Channels, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), said, “With the T20 league on, the number of viewers tuning into television does see an increase, thereby providing an opportunity for the Movies genre as well. There is demand for engaging and differentiated content, which we aim to fulfil by curating the best of Hollywood content on &flix. The Flix Movie League is an innovative format where movie enthusiasts will be able to enjoy some of our best Hollywood Titles back-to-back every night at 9pm and 11pm. The collection of Hollywood Blockbuster Hits playing out in #FML is bound to get the movie enthusiast in you excited.”
&flix has conceptualized an exciting ‘sports’ themed campaign that blends the world of Hollywood movies with the thrills of a sporting arena. The is sure to inspire the audience to break out of the orbit of sameness and #leapforth into the exciting world of their favourite hits. The campaign is promoted through a strong social media engagement plan where sports and movie fans alike can engage in banter and cheer for their favourite Heroes using the #FML.
&flix offers the best in Hollywood movies and the most number of television premieres and is available in the Zee Prime English Pack that includes 4 premium channels – &flix, Zee Café, LF and WION at a very attractive price of Rs 15/- per month only. The HD channels bouquet includes &PrivéHD, for 5 premium HD channels at Rs. 25/- per month only. For further information, contact your operator.
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.
