English Entertainment
Keshet International acquires rights to ‘You Will Love Me’
MUMBAI: Keshet International has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the Korean romantic comedy that has had the nation’s youth obsessed, You Will Love Me. It will launch the format and the finished show (16 x 1 hour) from the leading media and entertainment producer of hit drama series, JIDAM, to the international market at NATPE 2016.
During its run from October to December 2015 on Hyundai Media’s Drama H and Trendy TV channels, ratings for You Will Love Me peaked with a 140% increase on its launch rating. It also generated a loyal following on Kakao TV (Korea’s 180m user strong instant messaging service which has a dedicated TV chat area) as Korea’s tech savvy viewers speculated online about the series’ next big reveal. The show and its renowned lead actress, Tea-Ihm Lee, were the number one most searched terms on Korea’s most popular search engine, Naver, on the day that casting was announced.
JIDAM’s manager of international business Mi-Jong Jang said, “You Will Love Me is our first cable drama series, it is a heart-warming love story with a digital twist that proved irresistible to viewers in Korea. We are excited that You Will Love Me will to reach new audiences through our trusted distribution partner Keshet International. We simply believe you will love this series also!”
You Will Love Me follows the story of a pretty young girl with a big exciting secret. In real life, Ji-Ho is inexperienced in love having only had one relationship and even that ended badly. But in the digital world, Ji-Ho is the hugely popular romance guru Dr Nova. Dr Nova’s blog posts are followed by millions of people who have been unlucky in love and are looking for advice. Under her guise as the wise male master of love, Ji-Ho advises hopefuls on how they can make themselves more attractive to the objects of their desire. When Dr Nova unknowingly begins a huge makeover on her geeky and annoying neighbour – which threatens to uncover her digital alter-ego – things start to get complicated…
The head of business development and acquisitions Sebastian Burkhardt added, “We’re delighted to announce the acquisition of You Will Love Me, a Korean property which has created a huge buzz locally and has great potential in the world’s telenovela hubs of Latin America and Eastern Europe, not to mention the rest of Asia as a finished tape. This is the first of many projects under a long-term venture led Gary Pudney, our recently appointed Head of Asia, to package and sell high quality Korean properties worldwide.”
The acquisition builds on KI’s strong links to the Korean TV market following the local remakes of its flagship drama properties Prisoners of War and MICE known as ‘Spy’ locally.
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.
