English Entertainment
&PrivéHD innovates with Privé Episodes
Mumbai: There are some stories that truly deserve a moment. A moment to feel the emotion, a moment to savour the story and a moment to live the journey of the protagonist, one chapter at a time. For such unabridged tales that continue to linger in your thoughts, &PrivéHD, the premium destination for nuanced cinema, is set to launch Privé Episodes starting Monday, July 15 from 12 PM onwards.
This new property features two gritty dramas namely The Sinner and The Young Pope in a week-long binge. Bohemian and bold, the two series boast of dark, complex and edgy events that each lead to a dramatic cliff-hanger. Reaching out to the cinephiles with these choicest dramas, Privé Episodes on &PrivéHD presents the series in a back-to-back week-long binge starting 12PM to 8PM allowing the viewer to choose their pace as they dwell on each new revelation.
Speaking about the launch, Shaurya Mehta, Business Head, Zee English Cluster, said, “&PrivéHD has always stood for handpicking some of the most critically-acclaimed and award-winning stories for our discerning audience. Over the past months, we have brought some of the most innovate blocks such as The Unchartered Side and Privé Unscripted, that perfectly resonated with our audience who are looking to experiment with their choice and are equally involved in their choice-making.”
“With content increasingly being the key driver for most people, our non-conformist viewers prefer those stories that allow them to explore the many layers and live the drama at a steady pace. We are extremely thrilled to innovate yet again with Privé Episodes that enables the viewer to pick their pace as they progress with each episode in a week-long binge. Both ‘The Sinner’ and ‘The Young Pope’ are truly unconventional and gripping plots and we are certain that these series will surely garner immense appreciation from our loyal audience,” he added.
Directed by Derek Simonds and starring Jessica Biel, The Sinner revolves around the life of Cora – a seemingly normal woman who leads a happy life with her family of three. On one fine day, as the family settles by the beach, in a rush of sudden inexplicable emotions, Cora is seen walking up to a complete stranger and stabbing a man to death in broad daylight. What follows is detective Dan’s pursuit to uncover the real reason behind the gruesome murder. Having won multiple award nominations across awards such as Golden Globes, People’s Choice Awards, Primetime Emmy Award, The Sinner is one show that met with immense acclaim and rave reviews from both critics and audience alike.
In one of his most striking performances, The Young Pope features Jude Law essay the role of the first American in history to become the pope. The series traces the journey of the newly elected Pope Pius XIII Lenny Belardo (Jude Law) a sinister man under the garb of a saint, who turns the world around under his reign. The series has won multiple award nominations across prestigious titles such as Golden Globes, Primetime Emmy Awards and Venice Film Festival.
For those who appreciate nuanced cinema, &PrivéHD brings riveting and award-winning films that stimulate the minds and bring alive the other side of cinema with Zee Prime English HD Pack comprising – &PrivéHD, Zee Café HD, &flix HD, LF HD is priced at Rs 25/-.
So, take your time to savour the story as &PrivéHD presents Privé Episodes starting Monday, July 15, 2019 only on &PrivéHD
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.
