English Entertainment
Star World and Star World HD to air ‘MasterChef Australia season 7’
MUMBAI: Star World, India’s leading English General Entertainment channel, is all set to bring the latest season of the biggest and most watched culinary show on Indian television – Amazon.in presents MasterChef Australia S7 powered by India Gate Basmati Rice. Starting 3 September, the seventh season of the globally popular series will air every Monday to Friday, 9pm only on Star World and Star World HD.
MasterChef Australia has been a tent pole property for Star World and has inspired millions of Indians year on year changing the way food is perceived in India. The last season further cemented the show’s massive fan following, becoming one of the most-watched shows in the 9 PM slot in 3 years across the category.
Commenting on the show’s launch Star World official spokesperson said “MasterChef Australia has been a flagship show on Star World that has transformed the culinary landscape in India. Star World has always been a pioneer in exposing India to global lifestyles and creating that urban premium consumer segment who today we call as the Global Indian consumers; they demand nothing but the very best in English Entertainment”
A mega 360 degree promotional campaign has been put in place which will pan across various mediums to include On-Air, Digital, On-Ground, Trade and Public Relations. For the launch of the show, Star World will be putting up a massive promotional TV campaign not only across the Star network but outside network TV channels as well. Digital is key driver and the lead medium for the show and the channel has a robust visibility and consumer engagement campaign planned to reach out to its target audience via an extensive paid and earned media marketing campaign.
Star World will further amplify the show with unique targeted digital and on-ground tie ups. Food Talk India, one of India’s largest digital food communities has come on board as a digital partner and will be creating fun and engaging content on social media platforms for the show along with co-curating promotional events in Mumbai & Delhi to give viewers a MasterChef Australia worthy experience. Food Talk India, along with Star World, and Olive Bar and Kitchen will be hosting on-ground concepts with in New Delhi and Mumbai.
MasterChef Australia follows the journey of ordinary home-cooks as they showcase their extraordinary cooking ability. From different backgrounds, and with different experiences, skills and cultural influences, there is one thing that unites the home cooks – their passion for food. With the culinary bar set high in 2014, the heat will be on and this year we will see some of the most talented and passionate home cooks eagerly tackle challenges and put up dishes which will leave everyone spellbound.
Judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston will seek out the most passionate and talented amateur cooks from across the country to unearth the Top 24 to join them in the MasterChef Australia kitchen. This September, judges will once again become mentors, encouraging and challenging the contestants to push the boundaries further and unearth their passion for food. Speaking on the launch of the show in India, Gary Mehigan said “MasterChef Australia is very special to me. I am aware of the fan following the show has in India and its evident from all my visits to this fabulous country. This season will be truly awesome as the contestants on the show are cooking & plating food better than ever before. Don’t forget to tune in”
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.
