English Entertainment
Zee Café celebrates 20 years of we-time moments
MUMBAI: A journey of unparalleled entertainment, of togetherness and of shared experiences; it’s been a thrilling 20 years for Zee Café, a name that is synonymous with the best of English entertainment. Zee Café has truly shaped the content choice of entire generations as it discovered unexplored International content for us. Over the years, the channel has featured the latest international content that has inspired, stimulated and entertained us. On its 20 year milestone, the channel invites its audience to hangout with Zee Café and join in the celebrations as it completes 20 years of ‘We-Time’ with its viewers.
Bringing this emotion alive, Zee Café has launched a special campaign video that glides through time and showcases how the channel has inherently been a part of our lives and has inadvertently shaped us over the years. The visually striking video beautifully depicts this journey through the experiences of girl from an Indian family who grew up watching Zee Café. Through a series of relatable illustrations, the film highlights moments in her life that are inspired by the iconic shows on Zee Café, that have become a signpost of her life stages, similarly playing a part in shaping life and lifestyle for their viewers from around the country.
Celebrating 20 years of non-stop entertainment, Zee Café strives to share bundles of joy and smiles with some of the best shows that make for an absolute delight to watch together with friends or family. Weekends are no longer a bore with entertainment to keep you hooked all through the day! From compelling dramas that keep you on the edge to light-hearted sitcoms, and from cut-throat battles series to inspiring superhero saga – the line-up has it all!
Speaking on the milestone, ZEEL Prathyusha Agarwal, chief consumer officer said, “The number 20 truly speaks volumes for the strength of Zee’s English Cluster backed by our loyal partners and an ever-evolving audience base who have consistently supported us in our endeavor. Being one of the pioneers in English entertainment in the country, it brings us immense joy to have impacted people’s lives and shaped the culture over the years with the finest ‘glocal’ content showcased on the channel.”
She further added, “India is the world’s second largest English-speaking country and as per BARC, English entertainment caters to 170Mn+ viewers (BARC @ All India 2+ U+R, Week 01'20- Week 29' 20). We observed through a video study that short form digital video content consumption in English is growing and there are 60Mn viewers who regularly consume snippets of English content on-the-go. This suggests that English isn’t just a language or a medium of consumption but a means to think and express that’s far more intrinsic with this audience. To our consumers who lead a fast-paced lifestyle and have a global outlook, our compelling programming has served as a window to the world and our 20 years campaign beautifully encapsulates this relationship with our discerning viewers. Today, with the explosion of content and platforms, it has led to a greater and a more central role for television as the medium of discovery for latest international content. There is a need for careful curation of content on television that lends to co-viewing, making TV for a great community experience which could emerge as the big differentiator.”
ZEEL English Cluster business head Kartik Mahadev said, “As the campaign says, the past 20 years have been incredible, and we can’t wait to spend many more with the Zee Café tribe. As one looks back at the journey, its been marked by a few breakthroughs but equally important are the continuous everyday efforts of curating great content and enhancing the consumer experience. The contribution by several teams over the years and our committed studio partners have been instrumental in shaping the English entertainment landscape in the country. With innovations like Along with the US, Uncut, binge-watch as a format and ‘subtitles’, that we take for a given today, the channel has been able to build an engaged and discerning audience. We have brought the best of Zee Café’s content together to mark the occasion and give our audience the opportunity to binge the best shows. We are excited about the content line up ahead for the year with shows such as The Titan Games Season 2, MasterChef and Grey’s Anatomy in the pipeline.”
He further added, “The lockdown has showed us that the viewers choose to watch television for the curated content experience it provides, to not just individuals but the entire family. In the post lockdown world, where we are spending most of our time in our homes, it’s the together moments with family and friends that is keeping us positive and spirited. Zee Café is recognizing the role that television plays in bringing people together, sparking conversations and with this campaign we celebrate these occasions through a montage of We-Time moments.”
With an all new season power-punch packed reality show like The Titan Games and with DC comics led superhero Supergirl slated to air, Zee Café buckles up for an exciting and thrilling rodeo ride ahead this August.
So, hangout with your friends and family and partake in the celebrations as Zee Café celebrates 20 Years of We-Time
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.
