media M&A

Comcast’s gatecrashing of Rupert Murdoch’s eight-year campaign to buy pay-TV group Sky has sparked a regulatory race with 21st Century Fox .

Discovery Communications said Tuesday it has formally closed its $14.6B acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive, creating a powerhouse of unscripted programming that CEO David Zaslav says will dominate the space it calls “real-life entertainment.”

Discovery says the DOJ had concluded its investigation into the proposed merger, clearing the way for the deal to close.

“The market is predicting a much higher offer,” notes one analyst, while another predicts “it is likely Fox will now walk away.”

CNN boss Jeff Zucker has called upon advertisers and tech firms to help find new way to monetize news content on mobile platforms, and on authorities to pay closer attention to the power wielded by Google and Facebook, as news providers try to adapt to the changing digital landscape.

Certain lenders and noteholders of iHeart Media on Monday said John Malone’s Liberty Media proposed to buy a 40% stake in a restructured version of iHeart for $1.16 billion. The offer comes less than a month after struggling radio station owner iHeart skipped a $106 million interest payment, triggering a 30-day grace period to buy more time to restructure its $20 billion debt and avoid bankruptcy.

Comcast is offering 22.1 billion pounds ($29.50 billion) for Sky. The proposed cash offer values each Sky share at £12.50, which represents a 16% premium to the bid made by Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

AT&T is demanding that the Justice Department hand over additional evidence to prove that President Trump did not wield political influence over the agency as its antitrust enforcers reviewed the company’s bid to acquire Time Warner.

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox pledged to keep Sky News independent and continue funding the loss-making channel for five years, in an attempt to overcome British regulatory concerns over its $15.7 billion takeover of pay-TV firm Sky.

Comcast is considering a new offer for Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox assets, despite an agreement in December to sell them to Walt Disney Co for $52.4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Comcast’s deliberations indicate that it believes it still has a chance to clinch a deal with Fox, even though its previous bid last year for more than $60 billion was rejected over concerns that regulators worried about media consolidation could thwart it, the sources said.

Discovery Communications said today that the European Commission has cleared its $14.6 billion acquisition of the Food Network and HGTV owner Scripps Network Interactive. The European regulatory body agreed the deal on the condition that Discovery continues to offer third-party distributors the right to broadcast Scripps’ Polish channels TVN24 and/or TVN24 BiS in the country.

The big deals coming down the pike this year, even as the deals landscape looks more dicey then expected.

Comcast may consider topping Disney’s bid for Fox, according to people familiar with the matter. No decision has been made by Comcast on a topping bid yet, said the people, who asked not to be named because the decision is private.

Combining two media businesses at a time when fewer people are paying for (or watching) TV won’t help either of them, even in the near term. But selling to a tech company like Amazon would allow CBS to more effectively compete with other networks by bidding higher for sports rights — the only content that still keeps mass audiences tied to TV sets — while at the same time getting ahead of TV’s inevitable shift to online distribution.

Multibillion-dollar, multi-national Amdocs has signed a definitive agreement to acquire media service provider Vubiquity. The $224 million cash deal has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors, and is expected to close during the second quarter of the year..

Jon Feltheimer has for years been a buyer, most recently of Starz, but as Disney and AT&T bulk up and potential suitors swirl, his mini-studio could prove irresistible for a giant like Verizon or even the Murdochs.

Shari Redstone faces a delicate negotiation with CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, who wants to be at the helm of the united company.

After the rapid pace of media industry consolidation in 2017, companies like Verizon have been pegged as next most likely to go after media M&A. But Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam says not so fast. McAdam admitted that there’s a lot of movement in the space right now but that his company largely ignores any interest.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority issued a preliminary ruling Tuesday that 21st Century Fox’s planned $16.3 billion takeover of satellite service Sky plc isn’t in the public interest because it would give Rupert Murdoch and his family too much control over the country’s news media. The Competition and Markets Authority’s decision will be finalized by May 1, when the regulator will send its report to the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, who will make a final decision on the deal.

With CBS and Viacom talking merger again, all eyes are on Lionsgate, which is considered a prime target for acquisition. According to one source, there are already potential suitors — Amazon, Verizon and a CBS-Viacom combination — that have all been sniffing around the company.

Tribune Broadcasting president Larry Wert began his appearance on a panel at NATPE’s Station Summit by joking that this would likely be his last time ever at the conference. Technically that could be true — Sinclair Broadcast Group is weeks or even days away from final regulatory approval of its long-anticipated takeover of Tribune. But Wert ended the session on a more serious note, warning of the significant risk that comes with the consolidation wave swallowing up his company.

A merger of Viacom and CBS would lift the combined companies’ stats — earning more total viewership than all major TV-based companies. However, Viacom-CBS would still be behind in other areas, such as national TV advertising revenues and affiliate fees.

As Walt Disney Co.’s own plan to purchase the bulk of Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox looms in the background, the U.K.’s merger watchdog is set to issue provisional findings this week on whether the Sky takeover would give Murdoch too much influence in the U.K. and if Fox upholds broadcasting standards. With a final deadline scheduled for the start of March, Murdoch has little time to address any concerns.

Shares in Viacom and CBS jumped Friday after a report that the sibling media companies might be reunited once again. Such a move could give a lift to Viacom, which has been struggling to impress investors. But there are no signs of any imminent announcement. The Wrap reported shortly before the market closed on Friday that “Viacom and CBS vice-chairwoman Shari Redstone is pursuing a merger of the two media companies.” The story cited “multiple insiders.”

Hulu CEO Randy Freer signaled that the company could be interested in expanding internationally as it awaits the outcome of the Disney-Fox merger.

Analysts for Citigroup wrote in a research note they believe there’s a 40% chance Apple will buy Netflix with the money it repatriates following the passage of corporate tax reform. Apple could potentially repatriate hundreds of billions of dollars, giving it plenty of wiggle room for a major acquisition like Netflix.

Rupert Murdoch’s decision to sell most of 21st Century Fox has many wondering what the future holds for him and the two sons who seemed on the cusp of taking over his vast empire.

In a year defined by deals — Disney-Fox, Discovery-Scripps, Sinclair-Tribune and AT&T’s government-interrupted merger with Time Warner — the biggest question for the media and entertainment sector entering 2018 is: Who’s next?

Lawmakers on the House and Senate’s top antitrust committee say Congress should take a closer look at Disney’s $52 billion bid to buy 21st Century Fox.

Rather than the foundation of a bold new venture, in his call with analysts yesterday Rupert Murdoch talked about “New Fox” as if it would be a nice annuity for shareholders. He and his sons could surprise me by marshalling their great wealth and launching a new offensive on the media status quo, but I’m not betting on it.

Wall Street signaled its approval of the massive Disney-21st Century Fox transaction, sending shares in Disney up 3% and Fox’s up nearly 7% Thursday.

The Walt Disney Co. this morning announced its acquisition of a major portion of 21st Century Fox in a deal that dramatically positions Disney for the future. Before the buyout, 21st Century Fox will separate the Fox Broadcasting network and stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network into a newly listed company that will be spun off to its shareholders.

The $50 billion deal, which could be announced this week, would mark a significant turning point in the empire-building career of Fox’s founder and executive chairman, 86-year-old Rupert Murdoch. It would also be a defining moment for Disney and its CEO Robert Iger. It’s just the kind of consolidation media investors have said was long overdue.

21st Century Fox and Disney are on a “glide path” for a Thursday deal announcement, sources familiar with the deal say. Disney became the sole suitor after Comcast dropped its bid for the majority of Fox assets on Monday.

Walt Disney Co.’s planned acquisition of much of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox media company — a deal that is expected to be completed as early as this week — could prompt a brain drain of high-level Fox executives in the coming months.

Walt Disney Co. may announce a deal as soon as this week to acquire a large piece of 21st Century Fox, according to a person familiar with the matter, transferring legendary Hollywood properties to new owners. A trust belonging to Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his family would end up with a small stake in Disney in the transaction, the person said.

The duopoly, the FCC and the hunger for scale — these three forces are roiling the news industry, from corporate conglomerates to your hometown daily.

Big media struggles with streaming but increased competition will make it harder for Netflix to stay ahead.

Entertainment, media and communications companies aren’t getting hitched at the rate they once did, but when they do hook up, it tends to be a blow-out wedding. The volume of mergers and acquisitions in the sector during the first quarter of 2015 was at its lowest point in two years, with 198 total deals, according to a new report by research and accounting firm PwC. However, the value of those pacts topped $39 billion, representing a 144% increase from the previous quarter.

AT&T’s bid for DirecTV, and Comcast’s merger with Time Warner Cable, totaling a combined $134 billion, are tied together by a thread that today is driving many of the decisions in the world of pay TV: sports.