Scripps Networks Interactive

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.”

With Scripps Networks Interactive just days away from the close of a $14.6 billion merger with Discovery Communications, Kathleen Finch is getting a much bigger assignment. On Thursday she was named the chief lifestyle brands officer of the combined company. Her portfolio will now include 11 networks, adding major nets such as ID and TLC to her existing Scripps roster as well as Discovery’s lifestyle digital studio.

Discovery Communications has unveiled its new senior leadership plan for after it finalizes its $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. The big news: Rich Ross, currently group president of Discovery Channel and Science Channel, will be leaving the company.

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

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.

Discovery Communications will move its headquarters from Washington suburb Silver Spring, Md., where it employs roughly 1,300 people, to New York at the end of next year. The move is contingent on the closing of Discovery’s $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Network Interactive, which is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn. The merged company will maintain the Knoxville campus and Discovery will establish a “national operations headquarters” there.

At a special shareholder meeting today in New York, Discovery’s pending $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive got overwhelming support.

Discovery’s potential $14.6 billion deal for Scripps Networks will be up against some serious headwinds and risks, according to MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson. One risk in particular is the sustainability of Scripps’ advertising growth, as 2017 has seen the programmer’s most popular networks flatten out in terms of ratings growth.

Discovery Communications CFO Gunnar Weidenfels on Friday touted the company’s $14.6 billion deal to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive, a deal that aims to bring together the two cable networks firms known for non-scripted and lifestyle content by early 2018. “There’s a lot of synergy potential on the cost side,” he told an investor conference.

The combined company will have nearly 20% of ad-supported pay-TV viewership in the U.S. It becomes home to five of the top female networks in ad-supported pay-TV with over 20% share of women watching primetime in the U.S. The merged company will deliver more than 7 billion monthly streams.

Discovery Communications is nearing a deal for at least $90 a share to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive, after Viacom’s all-cash bid was rejected, according to multiple reports. The deal would be valued at little more than $12 billion and could be completed next week.

Viacom Inc. is no longer in the bidding for Scripps Networks Interactive, according to people familiar with the situation, leaving the owner of cable’s Food Network and HGTV to negotiate exclusively with Discovery Communications, the other media company pursuing a tie-up.

Since taking over as Viacom’s chief executive last year with the blessing of powerful shareholder Shari Redstone, Bob Bakish has been working to win over Wall Street with moves meant to stabilize the embattled entertainment giant. Now, The Wall Street Journal reports, Bakish is contemplating what would be his boldest bet yet: an acquisition of rival media outfit Scripps Networks Interactive. Members of the Scripps family are expected to meet Tuesday to discuss a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter. WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.

Negotiations to acquire media company Scripps Networks Interactive are advanced and a deal could be announced as soon as this month, people familiar with the matter say. Both Discovery Communications and Viacom are vying to buy Scripps, and are likely to fund the deal with a mixture of cash and shares, the people say, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t public. No final decisions have been made and talks may still fall apart, they add.

Shares in cable television programmers Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks Interactive jumped late Tuesday in after-market trading following reports that the two companies were once again trying to merge.

FuboTV, a live streaming TV service, today announced an agreement with Scripps Networks Interactive that will add several top U.S. channels to the company’s entry-level bundle.  As a result of a new, […]

FuboTV, the sports-centric streaming TV subscription provider, has raised $55 million in funding from investors including 21st Century Fox, Scripps Networks Interactive, and the U.K.’s Sky. The sizable round brings the New York-based startup to $75.6 million raised to date. The company will use the capital infusion to expand programming, marketing and infrastructure.

Scripps Networks Interactive today announced that Philip I. Kent will be nominated for election to the company’s board of directors at its annual shareholder meeting in 2017. Kent served as […]

Scripps Networks Interactive will not be renewing a streaming deal with Netflix when it expires at year’s end, COO Burton Jablin said on the company’s earnings conference call Monday. He explained that the company made the “strategic decision” because the arrangement does not provide the kind of dual revenue model that Scripps feels best monetizes its content.

Scripps Networks Interactive and Tribune Media today announced a multi-year extension of their Food Network partnership agreement. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. “Food Network is the strongest […]

Here is a perhaps crazy idea that sources say Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and her top executives have considered for saving the company: buying cable networks. Mayer and Yahoo considered acquiring Scripps Networks Interactive and may have actually begun M&A discussions with Scripps regarding at least two potential deals. In addition, Yahoo may have interest in buying CNN.

Satellite guru Charlie Ergen is rapidly gathering content for his new Internet-based TV offering. Ergen’s Dish Network said Tuesday it secured new digital rights to offer Scripps Networks Interactive programming through its yet-to-launch online video service. The satellite TV provider said the rights are part of an expanded distribution deal to carry Scripps stable of lifestyle channels, including HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel.

Pure-play cable company Scripps Networks Interactive is shopping for a partner, according to well-placed sources. Ken Lowe, CEO of Scripps, which owns HGTV, Food Network and Cooking Channel, has been holding conversations about such a deal at the Sun Valley mogulfest, these sources say.

Shares of the Food Network’s parent company were a much sought-after dish Wednesday after a report that Discovery Communications was discussing acquiring the menu-making cable programmer. Scripps Networks Interactive stock spiked 7.6% to $81, in heavy trading as investors looked to get in on what could be a super-premium bid.

Discovery Communications is considering a bid for Scripps Networks Interactive, parent company of Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel and other lifestyle-oriented cablers. A source with knowledge of the situation said the prospect of Discovery making a run at Scripps Networks was discussed Tuesday at a Discovery board meeting.

Scripps Networks Interactive and magazine publisher Meredith Corp. are expanding their presence in online video, producing more original Web series as they follow consumer eyeballs and advertiser dollars.

Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. today announced that its board of directors has authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program. Scripps Networks Interactive’s media portfolio includes lifestyle television and Internet brands […]

AT&T Inc’s 2.7 million U-verse television customers lost access on Friday to Scripps Networks’ popular channels like the Food Network after negotiations over programming fees collapsed.