#mergers

Netflix is likely going to follow the claims that Meta made in dodging a monopolization challenge: that it competes with a multitude of other claims on people’s time, from YouTube to social media. But this is ridiculous; the logical end point of that claim is that Netflix isn’t a monopoly because people can always shut their eyes and sleep.

McKinley Franklin at THR:

President Donald Trump is showing support for the pending Nexstar–Tegna merger. Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday where he shared his thoughts on the deal, which is under review by the FCC, writing in favor of the merger that he says “will help knock out the Fake News.” “We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks. Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar – Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level,” the president wrote. “Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future. GET THAT DEAL DONE! PRESIDENT DJT.”

In August, Nexstar and Tegna entered a definitive agreement for a merger, which would see the former company emerge with 265 local TV stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia and 132 of the country’s 210 television DMAs, or Nielsen’s Designated Market Areas. In total, this would cover 80 percent of U.S. TV households. And while the merger hasn’t been approved yet by the FCC, chairman Brendan Carr reshared Trump’s social media post in support of said deal on Saturday.

Trump cheerleads for the disastrous Nexstar/Tegna merger on the groups of “knock[ing] the fake news” that will further entrench right-wing control of the news media and weaken competitive media voices.

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Lillian Rizzo at CNBC:

A group of 12 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday challenging Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The lawsuit, which came after weeks of speculation on if and when it would be filed, seeks to block the merger for antitrust concerns. CNBC’s David Faber reported earlier in the day that the lawsuit was expected to come on Monday. The merger deal would combine two storied film studios — Paramount and Warner Bros. — as well as streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max. Paramount CEO David Ellison has previously said the streaming services would become one following the transaction. It would also mean the formation of the largest portfolio of TV networks in the U.S., bringing together Paramount’s broadcast network CBS and pay TV channels like MTV and BET with WBD’s CNN, TNT and others. Led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District for the Northern District of California, is also brought forth by attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

[...] Paramount could face additional costs if closing the deal were to be delayed. As part of the proposed merger, Paramount has has agreed to pay a so-called ticking fee, which kicks in if the closing goes past Sept. 30. Paramount set the fee at an additional 25 cents paid to WBD shareholders per quarter until closing. The fee would equal about $650 million in cash value per quarter for every quarter the deal is not closed.

12 states, led by California, are leading a lawsuit against the Paramount Skydance behemoth’s takeover of WBD.

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Reuters, via HuffPost: California, 11 States Suing To Block Paramount's $110 Billion Warner Bros. Deal

What this series was said to look like, with this image, shown, in various forms in articles in Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter in 2020. This is the only image which ever gave a sense of what the series would be about. No other images were ever released. Earlier this month, ND Stevenson had an announcement. He is a writer best known for helming She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which is…

I think a Disney-Warner merger is inevitable, but it won't be the next big thing. A lot of smaller dominoes will have to fall first. When it does happen, Warner-Discovery will be made a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, they won't change the name to Disney-Warner-Discovery or anything like that; it'll be consumption, not a merger. Sony is too diversified, I think Disney might try to buy the movie division to get their hands on Spider-Man, and maybe the video games division if they feel like branching out and going toe-to-toe with Microsoft, but the rest of Sony will stay independent, like how Disney bought all of Fox except Fox News. Realistically, I think Disney-Netflix is the most likely thing to happen because Netflix is the only streaming service that's actually profitable (well, as of 2023; I think Disney+ may be in the black now, but the point is that Netflix is the clear frontrunner and everyone else is playing catchup)