ITV

Tag: Disney

  • AT&T, Time Warner’s merger cleared by court

    AT&T, Time Warner’s merger cleared by court

    MUMBAI: 20 months after AT&T’s announced its potential deal for Time Warner, the US District Court for the District of Columbia has cleared the merger between the two giant companies. The ruling will now enable AT&T to purchase Time Warner for $85 billion.

    Many analysts see the judgment as a blow to the Donald Trump administration that was not in favour of the deal.

    US district judge Richard Leon said the government’s objections “rested on improper notions”. The deal will enable AT&T to acquire Time Warner’s blue-chip media properties including HBO and CNN.

    “We are pleased that, after conducting a full and fair trial on the merits, the Court has categorically rejected the government’s lawsuit to block our merger with Time Warner,” AT&T General Counsel David McAtee said in a statement.

    The statement also mentioned the plan to close the merger on or before June 20. Vanity Fair’s intrepid media writer Joe Pompeo has reported that AT&T will rename Time Warner soon.

    The merger will bring change in the field of online distribution of content. AT&T will have a big library of content including big hits like HBO’s “Game of Thrones”.

    With the emergence of giants like Netflix and Amazon, it has been often said that content creation and distribution needs innovation to survive against their onslaught.

    With AT&T and its considerable finanacial clout now in the mix, the market dynamics are bound to change, impacting all the key players.

    Also Read:

    Time Warner shareholders approve merger with AT&T

    AT&T unveils live video streaming service, DirecTV Now

  • With Fox Deal, Comcast and Disney Wish Upon a Star in India

    With Fox Deal, Comcast and Disney Wish Upon a Star in India

    MUMBAI:  As Walt Disney Company and Comcast Corporation gear up for a possible bidding war over a big chunk of 21st Century Fox, both companies are interested in Fox’s Hollywood franchises The Simpsons, Avatar and X-Men.

    But it is learnt that among the most desired asset is Indian media conglomerate Star India, which is fully owned by Fox.

    While neither Comcast or Disney have a big presence in India, each view Star India as an important piece in their plans to challenge Netflix and tap growth in emerging markets. 

    Star India reaches 700 million customers a month in India, with 60 channels in nine different languages and owns rights to broadcast popular cricket tournaments along with a stake in a production company that makes Bollywood movies. Perhaps its biggest selling point now is Hotstar that has around 150 million active monthly users.

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar thinks that with this, Hotstar is setting the agenda for the future.

    Wall Street research firm MoffettNathanson estimated Star will make EBITDA of $826 million by 2020, which will be a 91per cent jump from this fiscal year. Fox, which had $7.17 billion in adjusted operating income on $28.5 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, has said it believes Star will earn $1 billion in EBITDA by 2020.

    Cable giant Comcast said last month that it is in the advanced stages of preparing a rival, all-cash bid.

    The assets for sale include the 20th Century Fox film and television studio, various cable networks and Fox’s stake in the streaming service Hulu. But among the most compelling assets—especially for Comcast—are the international ones, Star India and Fox’s interest in European pay-TV operator.

    Buying Star would come with some risks. Sports rights deals, if they follow the course of the U.S. and Europe, could become much more expensive upon renewal. And there could be new competition from the telecom companies driving India’s wireless data boom, including Jio, as they start offering their users content.

    Edelweiss Capital Ltd. senior vice president of research at Mumbai-based Abneesh Roy said that while user cancellations of cable and satellite TV service are plaguing the U.S. pay-TV industry, “in India, cord-cutting is absolutely a nonissue” and pay-TV is still expanding, he added.

    Over the past 10 years, Shankar has expanded Star’s distribution. It now reaches nine out of 10 Indian homes. Star’s programming includes everything from prime-time soaps to dance competitions and highlights of international sports events. It has worked to add content in languages other than Hindi and English. As the economy grew, people who spoke regional dialects had more purchasing power and more appeal for advertisers. “Not plugging into that change would have been a loss of opportunity,” Shankar said.

    It agreed last year to acquire the global TV and digital rights to India’s wildly popular annual cricket competition, the Indian Premier League, in a deal valued at $2.42 billion at current conversion rates. Star fended off a bid by Facebook Inc. for the digital rights.

    Last month, 160 million people watched the final on Star TV networks and 51 million watched it on Hotstar, up from 121 million on TV and 21.6 million on Hotstar a year before.

    Hotstar is geared to run on mobile devices, targeting the many people who rely on cellphones for entertainment.  “In this country, for many people, their first experience of screen is with a mobile screen,” Shankar said.

    Also Read:

    Sony takes audiences to the crossroads with new show

    ITV Network readies Punjabi music channel

    Enterr10 to launch two Bengali channels

  • Netflix most valuable media company for a short while

    Netflix most valuable media company for a short while

    MUMBAI: Netflix’s aggressive growth is becoming increasingly inevitable. For a brief period, the streaming giant emerged as the most valuable media company in the world on Thursday with a record high stock value. On Wednesday, it was already closely approaching Disney’s market value and the very next day it surpassed Disney’s market capitalisation. However, at the end of the day, Disney recovered enough to march past Netflix again.

    Netflix ended its day up 1.3 per cent with a market value of $151.8 billion. Disney ended its day with $152.2 billion market cap. With an increase in share, Netflix reached a market value of $152.6 billion as per reports.

    It surpassed Comcast’s market value on Wednesday owing to a new record high of its stock price. Netflix’s market value stood closer to Disney then. However, Disney is also becoming more aggressive in online video market to give a tough struggle to Netflix.

    Netflix’s market cap milestone reflects the seemingly voracious investor enthusiasm for the company’s growth prospects. In terms of revenue, Netflix is way behind Disney or Comcast.

    Also Read:

    Netflix beats Comcast in market value

    Now, Comcast in talks to buy 21st Century Fox

  • Netflix beats Comcast in market value

    Netflix beats Comcast in market value

    MUMBAI: Streaming giant Netflix, on its upward journey, has surpassed Comcast’s market value owing to a new record high of its stock price. Netflix’s market value stands closer to Disney now. While Netflix ended yesterday with a total market cap of $152.8 billion, Comcast ended with $147.15 billion.

    Since the beginning of this year the company has been showing good financial performance. Its stock has been up 70 per cent since the beginning of 2018. Its Q1 2018 earnings report showed it making a net profit of $290 million.

    Netflix has stuck a production deal with former US president and his family – the Obamas – which has led to a four per cent increase of its stock. On the other hand, Philadelphia-based cable TV conglomerate Comcast’s stock ended the day down around 2 per cent.

    Meanwhile, Comcast has confirmed it is in advanced stages of preparing an offer for the businesses that Fox had agreed to sell to Disney. The former is gearing up to top Disney’s $52 billion (€44.4bn) offer for 21st Century Fox.

    “Comcast Corporation confirms that it is considering, and is in advanced stages of preparing, an offer for the businesses that Fox has agreed to sell to Disney (which do not include the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcasting Company and certain other assets),” it said in a statement.

    “Any offer for Fox would be all-cash and at a premium to the value of the current all-share offer from Disney. The structure and terms of any offer by Comcast, including with respect to both the spin-off of New Fox and the regulatory risk provisions and the related termination fee, would be at least as favourable to Fox shareholders as the Disney offer,” it added.

    Also Read:

    Now, Comcast in talks to buy 21st Century Fox

    Comcast may renew bid for 21st CF

  • Disney’s OTT plan not contingent on Fox deal: Bob Iger

    Disney’s OTT plan not contingent on Fox deal: Bob Iger

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger has said that the company’s plan to launch a direct-to-consumer entertainment streaming service does not hinge on completing its deal to acquire key 21st Century Fox TV and film assets.

    Speaking to Wall Street analysts about the company’s fiscal second quarter earnings, Iger said that the pending $52.4 billion buyout would enhance Disney’s offering. But the streaming service was envisioned prior to the Fox deal coming together and will be rooted in content carrying Disney’s gold-plated imprints: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars.

    The fate of Disney’s deal to buy 21st Century Fox has grown murkier in the past week as Comcast is taking steps to mount an all-cash counterbid that could put pressure on Disney to sweeten the terms of its all-stock takeover of 20th Century Fox, FX Networks, National Geographic Global Networks, and Fox’s regional sports networks.

    “It’s not dependent at all on the assets we’re buying from Fox,” Iger said. He emphasized that Disney is committed to making the bulk of its film and TV library available exclusively on its proprietary streaming service in order to make sure it is a must-have for families. That marks a significant investment from Disney in the decision to forgo third-party licensing coin.

    Iger said content from the Nat Geo channels would be a natural fit with the Disney-branded streaming service. Fox’s regional sports cablers will also be boon to the ESPN Plus sports streaming service that launched last month. But he reiterated that both services were conceived before the Fox assets were in the picture.

    Disney’s family-focused streaming service will launch by the end of 2019. The timing is dictated in part by the end of Disney’s theatrical output deal with Netflix, in order to ensure that recent Disney titles will have their pay-TV window on Disney’s service. Disney also needs time to develop original content for the service. Iger said more details on the original content plan will be revealed “in the coming months.”

    Iger did not address the potential for a showdown with Comcast over the 21st Century Fox assets, nor did he address Comcast’s bid to buy out the Sky satellite platform. Disney is set to acquire Fox’s 39 per cent stake in Sky, or more if Fox’s acquisition of the remainder of Sky is completed before the Disney-Fox acquisition is final. Comcast’s $31 billion bid for all of Sky has thrown a wrench in Fox’s plans for Sky. Fox sought to buy up the remainder of Sky for about $15 billion but the deal, first struck in December 2016, has been under heavy fire from U.K. lawmakers and bogged down in a regulatory review.

  • Disney must bid for Sky after Fox deal: UK Takeover Panel

    Disney must bid for Sky after Fox deal: UK Takeover Panel

    MUMBAI: If Disney’s proposed acquisition of Fox proceeds, the former has to make a mandatory offer to the holders of ordinary shares in Sky, according to the UK’s takeover code. The UK Takeover Panel has informed Disney, Fox and Sky of its ruling.

    Disney, the owner of Walt Disney Studios, has made a $66 billion bid to take over 21st Century Fox, which owns 39 per cent stake in Sky. According to the rules of the Takeover Code, Disney will be required to make the mandatory offer to the holders of ordinary shares in Sky as a result of Fox’s stake of approximately 39 per cent in Sky.

    Within 28 days of completion of its acquisition, Disney would have to make a bid of 10.75 pounds a share. Disney can evade the bid in certain circumstances; one if Fox acquires 100 per cent of the ordinary shares of Sky or any other third-party acquires more than 50 per cent of the ordinary shares of Sky. Comcast Corporation already announced earlier it was considering making an offer for Sky.

    “At this stage, Sky Shareholders are advised to take no further action.  Further advice to Sky shareholders will be announced in due course,”  Sky said amid this complexity.

    Also reads: 

    No specific instance of paid news on private TV channels yet: MIB

    TRAI bats for issuing DTH licences for 20 years

  • Promaxbda India announces Time [V]achine – The Bootcamp

    Promaxbda India announces Time [V]achine – The Bootcamp

    MUMBAI: After announcing Memory Makers as this year’s theme, the PromaxBDA India show have begun registrations for their much sought-after BOOTCAMP, THE TIME [V]ACHINE to be held on 22nd May, Day 1 of the PromaxBDA India 2018 at the Indian School of Design and Innovation, Mumbai.

    THE TIME [V]ACHINE offers to be a unique drill where three hardcore creative geniuses come together and dive into the technicalities of creating promos that are versatile and relevant for all platforms.

    Rob Middleton has been the force behind shaping Asia’s promo gene pool-training, running and pushing promo teams everywhere to become world-class and evolving to a multi-platform audience base.

    Arnab Chaudhuri is the director of the 2012 Indian Disney animated feature ‘Arjun The Warrior Prince’. Having worked with multiple TV works, Arnab now runs his own production shop-Banabo.

    Pete Bishop has directed commercials for Coca-Cola, Duracell and other leading brands and has created idents and broadcast design for amongst others, MTV America, Hallmark, Nickelodeon, Disney, Star TV and Channel [V].

    All three had worked together and created ground-breaking stuff for Channel [V] and will now join forces again to teach the delegates useful tips and tricks to take on the digital world and thrive.

    Speaking about the Boot Camp, Conference Chair, Raj Nayak said, “The trend shows that our viewers love to consume long format content on television and go on digital for shorter formats. Hence there is room for both mediums to co-exist. It’s a healthy sign that content consumption overall is growing. With more content being created and more emerging platforms, discoverability of content is going to be of utmost importance and therefore the role of promos become even more substantial.”

    PromaxBDA represents more than 10000 companies and promotion and marketing professionals at almost every major media organization.

    The Tier 1 rates for the BOOTCAMP are applicable till April 29th, 2018 so hurry and register !

  • Disney restructures business in the face of digital disruption

    Disney restructures business in the face of digital disruption

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney Co, on Wednesday, announced a sweeping restructuring aimed at accelerating its global expansion during a period of upheaval for Hollywood.
    The entertainment giant said it would combine its international media business and its content streaming operation into one unit and create another division to house its consumer products business along with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

    Its biggest restructuring in recent years, Disney’s move is the latest effort by a legacy entertainment and media company to adapt to rapid changes in consumer behaviour driven by digital technology.

    Disney had been expected to make structural changes as it prepared to launch two streaming services and buy film and TV assets owned by 21st Century Fox—a $52.4 billion deal that requires federal regulatory approval.

    Disney’s new direct-to-consumer and international unit will include the upcoming ESPN+ streaming service, which launches later this year, and a Disney-branded film and TV streaming offering scheduled to debut in 2019.

    The unit also will include video-on-demand service Hulu, in which Disney would own a controlling stake if the Fox deal is approved. Kevin Mayer, who has been Disney’s chief strategy officer since 2015, was named chairman of the new global business.

    The combining of Disney’s parks and resorts business and its consumer products group will help streamline operations for units that already had their share of overlap.
    Bob Chapek, who has headed Disney Parks and Resorts since 2015, was named chairman of the new unit. As its leader, Chapek will assume additional responsibility for all of Disney’s consumer products operations globally, including licensing and Disney stores.

    Disney chairman and chief executive Robert Iger said in a statement that the changes would position the company “for the future, creating a more effective, global framework to serve consumers worldwide, increase growth and maximise shareholder value.”
    In December, with the announcement of the prospective Fox deal, Iger, 67, extended his contract by three years; he is now expected to retire in 2021 when his new pact ends.

    The restructuring plan, which is effective immediately, elevates key lieutenants Mayer and Chapek, who now are poised to work more closely with Iger for the remainder of his tenure.

    Their promotions come amid much speculation about who will be chosen as Iger’s successor.
    Chapek was head of Disney Consumer Products before being tapped to lead the parks group. The 58-year-old executive also previously was president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios.

    The last time Disney restructured its business units was in 2015, when it merged its interactive and consumer products units, a move that was designed to better align once-distant businesses that new technology had brought closer together.

    Two Disney units – media networks and studio entertainment – are remaining the same, save for minor changes, such as the studio’s programme sales operation moving to the direct-to-consumer and international unit.

    Also read:

    Merger talks on the anvil once again for CBS, Viacom

    With Star India, Disney emerges as India’s largest M&E firm

    The year of sex scandals

  • Jon Favreau to write, produce ‘Star Wars’ for Disney’s streaming service

    Jon Favreau to write, produce ‘Star Wars’ for Disney’s streaming service

    MUMBAI: Jon Favreau, the man famous for being involved with the Iron Man (as director) and Avenger films (as executive producer), has agreed to write and act as the executive producer for the Star Wars series for Disney’s upcoming streaming service. In order to expand Disney’s market in OTT services, Star Wars is likely to play a major role.

    “I couldn’t be more excited about Jon coming on board to produce and write for the new direct-to-consumer platform,” said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “Jon brings the perfect mix of producing and writing talent, combined with a fluency in the Star Wars universe. This series will allow Jon the chance to work with a diverse group of writers and directors and give Lucasfilm the opportunity to build a robust talent base.”

    This is not going to be Favreau’s first venture with Disney. He directed the first two Iron Man films for Marvel and 2016’s The Jungle Book, which won an academy award.  Besides, he was also associated with the production of several Avengers films. Currently, he is working on the production of Disney’s live-action remake of The Lion King.

    Favreau can’t wait to start the “exciting adventure”. “If you told me at 11 years old that I would be getting to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he told.

    Disney unveiled the plans for the series back in November. The release date of the upcoming series is not confirmed yet.

    Also Read:

    With Star India, Disney emerges as India’s largest M&E firm

    Mahesh Samat gets expanded role in Disney Asia restructure

  • Comcast topples Murdoch’s offer for Sky with $31 bn bid

    Comcast topples Murdoch’s offer for Sky with $31 bn bid

    MUMBAI: The big-name mergers are getting bigger in value with Comcast dropping a bomb that it is ready to pay $31 billion to takeover Sky. Its offer was 16 per cent higher than that of rival 21st Century Fox that had wanted to acquire 61 per cent in Sky.

    “We think Sky is an outstanding company. It has 23 million customers and leading positions in the UK, Italy and Germany. Sky has been a consistent innovator in its use of technology to deliver a fantastic viewing experience and has a proud record of investment in news and programming. It has great people and a very strong and capable management team,” said Comcast Corporation chairman and CEO Brian L Roberts.

    The acquisition will help Comcast for better distribution and technology leadership and expand its international reach to new territories.It believes that together they can create compelling opportunities for growth and innovation.

    Sky’s company secretary Chris Taylor noted that the company had got an offer from Comcast. It called it a ‘possible offer’ and because there was nothing firm, it will make an announcement later.

    Comcast said it will pay all cash for the deal to get a firm hold on the huge UK pay TV market. Fox said that it stays committed to the offer it previously made.

    Last year Comcast bet $60 billion to buy Fox, ultimately losing to Disney.

    Sky reaches 23 million homes in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Austria.

    Also Read :

    Now, Comcast in talks to buy 21st Century Fox

    Murdoch pledges funding to Sky News

    Comcast may renew bid for 21st CF