By The Associated Press | PUBLISHED: June 13, 2018 at 1:21 pm | UPDATED: June 13, 2018 at 1:21 pm Comcast made a $65 billion bid Wednesday for Fox’s entertainment businesses, setting up a battle with Disney to become the next mega-media company. The bid comes just a day after a federal judge cleared AT&T’s takeover of Time Warner and rejected the government’s argument that it would hurt competition in cable and satellite TV and jack up costs to consumers for streaming TV and movies. The ruling signaled that Comcast could win regulatory approval, too; its bid for Fox shares many similarities with the AT&T-Time Warner deal. Comcast says its cash bid is 19 percent higher than Disney’s stock offer. The Wall Street Journal and others reported earlier that Comcast had lined up $60 billion in cash to challenge Disney for media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s company. The battle for Twenty-First Century Fox comes as traditional entertainment companies try to amass … [Read more...] about Comcast challenges Disney with $65 billion bid for Fox’s entertainment division
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Comcast plans cash offer for Twenty-First Century Fox in effort to top Disney
NEW YORK — Comcast and Disney are on the verge of a head-to-head bidding war for Fox’s entertainment properties. The potential battle for Twenty-First Century Fox comes as traditional entertainment companies try to amass more properties to compete better with technology companies such as Amazon and Netflix for viewers’ attention – and dollars. Comcast said Wednesday that it’s in the “advanced stages” of making an offer for Twenty-First Century Fox. It said that its all-cash offer would have a higher value than Disney’s current, $52.4 billion all-stock offer. The Wall Street Journal and others reported earlier that Comcast had lined up $60 billion in cash to challenge Disney for media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s company. Larry Downes, project director at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy, said Comcast’s interest highlights the fact that content is becoming more important as ways to deliver content proliferate. … [Read more...] about Comcast plans cash offer for Twenty-First Century Fox in effort to top Disney
Cord-cutters: Do you really need an antenna to watch local channels?
I went through a bit of a hassle to set up an over-the-air antenna that feeds into a local Plex server so I can receive and record my local shows. It works well, but navigating the Plex Live TV interface is tedious (there is no grid guide).As I decided to try out different live TV streaming services, I noticed that they all carry some of the local channels. Note I say "some" of the local channels, because my antenna brings in more than 100 broadcast channels. Most are not what I'd call necessary, but I'm sure someone watches all that stuff.Finding streaming localsI started with SlingTV, which carries my local Dallas Fox and NBC channels. That's good, but I like shows on ABC and CBS as well.Next, I tried YouTube TV, which carries all four major local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox). PlayStation Vue and DirecTV Now and Hulu Live also carry all four major D-FW networks. I'll work my way through trials of those services soon. PBS local stations aren't included in any streaming service, … [Read more...] about Cord-cutters: Do you really need an antenna to watch local channels?
Comcast vs Disney: A fight for Twenty-First Century Fox
Comcast and Disney are on the verge of a head-to-head bidding war for Fox's entertainment properties. The potential battle for Twenty-First Century Fox comes as traditional entertainment companies try to amass more properties to compete better with technology companies such as Amazon and Netflix for viewers' attention — and dollars. FILE - This March 29, 2017, file photo shows a sign outside the Comcast Center in Philadelphia. Comcast says it’s considering making an offer to buy Twenty-First Century Fox, which would put it in a head-to-head bidding fight with Disney. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) FILE - This March 29, 2017, file photo... Photo by Matt Rourke Comcast said Wednesday that it's in the "advanced stages" of making an offer. The company did not provide details, other than to say that its all-cash offer would have a higher value than Disney's current, $52.4 billion, all-stock offer. The Wall Street Journal and others reported earlier that Comcast had … [Read more...] about Comcast vs Disney: A fight for Twenty-First Century Fox
Comcast v. Disney: a fight for Twenty-First Century Fox
window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-3', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 3', target_type: 'mix' }); _taboola.push({flush: true}); Photo: Richard Drew, AP Image 1of/3 CaptionClose Image 1 of 3 FILE - This Aug. 1, 2017, file photo shows the Twenty-First Century Fox sign outside of the News Corporation headquarters building in New York. Comcast says it’s considering making an offer to buy Twenty-First Century Fox, which would put it in a head-to-head bidding fight with Disney. less FILE - This Aug. 1, 2017, file photo shows the Twenty-First Century Fox sign outside of the News Corporation headquarters building in New York. Comcast says it’s considering making an offer to buy ... more Photo: Richard Drew, AP Image 2 of 3 FILE … [Read more...] about Comcast v. Disney: a fight for Twenty-First Century Fox
Sen. Kerry declassifies Vietnam trove — Laura Ingraham channels POTUS, VPOTUS — White House: 3m stimulus jobs so far — Gore to appear with Biden — Arianna b’day tomorrow
THE NATIONAL LEAGUE won last night’s Major League Baseball All-Star game 3-1, and POLITICO’s Daniel Strauss notes: “According to an analysis by University of Minnesota professor Eric J. Ostermeier, who writes the Smart Politics blog, a National League victory in the Midsummer Classic has preceded every election with double-digit GOP House gains since 1950. ... Since 1948, every time the Republicans have gained at least five Senate seats, the National League has won.” http://bit.ly/aRMIZp BREAKING -- "Obama warns Africans about Al-Qaeda," by AFP's Stephen Collinson: "President Barack Obama warned Africans that groups like Al-Qaeda saw their 'innocent' lives as cheap, in a personal challenge to extremists on the continent after the Uganda bombings. ... Obama, leveraging his African heritage and popularity on the continent, took direct aim at the Shebab and Al-Qaeda after attacks on crowds in Kampala glued to the World Cup final on Sunday killed at least … [Read more...] about Sen. Kerry declassifies Vietnam trove — Laura Ingraham channels POTUS, VPOTUS — White House: 3m stimulus jobs so far — Gore to appear with Biden — Arianna b’day tomorrow
OBAMA TO UNVEIL CORPORATE NON-DISCRIMINATION PLEDGE FOR LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED — EZRA KLEIN announces Project X: next-gen digital news from science to sports — HOWARD WOLFSON music column
2014 STRATEGIES – “Washington's attention-to-deficits disorder,” by Carrie Budoff Brown and Jake Sherman: “Republicans don’t want to divert attention from Obamacare and plan to demand changes in the health care law, not spending cuts, in exchange for a debt-limit increase next month. … For Obama, the shifting landscape is a chance to move past an issue that some Democrats see as a political loser headed into midterms -- the president even complained to Senate Democrats this month that he doesn’t get enough credit for previous deficit cuts. Republicans see an opportunity to redefine themselves [with] an agenda beyond budget cuts. They say they will focus on ‘kitchen-table’ issues like increasing take-home pay, creating new incentives for school vouchers and charter schools, and some form of immigration reform. … “That means there won’t be renewed efforts to tackle the real drivers of the debt [Paul Ryan: … [Read more...] about OBAMA TO UNVEIL CORPORATE NON-DISCRIMINATION PLEDGE FOR LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED — EZRA KLEIN announces Project X: next-gen digital news from science to sports — HOWARD WOLFSON music column
CBS News Logo YouTube to launch live TV networks in next few months
YouTube is going live. Google’s massive video site will launch live TV networks with a virtual cable service in the next few months, competing with cable, satellite and online pay-TV providers like Dish’s Sling TV, Sony’s PlayStation Vue and AT&T’s DirecTV Now. “The younger generation wants to consume TV in the way that they’re used to consuming video online,” YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said. The company unveiled the service at an event Tuesday in Los Angeles that was live-streamed to reporters at YouTube Spaces in New York, San Francisco and San Bruno, California. The service, called YouTube TV and priced at $35 a month, will offer all the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC), sports channels like ESPN, cable networks like FX and USA, 24-hour news like Fox News, kids programming like Sprout and local TV networks, among other channels. It will have an unlimited cloud DVR to record shows and watch them later, and the … [Read more...] about CBS News Logo YouTube to launch live TV networks in next few months
As Fox prepares for Disney sale, cable revenues drive strong quarter
21st Century Fox, which is preparing for a smaller media empire with the sale of its movie and TV studio to Disney, said revenue at its cable TV division rose 10% in the most recent quarter.The parts of the company that Fox will keep after the $52.4 billion deal, announced in December 2017, include the Fox network, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, as well as sports networks FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network, and its 28 local TV stations.The cable TV segment reported higher advertising, syndication fees and affiliate fees from cable and satellite providers, which increased revenue to $4.4 billion. Fox reported total revenue of $8.04 billion, up 4%. That beat expectations of $7.9 billion, based on analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.Net income more than doubled to $1.83 billion, or 99 cents per share. Analysts expected $703 million or 38 cents per share.Helping the bottom line: a $1.34 billion benefit from recently passed tax reform.Excluding … [Read more...] about As Fox prepares for Disney sale, cable revenues drive strong quarter
President Trump turned cable news into must-see TV in 2017
Before President Trump occupied the White House, he was known for bragging about the ratings for his NBC reality show “The Apprentice.”Based on the year-end Nielsen ratings for cable news, Trump can rightfully start boasting again.Fox News finished 2017 as the most-watched cable network in all of TV for the second consecutive year, with an average of 1.5 million viewers, up 8% over last year. MSNBC finished third among all cable competition with 890,000 viewers, up 48% to a new high, while CNN finished sixth with 783,000, up 4%.Most impressively, all three news networks improved on the record viewing levels achieved in 2016, a year bolstered by an epic presidential election campaign. Cable news channels traditionally expect an audience decline following an election year, but the unpredictability of the Trump White House generated interest, passion and anger that kept audiences tuned in throughout 2017.With daily combative press briefings and nuclear saber rattling with … [Read more...] about President Trump turned cable news into must-see TV in 2017