AT&T, Discovery Prepare for Mid-April Close of WarnerMedia Deal

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery — which is about to become Warner Bros. Discovery within the next month, when its merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia closes — has confirmed its plans to combine its current streaming service Discovery Plus and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max into one service, rather than offer the two platforms as a bundle.Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, who will also serve as CFO of the newly combined Warner Bros.

Made In Chelsea star Tiffany Watson celebrated her upcoming wedding to fiancé Cameron McGeehan on Thursday night at an intimate “first” hen do with her family. The former MIC star, 28, wowed in a white lace suit for the occasion where she was joined by sister Lucy Watson, 31, and their mother Fiona at La Famiglia restaurant in London.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery investors voted in approval of the company’s $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T to create Warner Bros. Discovery during a special meeting of stockholders Friday, marking one of the final formal steps before the transaction can close.The deal, a spinoff of WarnerMedia from AT&T, is expected to be completed early in Q2, with insiders telling Variety the estimated date is between April 11-28. The merger has already received approval from the U.S.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWarnerMedia has been owned by telco giant AT&T for less than four years and it will soon have a new parent company — likely by the end of next month.Discovery’s shareholder vote on the acquisition of WarnerMedia is set for today during a special meeting of stockholders set for 10 a.m. ET. The deal is expected to get an easy thumbs-up given the approval already bestowed by Discovery’s oldest and most influential holders, investor John Malone and Advance/Newhouse Co.

Major League Baseball’s owners said today that Opening Day has been pushed to April 15, and the locked-out players hit back by calling that “completely unnecessary.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWarnerMedia is “pausing all new business in Russia” amid the country’s continued invasion of Ukraine, CEO Jason Kilar announced Wednesday.“I want to share with each of you a number of decisions we have made with regard to WarnerMedia’s business operations in Russia,” Kilar said in a memo to WarnerMedia staff obtained by Variety. “Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing all new business in Russia.

Chelsea Clinton, 42, isn’t sure if her mom has any plans to return to politics! The activist and author said that she was in the dark about rumors that former First Lady Hillary Clinton, 74, would make another run for public office after her 2016 presidential run, during a Wednesday March 2 interview on The View. Regardless of whether or not Chelsea knows anything about another run for office, she said she’d undoubtedly support her mom.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSelwyn Seyfu Hinds has signed an overall deal with UCP, which will see him adapt the Civil War graphic novel series “The Sixth Gun” into a TV series for the Universal Studio Group-owned studio.Under the pact, Hinds will produce projects across various platforms through his production company Mad Massive Entertainment. First up is “The Sixth Gun,” based on the graphic novels from Oni Press by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt.Per UCP’s description for the potential show, “During the darkest days of the Civil War, vile men unearthed six pistols of otherworldly power.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Celebrity Book Club” podcast host and Apple’s “The Problem With Jon Stewart” head writer Chelsea Devantez has signed a multi-year overall deal at Disney’s 20th Television.Under the pact, Devantez will write and produce her own comedy projects for the studio, as well as supervise others.Devantez began her TV writing career on Stewart’s writing staff on his never-released and untitled HBO show. Her other TV credits include Tina Fey and Meredith Scardino’s Peacock comedy “Girls5Eva” and Liz Meriwether and Lake Bell’s ABC comedy “Bless This Mess.” Last year, Devantez sold her pilot, “This Is Our Year,” to 20th Television and CBS.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterFox’s animation house Bento Box Entertainment has signed a development deal with former TruTV executives Chris Linn and Marissa Ronca, and their consulting firm Contrast Media.Under the pact, Linn and Ronca will work closely with Bento Box’s development department, advising on creative strategy, packaging and development of animated projects for Fox Entertainment and ad-supported streaming service Tubi, as well as third-party platforms.Additionally, the WarnerMedia alums — Linn the former president of TruTV and Ronca the cable network’s former executive vice president and head of original programming and development — “will offer support” regarding Bento Box’s NFT studio, Blockchain Creative Labs. “Chris and Marissa are fantastic executives whose work we’ve admired for quite some time,” Scott Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of Bento Box Entertainment, said.

Made in Chelsea star Miles Nazaire has joined celebrity dating app Raya following his flirty exchanges with TOWIE's Chloe Brockett. The 26 year old, who recently appeared on Celebs Go Dating alongside Ulrika Jonsson and The Apprentice star Ryan-Mark Parsons, has joined the exclusive app which 'provide members with access to exciting people and opportunities around the world'. Miles recently opened up to OK! about how he wanted to get 'a lot more intimate' with The Only Way Is Essex beauty Chloe, 21, after their time on the E4 show came to an end.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery CEO promises that the company is not in a race to win the “spending wars” on content when it closes its deal to acquire AT&T’s WarnerMedia and become Warner Bros. Discovery.“We’re going to spend more on content — but you’re not going to see us come in and say, ‘Alright, we’re spending $5 billion more on content,” Zaslav said during an investor call Thursday to discuss the company’s Q4 earnings results.Zaslav says the new company — which will run both Discovery’s current major streamer Discovery Plus and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max — will be “looking to monetize our IP to grow the value of the overall company.”Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels echoed Zaslav’s point, saying “it’s not about winning” and “spending more money doesn’t score goals.” Click here to sign up for Variety‘s free Strictly Business newsletter covering earnings, financial and investment news, and more.Discovery revealed Thursday it reached 22 million paying streaming subscribers across its portfolio of offerings by the end of 2021.

Chelsea Handler, 46, has been one of the most accomplished standup comedians for years! After gaining tons of success from her E! series Chelsea Lately, fans have felt a special connection to her, and she’s gone on to much success, creating docu-series like Chelsea Does and Hello Privilege. It’s Me, Chelsea for Netflix, in addition to a talk series and a comedy special called Uganda Be Kidding Me. Throughout her career, she’s also been open with her fans about her relationships, including her most recent beau, fellow comic Jo Koy, 50. Find out everything you need to know about Jo and Chelsea’s exes here!

EXCLUSIVE: Filming has begun in Canada on New Regency-backed fencing thriller Balestra, which will be produced as a feature with an alternate version to be released separately as a limited series.