WarnerMedia Snags Remaining NHL TV Rights as NBC Bows Out

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorShares of Discovery and AT&T moved in different directions in the wake of the proposed merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery.Discovery shares opened up 10% Monday — before the stock tumbled into negative territory. The stock was down 0.3% as of 11:01 a.m.

On Friday, people left work, came home and sat down with their friends and/or family, and watched something on TV. But John Stankey, the CEO of AT&T, and David Zaslav, the Discovery CEO, were holed up in the latter’s house hammering out a multi-billion dollar deal that would forever change the face of Hollywood.

Discovery combine into a single media juggernaut was hatched during a series of meetings and calls in the Greenwich Village townhouse of Discovery chief David Zaslav.But it might never have come about were it not for Zaslav and AT&T chief John Stankey’s shared passion for golf. The two men were commiserating via text message about how, due to COVID restrictions, they weren’t going to be able to see each other in person at last winter’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

In an hour-long press briefing, Discovery CEO David Zaslav and AT&T CEO John Stankey outlined plans for the companies’ $43 billion merger.

calling the network “the elephant in the room” in the administration’s opposition. The deal won approval and was ultimately completed in June 2018.AT&T announced Monday that it was spinning off WarnerMedia into an independent company that will merge with Discovery Inc.

Discovery stock has jumped 18% in premarket trading on news the company is merging with spun-off WarnerMedia.AT&T, which is spinning off its entertainment brand, is up 5%.Early Monday, AT&T announced it was spinning off WarnerMedia into an independent company that will merge with Discovery Inc.

an operating profit above $10 billion.It is unknown what the fate of the two streaming services. This new company could bundle the two in the same way Disney offers a discount for those who buy all three of its streaming services: Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDavid Zaslav will lead a new combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery, the latest example of consolidation in the media and entertainment industry as the rise of video streaming continues to upend the entire sector.Zaslav was named CEO of the new company Monday, part of a surprising move by AT&T and Discovery to pool their media resources and make a bid to compete more directly with large rivals like Netflix, Walt Disney and NBCUniversal.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Worldwide and remake rights to Argentine political horror pic, “History of the Occult,” has been snapped up by leading Buenos Aires-based sales and production company, FilmSharks International.According to FilmSharks’ CEO Guido Rud, advanced talks are underway with a streaming giant while a major U.S.

AT&T and Discovery Monday announced a definitive agreement to combine WarnerMedia’s  premium entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery’s leading nonfiction and international entertainment and sports businesses to create a premier, standalone global entertainment company led by Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

an operating profit above $10 billion.It is unknown what the fate of the two streaming services. This new company could bundle the two in the same way Disney offers a discount for those who buy all three of its streaming services: Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

Netflix, Sky Team For Writing Fellowship Netflix and Sky have joined forces with Sex Education writer Bisha K Ali to launch a UK screenwriting fellowship for people from under-represented backgrounds. The scheme offers up to six successful applicants the chance to join a year-long program, during which they will receive £22,568 ($32,000) to write a spec script for an original idea, as well take on a placement in a Sky or Netflix writers’ room.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorDiscovery CEO David Zaslav is, by his own definition, a “fighter.”He’s poised to record quite a knockout if he pulls off a merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia unit in a pact that will leave him as the ultimate keeper of the keys to HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., Turner channels and a growing global suite of direct to consumer streaming businesses.News of Discovery’s pursuit of a union with the erstwhile Time Warner assets came on so fast that executives and recent

Bloomberg reported on Sunday.According to Bloomberg, the companies are in talks to bring their vast entertainment portfolios together. AT&T’s WarnerMedia includes networks like HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS and the HBO Max streaming service, while Discovery brings its own streaming service, Discovery+, along with networks like HGTV, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Food Network and TLC.

Discovery accelerated on Sunday as the shock of a possible transaction ricocheted around the halls of HBO, Warner Bros. and other legacy Time Warner companies that have been on a roller-coaster ride of disruption since 2016.Sources said AT&T leadership was meeting Sunday to discuss the transaction.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said the company’s day-and-date movie release strategy has boosted the fortunes of HBO Max but also helped movie theaters eager for new titles during their emergence from Covid-19.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorJason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, revealed that his biggest regret from his time helming Hulu was being unable to convince the board to let the company launch Hulu service globally.“I think it’s totally fair to bash, candidly, Hulu’s lack of global footprint that could have been possible starting in 2008,” said Kilar, speaking Thursday at MoffettNathanson’s Media & Communications Summit.

WarnerMedia has now joined the growing chorus of studios, streamers and talent damning the pace and scope of reform at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Like powerhouses Netflix and Amazon, the home of Golden Globes heavyweight HBO has pulled the plug on all interaction with the insular group until “changes are implemented.”

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeWarnerMedia is joining Netflix and Amazon Studios in refusing to participate in any more events related to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association until the org demonstrates real, lasting reform and change, according to a letter that has been sent to HFPA president Ali Sar.In the letter, signed by key WarnerMedia execs and shared with reporters on Monday morning, the conglomerate writes that its leaders don’t believe that the HFPA’s plans for change,

EXCLUSIVE: Even in a business well-acquainted with comebacks, HBO Max has become a fairly remarkable turnaround story.