DirecTV offers skinny bundle sports package, “MySports”

Comes after Venu collapse Just days after the planned Disney-Fox-Warner Bros. Discovery joint venture Venu fell through, one of the principals that helped bring down the effort is releasing its own “skinny bundle”.  DirecTV announced Tuesday it was launching MySports, a new sports streaming service available at launch in seventeen of the top twenty markets including Chicago, and includes local […]

Grand Opening, Grand Closing: Disney, WBD, Fox abandon Venu effort

Dish and DirecTV objections and Fubo offering a similar package led to the demise  The Venu is closed before it even opens.  Despite a settlement reached in a lawsuit settled by Disney and Fubo due to the latter agreeing to sell itself to them, the joint venture between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch a new affordable skinny […]

Disney’s Hulu + Live TV merges with Fubo, Venu lawsuit settled

Paves way for new Disney-WBD-Fox joint venture to launch [Editor’s Note: This article has been updated.]  In a stunning turn of events, virtual multiple video program distributor Fubo announced Monday that it agreed to terms to merge with rival Hulu + Live TV, owned by The Walt Disney Company. Just as important, it removes a key stumbling block for sports-themed […]

Republicans get involved in Venu-Fubo spat

A change in Presidential administration toward Trump could help Venu Is the Venu-Fubo fight becoming politicized? To the surprise of some, it is. As first reported by Awful Announcing on September 28, six Republican Attorney Generals and five Republican Congressmen are filing separate friend-of-the-court briefs with Venu in their fight with Fubo over the right to exist. The Attorneys General […]

Disney-Fox-WBD joint venture: DOA with the DOJ?

Justice Department to analyze deal as the NFL pushes back The planned sports streaming venture proposed by Disney’s ESPN, Fox Corporation, and Warner Bros. Discovery could be finished before it even gets off the ground. Two significant developments took place this week as the Department of Justice (DOJ) is now looking at the proposed joint venture for anti-trust concerns. The […]

Rupert Murdoch to step down from Fox chairmanship in November

Lachlan Murdoch ascends to throne While somewhat calling it a career, 92-year old Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of both Fox Corp. and News Corporation, effective in Mid-November when the next shareholders’ meeting takes place.   Murdoch is transiting to chairman emeritus of each board, meaning it’s a honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of […]

DirecTV, Fox headed toward retrans showdown

Packers-Bears, FIFA World Cup, and more could be affected For Chicago-area DirecTV subscribers, the possibility of losing the Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears game from Soldier Field Sunday probably would be a bigger deal if Justin Fields wasn’t questionable to play and both teams had better records.  But since the FIFA World Cup and the Big Ten Championship Game are on […]

Report: AT&T sells “TMZ” to Fox

Move adds more programs to Fox’s syndication portfolio In a surprising move reported last month, WarnerMedia parent AT&T is in talks to sell its TMZ franchise to Fox Corp. Today, the deal became official according to Deadline.  TMZ consists of the gossip website and the two syndicated television shows they spun off of, TMZ (alternatively titled TMZ on TV) and […]

The NFL completes media deals

Blockbuster pacts include new deals for streaming Just a week after the NHL announced a return to ESPN/ABC, the NFL announced Thursday it completed its television deals.  While nothing really earth-shattering (Fox stunning the world in 1994 by grabbing the NFL from CBS or Monday Night Football moving to cable), the new deals does send a message – streamers have […]

The CW is on the move in Chicago as “My50” returns

Move to WCIU takes place Sunday; rebrands as “CW 26” as WPWR returns to “My 50” Goodbye Taye Diggs, hello Vincent D’Onofrio. Beginning Sunday, WPWR reverts back to a primary My Network TV affiliate as CW programming heads to WCIU, who is rebranding as “CW 26” with WPWR returning to “My50”. The affiliation switch was officially announced April 19 as […]

“Empire” returns for another season – minus Jussie Smollett

Even though Disney picked up an option on Smollett’s contract, his exit from Chicago likely means he’s done with the show Even though its renewal was really never in doubt, the future of Empire is secured – but is down one cast member – and probably for good. Fox announced Tuesday the sixth-season renewal of Empire, likely for a full […]

“Empire” cast stands by Jussie Smollett

(Editor’s Note: Updated to add ratings information from last night’s episode.) While Jussie Smollett’s tenure on Empire this season wound down Wednesday night, the battle on whether or not he returns to the show is just beginning. Earlier in the day Wednesday, the cast of the Fox show sent a letter to numerous executives at Disney and Fox as reported by […]

20th Century Fox: The End.

End of an era arrives as studio is taken over by Disney. On Wednesday, a new day is dawning in Hollywood – for better or worse. Parts of 21st Century Fox – including its film, television studio, thirty percent of Hulu, and other operations are to become the property of The Walt Disney Co. in a $71.3 billion deal first […]