CBS owner outbids tech streamer Editor’s Note: This article was updated on February 27. In 1985, CNN owner Ted Turner made a hostile takeover bid to buy CBS, but the bid failed after Larry Tisch increased his ownership stake in the company, preventing CBS News and CNN from uniting. 41 years later, the two will finally get together – thanks […]
Back to the drawing board as merger media continues Tuesday saw more rejections happen than what Snoopy gets from his publisher. Scripps’ board unanimously rejected rival Sinclair’s $622 million takeover bid, stating it wasn’t in the best interest of their shareholders. Sinclair started buying up Scripps stock, up to 9.9 percent. That prompted Scripps to adopt a “poison pill” strategy, […]
Stunning deal builds streaming’s clout and is a huge blow to linear TV In a stunning deal with The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – and one that could be the death knell to linear TV, Google’s YouTube – yes, the video portal where you can watch anything from cat videos to old commercials, has landed the Oscars […]
Offering $30 a share to WBD shareholders, saying it’s the best option It’s on. After Netflix agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $82.7 billion on Friday, Paramount Skydance on Monday announced a hostile takeover bid for the entire company with an all-cash offer of $30 a share to shareholders. The offer is being financed by hedge fund Apollo Global […]
I Beats Paramount and Comcast in bidding Deal includes HBO and HBO Max; does not include WBD’s cable networks, which will be spun off Passing regulatory tests could be difficult In a move that gained steam in the 24 hours before it was announced, Netflix is buying Warner Bros. Discovery for $82.7 billion, closing a period during which two other […]
Comes after Trump expresses disdain The bid to increase scale in local television has turned into an arms race. Sinclair is the latest to make a bid to acquire a rival, this time Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps, a company that was founded in 1878 as a newspaper chain. If successful, Sinclair would own and/or operate around 250 stations in the […]
Friendly regulatory climate, urge to compete with streamers fuels merger talk The future of Warner Bros. Discovery appears to be headed in two directions: a split or an outright takeover by another media company. It’s clear that Paramount head David Ellison, whose Skydance bought the company last year, is looking for more. That’s what media observers are looking at, as […]
Also: Fox One to cost $20 a month; Top 25 largest broadcast station groups revealed Audacy announced on Tuesday that it tapped Geoff Buchholz as WBBM Newsradio’s (780 AM/105.9 FM) new political editor, succeeding the now-retired Craig Dellimore, who spent 41 years in the same position. “Chicago and Illinois are entering a critical era, and it’s more important than ever […]
Event saw ratings drop this year due to network shifts It might be a while before you hear the roar of NASCAR engines downtown. NASCAR released a statement Friday stating it will not hold the Chicago Street Race in 2026, but hopes to return in 2027 on a later date: The Chicago Street Race debuted in 2023, but the NASCAR […]
Splits company into two; aims to complete by mid-2026 Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Monday that it will separate the conglomerate into two separately publicly traded companies. Speculated for some time, the move will separate its streaming and studios business from its cable networks, making it a stand-alone company. One company (temporarily named “Streaming and Studios”) will house Warner […]
Warner Bros. returns HBO name to its streaming service Proving things can come full circle in media, Warner Bros. Discovery announced they were rebranding its streaming service from Max back to HBO Max, as it is focusing on quality instead of quantity as it continues to reduce the number of titles on its platform. So why the name change? Again? […]
Warner Bros. renews newsmagazine for 32nd season while dumping True Crime News after one season Warner Bros. Discovery announced Monday the renewal of the long-running newsmagazine strip Extra for a 32nd season after securing a deal with Fox Television Stations to carry the show for another year. Extra had been on the bubble with two other Warner shows Fox carries: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
ABC ABC-Owned Stations ABC 7 Chicago American Idol CBS CBS Chicago CBS Media Ventures CBS News And Stations Chicago Bears Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Bulls Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox ESPN Family Guy FCC Fox Fox 32 Fox Television Stations Los Angeles Milwaukee NBC NBC 5 NBC Owned Television Stations NBCUniversal Syndication Studios New York City Nexstar Media Group Radio Ratings Sinclair Inc. Syndication The Big Bang Theory The CW The Simpsons Tribune Media Warner Bros. WBBM-TV Chicago WCIU Chicago WFLD Chicago WGN-TV Chicago WGN Radio WLS-AM Chicago WLS-TV Chicago WMAQ Chicago WPWR Chicago