By Eric Guenwedel May 6, 2018 | NEWS ANALYSIS – When Apple last year announced it would start selling access to 4K Ultra HD movies (at the same price as HD) on Apple TV through iTunes, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment was not among participating studios. With Disney relinquishing (some) control in the rebranding of the Movies Anywhere digital platform, retail member Vudu.com...
By Joe Mayes April 26, 2018 | With Comcast formalizing its 22 billion-pound ($31 billion) offer for Sky on Wednesday -- 16 percent above Fox’s existing bid -- investors are expecting a response from Fox or Disney, which has a $52.4 billion deal to buy most of Fox. Complicating matters is an expected regulatory decision on Fox’s bid and the question of...
By Shalini Ramachandran, Amol Sharma and David Benoit April 25, 2018 | Comcast on Wednesday lobbed an official $31 billion proposal to buy European pay-TV operator Sky PLC, topping an existing offer from 21st Century Fox Inc., which already owns a 39% stake in Sky. Fox counts Rupert Murdoch and his family as major shareholders. Separately, the cable giant is weighing whether to play interloper on Fox’s $52.4 billion deal to sell...
By Ryan Faughnder and Meg James April 24, 2018 | The surprising box-office success of "A Quiet Place," a low-budget movie about a family under attack from creatures who hunt by sound, could hardly have come at a better time for Paramount Pictures and its chief executive, Jim Gianopulos. A year after the veteran Hollywood executive took on the monumental task of reviving Paramount following...
By Tony Maglio April 20, 2018 | Who needs a press conference? On Thursday, AT&T boss Randall Stephenson unveiled details about a new streaming bundle while testifying against the federal government in his Time Warner takeover case. AT&T’s “Watch” will cost $15 per month and is set to debut within weeks, Stephenson said from the witness stand. Compare that with the media giant’s...
April 19, 2018 | Comcast Corp. offered 21st Century Fox Inc. at least 16% more for a chunk of its assets than Walt Disney Co. did, though regulatory concerns ultimately led controlling stockholder Rupert Murdoch to accept the lower bid. In a joint filing Wednesday with Disney in connection with their $52.4-billion deal, Murdoch's 21st Century Fox described months-long talks with a...
By Patrick Brzeski April 17, 2018 | Digital media company Cinedigm Corp. will soon begin beaming Chinese entertainment into U.S. homes. Chris McGurk, Cinedigm's chairman and CEO, delivered a speech Tuesday at the Beijing International Film Festival in which he unveiled plans to launch a new over-the-top channel in North America dedicated exclusively to the distribution of Chinese film and television content. Read more...
By Rob Haskell April 12, 2018 | Despite his success, Iger and his venerable Disney brand face an existential threat from Silicon Valley, in particular from companies like Netflix and Amazon. The studio has wagered on content, beloved but mutable stories with loyal audiences; meanwhile, Netflix has made so much money on subscriptions that it suddenly gets to spend billions on...
By Gene Maddaus April 11, 2018 | Disney is taking the gloves off in its battle with Redbox, working to make it significantly harder for the kiosk operator to obtain DVDs of recent Disney releases. According to an amended complaint filed on Tuesday by Redbox, Disney has recently retained Anderson Merchandisers, an in-store merchandising company, in its effort to limit the kiosk operator's purchases of Disney DVDs....
By Dawn C. Chmielewski April 9, 2018 | Disney is trying again to prevent Redbox from selling digital download codes for its movies after a federal judge rejected its initial request for an injunction that would have halted the practice. The Burbank entertainment giant filed an amended complaint today with U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, saying its made changes to its online license agreements to address the judge’s concerns that...