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REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniNEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The rights to stream "South Park," the popular animated comedy featuring foul-mouthed children, is the subject of a new lawsuit where Warner Bros Discovery Inc is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from Paramount Global (PARA.O). The complaint said the defendants cemented their apostasy in August 2021 when Paramount's MTV unit announced an agreement to stream new "South Park" content on Paramount+, through season 30 in 2027. Warner said it now expects to receive only 14 of the 30 new "South Park" episodes it had been promised, including two "Pandemic Specials" that Paramount claims constitute season 24. The defendants also include MTV and South Park Digital Studios, a joint venture between Paramount, Parker and Stone. "South Park" was launched in August 1997 on Comedy Central, owned by Paramount.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery sues Paramount over 'South Park' streaming rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Warner Bros. Discovery sued Paramount Global looking to enforce the streaming rights of "South Park," setting the stage for a legal battle between two media behemoths as the streaming wars intensify. Discovery filed a lawsuit against Paramount, South Park Digital Studios and MTV Entertainment seeking hundreds of millions of dollars for what it believes was a breach of contract. During the bidding process for the "South Park" rights, the filing said, Paramount allegedly asked whether Warner Bros. Discovery plans to launch a combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service this spring.

☆ Lightning Round: If Paramount Global comes down, buy, buy, buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLightning Round: If Paramount Global comes down, buy, buy, buyMad Money host Jim Cramer takes calls on all manner of stocks, including CoreCivic, Paramount Global and Booking.com.

☆ Warner Bros Discovery posts quarterly loss after restructuring charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) Inc on Thursday posted a $2.1 billion loss in its fourth quarter, reflecting ongoing charges related to the restructuring of the merged media companies. Warner Bros Discovery reported a loss of 86 cents per share, versus expectations of a 21-cent-per-share loss. Warner Bros Discovery said the months-long merger-related restructuring, which resulted in thousands of layoffs and canceled film and television projects, is complete. Warner Bros Discovery also said it has paid down $7 billion in debt since April. Like other media companies, Warner Bros Discovery has yet to turn a profit on its HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming services, though the company has reduced losses from them.

☆ Warner Bros Discovery revenue misses as media giant posts big loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Pedestrians walk past a street commercial advertisement billboard from Warner Bros and DC comics character, The Batman, movie in Madrid. Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Warner Bros.

☆ NPR to cut 10% of its staff in ‘a major loss’ for the public radio network, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jon Passantino | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —National Public Radio will lay off 10% of its staff after projecting a $30 million budget shortfall, NPR’s chief executive John Lansing wrote in a memo to staff Wednesday. In his memo, Lansing said the network was grappling with a “sharp decline” in revenues from its corporate sponsors as a result of the uncertain economy. “With approximately 65% of our budget supporting personnel costs, we will need to eliminate many of the vacant positions that have been frozen. In recent months, the media and technology sectors have taken a battering as advertisers tighten spending amid economic uncertainty. CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, Vox Media, Gannett and other news organizations have cut their workforces in recent months.

☆ Paramount Isn’t Buffeted by Streaming Winds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The series ‘1923’ with Harrison Ford had its premiere on Paramount+ near the end of the recent quarter. Warren Buffett may or may not be a “Yellowstone” fan, but he sure seems to like a good drama. Paramount Global was one of the few stocks Mr. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought more of during the fourth quarter, according to a filing earlier this week. And that was during a period when the famed long-term investor made some uncharacteristic quick exits. Berkshire sold off 86% of its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing just one quarter after first buying into the chip-making titan.

☆ This week's best performers include Paramount Global and a little-known pharma stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The average price target on West Pharmaceuticals implies downside of 7.2% over the next 12 months, and only one-third of analysts rate the stock as buy. Paramount Global also popped this week, gaining around 9% after the media giant said it would increase subscription prices for its Paramount+ streaming service . Just 21% rate it as buy, and the average price target implies downside of 13%. Three-quarters of analysts covering the pet medication maker rate it as buy, with the average analyst price target implying upside of 25.3%. Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock on the back of those results, noting it has 30% upside from here.

☆ Paramount to Raise Paramount+ Prices as It Combines With Showtime
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Will Feuer | Jessica Toonkel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Paramount Global said it would raise the price of its Paramount+ streaming service later this year, as mounting losses from its streaming business ate into the entertainment company’s quarterly profits. Paramount+ gained 9.9 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, boosting its customer base to nearly 56 million, the company said Thursday. Paramount credited the National Football League, the expansion of franchises like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “1923,” a spinoff of “Yellowstone,” and new shows like “Tulsa King” for driving subscriber growth.

☆ Paramount’s Earnings Fall on Higher Streaming, Film Expenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Will Feuer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Paramount Global posted lower earnings for the fourth quarter as losses mounted at its streaming business and higher film costs ate into profit. The New York-based media company said Thursday that higher revenue from its direct-to-consumer and film segments offset declines in its core television business. Higher costs, though, weighed on profit, and results missed Wall Street expectations.

☆ Paramount takes a knock from ad slump as streaming shines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares in the media company fell about 8% before the bell. TV advertising revenue fell 7% in the three months to December, despite a lift from political advertising on the back of U.S. mid-term elections in November. The company last month said it would integrate Showtime, known for popular shows, including "Billions," "Yellowjackets" and "Dexter", with Paramount+ across platforms later this year as it prioritizes streaming services. Operating losses in the company's direct-to-consumer unit, which houses its streaming services like Paramount+ and PlutoTV, rose to $575 million from $502 million. Investors have focused on the service as the company has outlined plans to spend aggressively on content to fend off competition.

☆ Stocks slide as investors worry about more rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Stocks tumbled Thursday morning after the US government’s Producer Price Index report showed that prices at the wholesale level rose faster than expected in January. The unwelcome inflation news comes just two days after the Consumer Price Index figures showed that retail prices continue to come in above forecasts. Investors also were unnerved by comments from Cleveland Federal Reserve president Loretta Mester about inflation and the economy. St. Louis Fed president James Bullard, another regional bank president who does not have a vote on the FOMC this year, is giving a speech this afternoon. Streaming media device maker Roku (ROKU) also soared following strong earnings.

☆ Top 10 things the Club is watching in the stock market Thursday: PPI hot, stocks drop, Cisco pops
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The PPI data comes two days after a slightly hotter-than-expected consumer price index for last month. Cloud communications platform Twilio (TWLO) finally makes the pivot to emphasize profitability and the stock gets rewarded ... up 9% early Thursday. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

☆ Stocks making the biggest premarket moves: Shake Shack, Virgin Galactic, Paramount and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting earnings of 23 cents per share on $8.16 billion of revenue. Excluding items, it earned 88 cents per share, slightly above the Refinitiv estimate of 86 cents per share. Cisco also beat revenue expectations. Twilio — The communications tools maker rose nearly 9% after reporting revenue of $1.02 billion, above the $1 billion analyst polled by Refinitiv expected. West Pharmaceutical Services — The drug and health-care products manufacturer gained 5.3% after reporting a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat.

☆ Paramount+ plans price increases as it hits 56 million subscribers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Paramount+ streaming service is now available in Germany. Paramount Global said it saw its streaming business grow during the fourth quarter, and announced plans to increase prices for Paramount+ this year. Paramount+ added 9.9 million subscribers during the fourth quarter. In total, Paramount+ reached nearly 56 million customers during the fourth quarter. Overall, Paramount fourth quarter revenue declined 7% compared with last year, to roughly $5.9 billion, due to the drop in advertising.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway Boosts Stake in Apple, Paramount Global in Relatively Quiet Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Akane Otani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Elizabeth Bick for The Wall Street JournalBank of America is one of Berkshire Hathaway’s biggest holdings. Warren Buffett ‘s Berkshire Hathaway sold more shares than it bought in the final quarter of 2022, a regulatory filing Tuesday showed. The Omaha, Neb.-based company added to its positions in Apple Inc., Louisiana-Pacific Corp. and Paramount Global in the final three months of the year while trimming its positions in eight companies, including U.S. Bancorp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

☆ Top 10 things the Club is watching in the stock market Wednesday: Retail sales up, stocks dip, Airbnb soars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Retail sales for January came in higher than expected. Remember, retail sales are not adjusted for inflation, which of course remains elevated but growing at a slower rate in recent months. Earnings per share (EPS) of 48 cents versus 25 cents expected. Kraft Heinz (KHC) EPS beats: 85 cents versus 78 cents expected. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Stock futures are flat Wednesday night as traders digest earnings, latest data: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. stock futures were flat on Wednesday night after strong retail sales data suggested a resilient U.S. economy. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 15 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.02%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.14%. Stocks closed slightly higher during the regular session Wednesday, despite falling earlier in the day after a stronger-than-expected January retail sales report suggested the Federal Reserve may have further to go in its efforts to tame inflation. On the earnings front, Hasbro and Paramount Global are expected to report Thursday before the bell.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Kraft Heinz, Paramount, Airbnb, Tripadvisor and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Airbnb — The home-sharing company gained nearly 10% in the premarket after posting fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations. Airbnb reported earnings per share of 48 cents, compared to the 25 cents expected, per Refinitiv. Generac — Shares added more than 2% after the power generator maker reported fourth-quarter earnings results. Generac posted earnings of $1.78 per share, better than the $1.75 per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Analog Devices — Shares were up 6.7% in premarket trading after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for the fiscal first quarter.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Roblox, Airbnb, Barclays, Silvergate Capital & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Airbnb reported 48 cents in earnings per share on $1.90 billion of revenue. Devon Energy — Shares tumbled 12.3% after the energy company reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that came in below expectations. Generac Holdings — Shares rallied 8% after the power-generator maker reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.78 per share, topping StreetAccount's estimate of $1.75 per share. Warren Buffet's firm now owns more than 93 million shares of Paramount. Martin Marietta Materials — Shares gained 7% after the company reported fourth-quarter net income of $183.6 million, up from $156.8 million a year ago.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway slashed 3 big stock bets last quarter - and topped up its huge Apple stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made striking changes to its stock portfolio last quarter. The famed investor's company cut its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor — which it only established in the third quarter of last year — by 86% to 8.3 million shares. Buffett's conglomerate also pared its US Bancorp stake by 91% to fewer than 7 million shares, worth just under $300 million at the end of December. Similarly, it sliced its BNY Mellon position by about 60% to 25 million shares, worth $1.1 billion at year end. Berkshire didn't add any new names to its US stock portfolio last quarter, nor did it eliminate any holdings.

☆ Philippe Laffont's Coatue adds to bets on Big Tech and Moderna
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Meanwhile, Coatue's stake in Moderna grew by 12%, bringing the value of that position above $1.1 billion as of the end of December. The firm added several new positions in the quarter, taking relatively small stakes in Alphabet and Charter Communications , among others. Coatue also added to its stake in Tesla , a reversal from the third quarter r when it reduced the size of that position. The listed equity positions were worth $8.9 billion at the end of December, according to a CNBC calculation. Coatue also exited smaller positions in several stocks during the fourth quarter, including Palo Alto , Paramount Global, Shopify and Visa .

☆ Investors need to embrace these stocks that we love
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

I’ve typically done this stock picking feature in early to mid February as a Stocks We Love type of story, pegging it to Valentine’s Day. The restaurant stocks in particular could do well. Inflation is obviously still a concern for big consumer brands. Consumer prices rose 6.5% over the past 12 months through December, down from a 7.1% pace in November. Up nextMonday: Earnings from TreeHouse Foods (THS), Avis Budget (CAR), FirstEnergy (FE), IAC (IAC) and PalantirTuesday: US CPI; Japan GDP; UK employment report; earnings from Coca-Cola, Asahi Group, Marriott (MAR).

☆ The 2023 Super Bowl Ads Will Feature Booze, Betting and Jesus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Megan Graham | Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

The Super Bowl ads on Sunday are poised to promote an unusual mix of alcohol brands, gambling and Jesus. The Super Bowl still regularly draws an audience of around 100 million people, making it TV’s biggest event of the year and advertising’s biggest night. Planters’ Super Bowl ad features comedians mocking Mr. Peanut. The ads are likely to strike a lighter tone than the occasionally somber messages of Super Bowl ads in recent, highly politicized years or the early pandemic, said Anjali S. Bal, an associate professor of marketing at Babson College. Many Super Bowl advertisers have again released their ads well before Super Bowl Sunday to increase their chances of being seen.

Bob Berg | Moment Mobile | Getty ImagesIn a fragmented media landscape, events like the Super Bowl are prized by advertisers for the exposure they offer. These commercials are an institution in and of themselves, with the ads generating conversation for weeks ahead and days after the big game. Consumers might recall well-crafted Super Bowl ads years after their debut. So does Super Bowl exposure truly help boost business? It drove so many viewers to Coinbase's app that it crashed on the night of the Super Bowl.

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