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☆ A Looming Question for Paramount’s Board: How to Navigate Shari Redstone
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Shari Redstone won control over her media empire in 2018 after a hard-fought struggle with CBS. Now, Ms. Redstone has decided to sell her controlling stake in Paramount, a decision that could put her in conflict with some of the company’s shareholders. The question that Paramount’s board has to answer — and may eventually have to defend in a courtroom: Is the deal under consideration good for all shareholders, or just Ms. Redstone? “Are these decisions that are being made in the best interest of Paramount generally?” said Eric Talley, a law professor at Columbia. “Or are they basically the types of decisions that are only going to give Shari Redstone a nice nut but pretty much stick it to the other minority shareholders?”

Persons: Shari Redstone, ”, Eric Talley, Shari Organizations: CBS, Viacom, Paramount, Columbia

As Paramount, the media company that’s the home of the “Top Gun” franchise and Nickelodeon, was preparing to enter exclusive talks to sell itself to the media company Skydance, another suitor emerged. Apollo Global Management, the investment firm, told Paramount over the weekend that it was interested in acquiring the entire company for more than $26 billion, including the value of Paramount’s debt, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. It had previously submitted an $11 billion offer to acquire just the Paramount movie studio. Paramount decided not to engage with Apollo’s overture, the people said, with one person explaining that doing so could have derailed its advancing negotiations with Skydance, which became exclusive this week. Apollo said in a letter to Paramount that it was interested in buying out all the company’s shareholders in cash, which could be enticing as the board seeks to strike a deal that not only pleases Shari Redstone, who controls Paramount, but also the company’s common shareholders.

Persons: Apollo’s, Apollo, Shari Redstone Organizations: Paramount, Nickelodeon, Apollo Global Management, CBS, Skydance

Paramount, home to one of Hollywood’s most storied movie studios as well as CBS and cable networks like Nickelodeon, has been discussing entering into exclusive talks with the media company Skydance for a potential deal, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions. Apollo Global Management, an investment firm with more than $500 billion under management, has submitted an $11 billion offer to acquire the Paramount movie studio. Byron Allen, whose Entertainment Studios owns the Weather Channel, has also expressed interest in acquiring Paramount. Ms. Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, began negotiating with Skydance to sell her stake in the company last year. She controls Paramount through National Amusements, a holding company that owns her voting stock in Paramount.

Persons: Shari Redstone, Byron Allen Organizations: Paramount, CBS, Nickelodeon, Apollo Global Management, Entertainment Studios, Weather, Skydance, National

☆ Sports Illustrated’s Owner Sues Energy Drink Mogul After Chaos at Magazine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sports Illustrated’s owner on Monday sued Manoj Bhargava, the energy drinks mogul whose foray into media has been rife with chaos and conflict, accusing him of failing to pay millions of dollars for the rights to publish the iconic magazine. The 51-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, says that Mr. Bhargava and Arena Group, the publisher he controls, owe $48.75 million in missed payments, as well as damages for infringing on Sports Illustrated’s copyrights and trademarks. The lawsuit represents the latest public skirmish between Authentic Brands Group, which owns Sports Illustrated, and Mr. Bhargava, the 5-Hour Energy drink founder whose effort to take control of Sports Illustrated’s parent company has resulted in a series of lawsuits and turmoil at the sports publication. Sports Illustrated is being operated by Minute Media, a New York-based sports-media company that wrested the title away from Arena Group last month by striking a new deal with the magazine’s owner. After Arena Group laid off scores of employees in January and threatened to discontinue Sports Illustrated’s print edition, Minute Media pledged to hire some of them back and keep the magazine alive.

Persons: Manoj Bhargava, Mr, Bhargava Organizations: Southern, of, Arena Group, Sports, Authentic Brands, Energy, Minute Media, Group, Media Locations: U.S, of New York, New York

Warner Bros. Discovery said on Monday that two members of its board of directors, Steven Newhouse and Steven Miron, had stepped down after the company learned about an investigation into whether their presence on the board violated antitrust law. Federal law forbids most corporate officers and board members to simultaneously serve on the boards of their competitors. Mr. Newhouse and Mr. Miron are both executives at Advance, a private, family-held business whose holdings include the Condé Nast glossy magazine empire that publishes titles such as Vogue and The New Yorker.

Persons: Discovery, Steven Newhouse, Steven Miron, Newhouse, Miron Organizations: Warner Bros, Advance, Vogue Locations: Yorker

☆ A New Chapter for Sports Illustrated, With Plans to Keep Print
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The owner of Sports Illustrated said it had chosen a new company to publish the magazine, a deal that could settle some of the recent friction at the storied publication and continue the print edition. Authentic Brands Group, which owns the intellectual property rights to Sports Illustrated as well as to celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali, said it had struck a long-term deal to license Sports Illustrated’s publishing rights to Minute Media, a digital-media company focused on sports. Minute Media’s license with Sports Illustrated will stretch for 10 years with an option to extend for up to 30 years total, into the magazine’s centenary. The companies declined to disclose financial terms but said that Authentic Brands Group was taking a stake in Minute Media as part of the deal. The deal is a significant expansion for Minute Media, a New York-based company founded in 2011 whose holdings — which include the sports websites The Players’ Tribune and Fansided — generate more than $400 million in revenue annually.

Persons: Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali Organizations: Sports Illustrated, Authentic Brands, Sports, Minute Media, Authentic, Media, ’ Tribune, Fansided Locations: New York

☆ Former Apple Executive to Lead Sports Streaming Service
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since a trio of media titans announced a new sports-focused streaming service last month, key details of the project have been shrouded in mystery. Discovery — said that it would be led by Pete Distad, a former executive at Apple who had been in charge of distribution of the tech giant’s Apple TV+ streaming service. By selecting Mr. Distad, an executive with a mix of tech and media experience, the companies behind the service signaled that the new service needs a leader who understands the old-school economics of cable television and the promise of the rapidly unfurling streaming business. Before he joined Apple, Mr. Distad helped start Hulu, the last major streaming joint venture. In a statement, Mr. Distad said he was looking forward to pulling together “industry-leading sports content portfolios” from the three companies.

Persons: —, Pete Distad, Distad Organizations: titans, — Fox, Disney, Warner Bros, Apple, Hulu Locations: Los Angeles

☆ Sports Illustrated’s Employees Are Told Print Edition Will Close in May
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Friction between Sports Illustrated’s owner and its operator has led to disarray at the venerable magazine in recent months. But that message runs counter to what Sports Illustrated’s owner, Authentic Brands Group, has said about looking for a way to ensure that the magazine endures in print. Last year, Mr. Bhargava, the founder of the 5-Hour Energy drink company, agreed to buy a major stake in the Arena Group. In January, Authentic Brands terminated its deal with Arena Group after Arena breached its licensing agreement by failing to make a $3.75 million payment. Since then, Authentic Brands has been weighing a deal with new licensees, leading to the current uncertainty.

Persons: Steve Janisse, Manoj Bhargava, Bhargava Organizations: Sports, Employees, Authentic Brands, Brands, Energy, Arena, Group

☆ Sprouts of Hope in a Gloomy Media Landscape
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Katie Robertson | Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But there are some signs of hope. The new class of news start-ups — Puck, Punchbowl News, The Ankler and Semafor are among the most prominent — have kept spending down and hired carefully. They have attracted top journalists by putting them at the heart of the enterprise, sometimes as part owners in the companies. “There was possibly a mismatch 10 or 15 years ago between funding structures and media companies,” said Jon Kelly, the co-founder and editor in chief of Puck, whose 14 reporters write about topics including politics, finance and media. “And I think that the entire industry has learned from that.”

Persons: —, fatefully, ”, Jon Kelly, Puck Organizations: Punchbowl News Locations: Punchbowl

☆ Center for Public Integrity Weighs Merger or Shutdown Amid Dire Financial Straits
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Center for Public Integrity, one of the oldest and most storied nonprofit newsrooms in the United States, is considering merging with a competitor or shutting down amid turmoil in its top ranks and financial difficulties that have significantly sapped its reserves, according to two people with knowledge of the organization’s inner workings. The nonprofit fell about $2.5 million short of its budget goal of around $6 million for 2023, according to the two people, who would speak only anonymously to protect their relationships within the organization. This month, Paul Cheung, the organization’s chief executive, resigned after an employee accused him of unethical behavior. The board also eliminated the position of its editor in chief, Matt DeRienzo, who has left the nonprofit. In a statement, the Center for Public Integrity said it had a “financially challenged past year” like many other nonprofit media organizations.

Persons: Paul Cheung, Matt DeRienzo Organizations: Public, Center for Public Integrity Locations: United States

☆ The hollowing out of Vice and BuzzFeed marks the end of the digital media revolution
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —The digital media revolution is over. Its two leaders, Vice Media and BuzzFeed , are in a frenetic retreat, surrendering much of their online empires as they try to protect what remains of their core assets. The demise of Vice Media as we know it is a particularly hard pill to swallow. Ahead of the announcement, the mood inside Vice Media was grim. Dixon said in his note that Vice Media had determined it was “no longer cost-effective” for the company to distribute its digital content on its own.

Persons: “, ”, they’re, I’m, Bruce Dixon, Benjamin Mullin, Dixon, Shane Smith Organizations: New York CNN, Vice Media, Media, Big Tech titans, Fortress Investment, Sports Locations: New York

☆ Vice’s New Owners Prepare to Slash What’s Left of Its Work Force
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Executives at Vice Media are planning to lay off hundreds of more than 900 employees over the next week, eliminating staff from its digital publishing division, according to three people familiar with the matter. Over the past half-decade, Vice has had near annual layoffs and mounting losses, and has filed for bankruptcy, making it the poster child for the battered digital-media industry. When Vice emerged from bankruptcy last year, some observers hoped its new owners — a consortium led by the private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group — would reinvest to return the company to growth. Instead, Fortress has decided to make sweeping cuts, as part of an attempt to stem the endless tide of red ink. The company is planning to inform employees of its new business strategy in the next week.

Organizations: Vice Media, Fortress Investment, Fortress

☆ BuzzFeed Sells Complex, a Pop Culture Start-Up, for $108.6 Million
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BuzzFeed said on Wednesday that it was selling Complex — a media start-up known for its coverage of streetwear and pop culture — at a significant discount from its purchase price. The buyer is Ntwrk, an e-commerce company backed by LiveNation Entertainment and Main Street Advisors, which is paying $108.6 million for the company. It is also paying BuzzFeed $5.7 million to cover severance expenses of Complex employees whom BuzzFeed is laying off, along with other costs. BuzzFeed is not selling First We Feast, the internet brand associated with Complex behind the popular “Hot Ones” interview series about hot wings. Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed’s co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement that selling Complex was “an important strategic step” for the company.

Persons: BuzzFeed, Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed’s Organizations: LiveNation Entertainment, Main Street Advisors

☆ Paramount Lays Off Hundreds of Workers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Paramount, the owner of TV networks like Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central, is laying off hundreds of employees, cutting costs as it continues its painful transition away from traditional television. About 3 percent of the company’s roughly 24,500 employees will be affected by the layoffs, according to a person familiar with the cuts, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive corporate information. Bob Bakish, Paramount’s chief executive, said in a memo to employees that the cuts were part of a bid to “return the company to earnings growth.”“While I realize these changes are in no way easy, as I said last month, I am confident this is the right decision for our future,” Mr. Bakish wrote. “These adjustments will help enable us to build on our momentum and execute our strategic vision for the year ahead — and I firmly believe we have much to be excited about.”

Persons: Bob Bakish, “, ” Mr, Bakish, —, ” Organizations: Paramount, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy

☆ Rolling Stone’s Top Editor Steps Down
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Wenner told employees in a separate note that Mr. Shachtman would be replaced in the interim by Sean Woods, the magazine’s deputy editor, and Lisa Tozzi, its digital director. The magazine will begin a search for a new top editor in the coming weeks, he said. The former top editor of The Daily Beast, Mr. Shachtman imported the news website’s hard-nosed, investigative sensibility to Rolling Stone. During his tenure, the magazine published investigations into prominent musicians and actors, including Jonathan Majors and Marilyn Manson. After his comments were published, he was ousted from the foundation and condemned by the Black Rock Coalition, a conflagration that Mr. Shachtman had pushed Rolling Stone to cover.

Persons: Wenner, Shachtman, Sean Woods, Lisa Tozzi, he’s, ” Mr, Jonathan Majors, Marilyn Manson, Stone, Jann Wenner, Gus Wenner’s Organizations: The Times, Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Black Rock Coalition

☆ The Super Bowl and the Taylor Swift ‘Girlfriend Effect’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The girlfriend effect is the improvement a person (or, in this case, a brand) gets by associating with a magnetic partner. The term, which has been applied to Kelce, gained popularity on TikTok last year, said Linda Ong, chief executive of Cultique, a cultural analysis firm. has faced crises in recent years that hurt its reputation among younger viewers, particularly women, Ong said. Domestic violence by players, the lack of diversity among head coaches, and players’ chronic health problems from concussions have tainted the league’s brand.

Persons: Linda Ong, Ong

☆ Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Join Forces for Sports Streaming Service
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Kevin Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Tuesday, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. The companies announced a streaming service that will feature games from the major professional leagues and college conferences, which they hope will attract sports fans who have abandoned cable. The service will offer streaming subscribers all the channels owned by those companies that show sports, like ESPN, TNT and FS1, but also ABC and Fox. Subscribers will have access to 14 channels in total, as well as ESPN’s existing streaming service, ESPN+. The price, name and executive team behind the service have not yet been determined.

Organizations: Disney, Fox, Warner Bros, Discovery, ESPN, TNT, ABC

☆ CNN’s New Morning Strategy: More News, Less Banter
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

CNN spent years trying to compete in the cutthroat realm of chatty morning TV, cycling through formats in the hopes of catching up to breakfast-time staples like “Morning Joe” and “Good Morning America.”That experiment never quite caught on with viewers — and now it is coming to an end. In his first significant programming move since joining the network in the fall, Mark Thompson, CNN’s chairman, announced on Monday that the channel would exit the morning chat-show format by the end of the month. Instead, its morning lineup will focus on straight news coverage, the kind of bread-and-butter reporting that Mr. Thompson, a former head of The BBC and The New York Times, has championed. The co-anchors of “CNN This Morning,” Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly, are in discussions about new roles at the network. “I’m very aware that today’s announcement means a great deal of uncertainty for many valued colleagues,” Mr. Thompson wrote in a memo to employees, adding that “change and uncertainty are inevitable in an industry undergoing a revolution.”

Persons: Joe ”, Mark Thompson, Thompson, Poppy Harlow, Phil Mattingly, ” Mr, ” Organizations: CNN, America, BBC, The New York Times

☆ The Messenger to Close After Less Than a Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Messenger, a news website that pledged to shake up the media industry with a playbook borrowed from the doomed publishing start-ups of yesteryear, will be closing down. In an email to staff, the site’s founder, Jimmy Finkelstein, said that The Messenger’s shutdown was “effective immediately.”“This is truly the last thing I wanted, and I am deeply sorry,” Mr. Finkelstein wrote. By closing less than a year after it launched, The Messenger will now be one of the biggest busts in the annals of online news. And its collapse is the most substantial blow in recent months to the news industry, which is reeling from an unrelenting series of cutbacks. The organization hired about 300 people, including journalists with experience at such publications as Politico, Reuters, NBC News and The Associated Press, who joined the company in the hopes that it would deliver on its promise to introduce an important new nonpartisan voice to the American news landscape.

Persons: Jimmy Finkelstein, Mr, Finkelstein Organizations: Politico, Reuters, NBC News, Associated Press

When Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of The Los Angeles Times, hired Kevin Merida to be the newspaper’s top editor nearly three years ago, he hailed the journalist as someone who would maintain the publication’s high standards and journalistic integrity. Their relationship was strained in part by an incident in December when Dr. Soon-Shiong tried to dissuade Mr. Merida from pursuing a story about a wealthy California doctor and his dog, three people with knowledge of the interactions said. The previously unreported incident occurred as The Los Angeles Times, the largest news organization on the West Coast, struggled to reverse years of losses amid a difficult market for newspapers. Mr. Merida resigned this month. It is not unheard-of for the owner of a publication to be consulted on sensitive reporting, particularly if it could jeopardize the newspaper legally or financially.

Persons: Patrick Soon, Kevin Merida, Shiong, Mr, Dr, Merida Organizations: Los Angeles Times Locations: Merida, California, West Coast

☆ Katherine Maher Named C.E.O. of NPR
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NPR announced on Wednesday that Katherine Maher would be its next chief executive, picking a leader with an extensive track record in the nonprofit world but without one in the realm of public radio. Ms. Maher was previously the chief executive of the Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the popular online resource Wikipedia by raising money and providing technology infrastructure, among other services. She is the chief executive of Web Summit, an organization that holds technology events around the world. Jennifer Ferro, the chair of NPR’s board, said in a statement that Ms. Maher stood out because of her experience tackling “issues around reliable and accessible information,” adding that the search focused on candidates who could “reach audiences on new and existing platforms.”Ms. Maher, 40, will take over at NPR during a critical period. Listenership of traditional radio is waning as Americans adopt alternatives like Spotify and other on-demand services, pressuring NPR to reach its audiences in new formats.

Persons: Katherine Maher, Maher, Jennifer Ferro, Ms Organizations: NPR, Wikimedia Foundation, Web

☆ The Sports Illustrated Cover, a Faded Canvas That Once Defined Sports
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Kevin Draper | Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Or it could have been the declaration that a 17-year-old LeBron James was “The Chosen One,” 20 months before he played in his first N.B.A. For sports fans of a certain age, the memory of running to the mailbox to see what was on the cover of the latest weekly issue of Sports Illustrated is indelible. “You would get that cover and you’d be like: ‘Man, this is what happened last week. But the road has been particularly rough for Sports Illustrated, with its shrinking staff and reduced print frequency. Last week, most of the employees were either laid off or told their employment would be uncertain after 90 days, leaving the publication’s future in flux.

Persons: Dwight Clark, LeBron James, “, ”, Nate Gordon Organizations: United States Olympic, San Francisco 49ers, Sports, Sports Illustrated, Players ’ Tribune Locations: “

Even by the standards of a news business whose fortunes have plummeted in the digital age, the last few weeks have been especially grim for American journalism. Prominent newspapers like The Washington Post are shedding reporters and editors, and on Tuesday, The Los Angeles Times laid off more than 20 percent of its newsroom. Esteemed titles like Sports Illustrated, already a shadow of their former selves, have been gutted overnight. An average of five local newspapers are closing every two weeks, according Northwestern University’s Medill School, with more half of all American counties now so-called news deserts with limited access to news about their hometowns. Of 1,100 public radio stations and affiliates, only about one in five is producing local journalism.

Persons: — Organizations: Los Angeles Times, Cable, Sports, Northwestern University’s Medill School Locations: Washington

The announcement ends uncertainty about the extent of the cuts, after negotiations were held between the union and Times management. Dr. Soon-Shiong wrote in a note to staff that he and Mr. Merida had “mutually agreed” that Mr. Merida should leave. News of the layoffs — which will shrink the newsroom to the size it was when Dr. Soon-Shiong bought it — was delivered on Tuesday in a brief email to affected employees. “We are saddened to have to take this step and thank you for your work for the Los Angeles Times,” the email said. The cuts affected many departments at The Los Angeles Times, including its business desk, its Washington bureau and its “Fast Break” desk, which covers breaking news.

Persons: Kevin Merida, Shiong, Merida, Shani Hilton, Sara Yasin, — Organizations: The Times, Times, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times Locations: Merida, Washington

☆ Tensions Erupt at Los Angeles Times as Owner Weighs Deep Cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Around twilight on Thursday, Los Angeles Times journalists gathered at Flora, a rooftop bar not far from the paper’s headquarters, to toast their departing editor, Kevin Merida. In the days since, internal negotiations between the company and the employee union have included talk of about 100 job cuts, or about 20 percent of the newsroom, according to two of the people, who also have knowledge about the discussions. It has put journalists at The Times at odds with their owner, the biotechnology billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong. Those relations reached a nadir on Friday when employees walked off the job, in the newsroom’s first union-organized work stoppage in the 142-year history of the newspaper. The tensions escalated even further on Monday, after several of the state’s congressional representatives sent Dr. Soon-Shiong a letter raising concerns about the scope of the cuts and employees received a note informing them that two other senior editors had departed.

Persons: Kevin Merida, Patrick Soon Organizations: Los Angeles Times, The Locations: Flora, Merida

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