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Comcast CEO Brian Roberts chose Shell to replace Steve Burke as NBCUniversal CEO in 2019. Soon, Shell, 59, will be at the helm of Paramount and paired with Ellison, who has already expressed his desire to transition Paramount into a more modern media company. The 10 p.m. hourAt Paramount, Shell will be given an asset mix similar to what he oversaw at NBCUniversal — save the theme parks. Wolf's shows were also significant moneymakers for NBCUniversal, according to a person familiar with the matter. Some media analysts, such as LightShed Partners' Rich Greenfield, have argued Paramount Global should shut down Paramount+ and instead license Paramount content to other streamers with more scale.

Persons: Jeff Shell, Eric Gaillard, NBCUniversal, David Ellison, Ellison, Comcast's NBCUniversal, Shell, Brian Roberts, Steve Burke, RedBird, Andrew Brandon, Gordon, Shell's, —, Skydance, NBC —, CNBC's David Faber, George Cheeks, Hollywood creatives, Dick Wolf, Kevin Dietsch, Stephen Colbert, it's, we've, Pluto, Rich Greenfield, Shell's playbook, We've, Peacock, Roberts, Andrew Wilson, Brian L, Eric Charbonneau, Wall, Mark Hoffman, Shepard Smith, Hoffman Organizations: NBCUniversal, Cannes Lions International, Creativity, Reuters, Paramount Global, Skydance Media, Shell, CNBC, Paramount, Fox, Comcast, NBCU International, Universal, Entertainment Group, RedBird Capital Partners, NFL, CBS, Paramount Pictures, NBC, Local, Journal, FBI, Hollywood, TV, Allen & Company Sun Valley, Getty, LightShed Partners, Warner Bros ., Viacom, WarnerMedia, Netflix, EA, Entertainment, Comcast Corporation, Universal Pictures, Invision, Bravo, MSNBC, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Fox News, NBC Sports, NBA, CBS Sports, Big Ten, UEFA Champions League Locations: Cannes, France, Shell, NBCUniversal, Sun Valley , Idaho, Toronto

Disney and DirecTV are not likely to reach a deal in time for "Monday Night Football" according to people familiar with the matter. As a result of the fight, DirecTV customers were unable to see the U.S. Open and the first full weekend of the college football season. DirecTV alerted customers on Friday to competitor alternatives for watching ESPN and also said it would provide a $30 credit to customers. However, Charter and Disney reached a deal hours ahead of "Monday Night Football" that allowed customers to tune in that night. The dispute between DirecTV and Disney has led to mudslinging between the two companies reminiscent of most carriage fights.

Persons: Rob Thun, Venu —, Venu, Disney, It's, Jimmy Pitaro, Nielsen, Pitaro, Adam Schefter, DirecTV's Thun Organizations: ESPN, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, EverBank, DirecTV, Disney, FX, ABC, U.S ., CNBC, Walt Disney Co, Fox Corp, Warner Bros, NFL, Federal Communications Commission, Charter Communications, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers Locations: Jacksonville , Florida, American, U.S

In 2021, the National Football League signed an 11-year, $111 billion media rights deal. In July, the National Basketball Association signed an 11-year, $77 billion deal of its own. Welcome to the sports media rights doldrums. It will also be a significant driver of future NFL team valuations. The average NFL team is now worth $6.49 billion, according to CNBC's Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations.

Persons: What's, Daniel Cohen Organizations: ESPN, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, EverBank, National Football League, National Basketball Association, U.S, NFL, Octagon, Sunday, Fox, Paramount, CBS, Apple, YouTube Locations: Jacksonville, Fl

NFL owners voted Tuesday to allow private equity firms to take a maximum 10% stake in teams. The league has never allowed private equity investment before. No other league takes a percentage of the so-called carry — the percentage of a fund's investment profits that managers typically receive as compensation — for all private equity firms. The NFL has informally told investment firms that if they make a return on an investment, it wants a portion of the profits to be returned to the league. It was unclear if the NFL's plans to take a piece of profits would deter future investment from private equity.

Persons: Brock Purdy, Robert Kraft, CNBC's, Curtis Martin, Jake Piazza Organizations: San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Super, National Football League, NFL, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, New England Patriots, Ares Management, Sixth Street Partners, Arctos Partners, Dynasty Equity, Blackstone, Carlyle Group, Capital Partners Locations: Allegiant, Las Vegas

Edgar Bronfman Jr. walked away from his bid for Paramount after the company's special committee demanded his consortium submit a final offer Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. Bronfman dropped his 11th hour bid just a week after the media executive made an initial offer of $4.3 billion for Shari Redstone's National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount. Bronfman said last week in a letter to the Paramount special committee that he had rounded up 19 financial backers, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Spokespeople for Bronfman, Skydance and the Paramount special committee declined to comment. The special committee said late Monday the go-shop period was now over.

Persons: Edgar Bronfman Jr, Bronfman, Centerview, David Ellison's Skydance, Shari Redstone's, Skydance, Spokespeople, Bronfman's, RedBird Capital Partners — Organizations: Paramount, Centerview Partners, David Ellison's Skydance Media, Bronfman's, Fortress Investment Group, BC Partners, Wall Street, wouldn't, RedBird Capital Partners

The current leadership of Paramount Global presented a go-forward plan at the company's annual shareholder meeting Tuesday in the event a sale of the company doesn't happen. Redstone has been supportive of the Office of the CEO leadership team that has run the company since former CEO Bob Bakish stepped down in late April. The plan that Paramount Global shareholders are hearing on Tuesday will essentially serve as Redstone's alternate option if she chooses not to sell. "We'll be thoughtful with how we deploy capital, with our world-class content being the priority," said Robbins during the presentation Tuesday. On Tuesday, Robbins said the company has been "aggressively exploring all options" when it comes to partnerships with other streamers.

Persons: George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, Brian Robbins —, —, David Ellison's, Shari Redstone, Bob Bakish, Robbins, Cheeks, McCarthy Organizations: Paramount, SAG, Paramount Global, CBS, Paramount Media Networks, Paramount Pictures, Media, RedBird Capital, KKR, CNBC, Amusements Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S

Netflix's cheaper, ad-supported tier has amassed 40 million global monthly active users, the company said Wednesday. That's nearly double the 23 million figure the streaming giant shared in January. The company also said it would launch its own advertising platform and no longer partner with Microsoft for that technology. The tech giant will remain a programmatic advertising partner, but will also be joined by other ad tech companies including The Trade Desk, Google Display & Video 360 and Magnite. The streaming giant joined its media peers for the second time in making an annual pitch to lock in advertising for its platform.

Persons: That's, Ted Sarandos, Sarandos Organizations: Microsoft, Netflix, National Football League, CNBC, NFL Locations: Canada, U.S

Shari Redstone, chair of Paramount Global, attends the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. The consortium has been waiting for word from Paramount's special committee on whether the panel will recommend its bid to acquire the company to Redstone. Spokespeople for Skydance, Redstone's National Amusements and Paramount's special committee declined to comment on Friday. Previously, Redstone rejected an offer by Apollo in favor of exclusive talks with Skydance. Redstone has preferred a deal that would keep Paramount together, as Skydance's offer would, CNBC previously reported.

Persons: Shari Redstone, David Ellison's Skydance, CNBC's David Faber, Ellison, Spokespeople Organizations: Paramount Global, Allen, Co . Media, Technology Conference, Skydance, Apollo Global Management, Sony Pictures, RedBird Capital, KKR, Paramount, Apollo, Sony, CNBC, Redstone Locations: Sun Valley , Idaho

Spokespeople for Paramount, Redstone's National Amusements, the special committee and Skydance declined to comment. Sony Pictures and private equity firm Apollo Global Management have sent a letter to the Paramount Global board expressing interest in acquiring the company for about $26 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Paramount Global shares jumped more than 12% on the news that Sony and Apollo submitted a letter formalizing its interest, earlier reported by The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. A $26 billion offer for Paramount Global values the company higher than the company's current $22 billion enterprise value. Redstone could also argue she's more comfortable with pushing forward at Paramount Global without a sale.

Persons: Skydance, hasn't, David Ellison's Skydance, Shari Redstone, It's, Redstone's, Bob Bakish Organizations: Paramount, Sony, Apollo, Skydance, RedBird Capital, KKR, Sony Pictures, Apollo Global Management, Paramount Global, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood, Matrix Asset Advisors, Aspen Sky Trust, Redstone Locations: Apollo

It's clear to the four major U.S. professional sports leagues that Disney 's ESPN is potentially interested in them taking an equity stake in the network. Talks have had few specifics, said the people, but may heat up as ESPN attempts to reach a rights renewal deal with the NBA. Sources say Disney is targeting 2025 as a potential launch date for an unbundled-from-cable ESPN streaming service. Disney has informed the leagues that it's also holding separate talks with strategic investors who can provide distribution benefits, according to people familiar with the matter. "We're looking for partners that are going to help ESPN successfully transition to a [direct-to-consumer] model," Iger said Wednesday.

Persons: Nikola Jokic, ESPN's Lisa Salters, Disney, Bob Iger, it's, Iger, I've Organizations: Denver Nuggets, Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Crypto.com Arena, Disney, ESPN, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, NBA, Comcast, Penn Entertainment, Football, MLB Locations: Los Angeles, Hulu

Digital Content Next shared the principles with its board and relevant committees Monday. Digital Content Next's "Principles for Development and Governance of Generative AI": Developers and deployers of GAI must respect creators' rights to their content. The urgency behind building a system of rules and standards for generative AI is intense, said Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next. How generative AI will unfold in the coming months and years is dominating media conversation, said Axios CEO Jim VandeHei. "Even with AI tools or generative AI models that work in text like ChatGPT, it doesn't change the fact we're already doing this work," said Looft.

Persons: Andrew Burton, Robert Frost, Vincent Van Gogh, Google's Bard, GAI, Jason Kint, I've, Kint, We've, Jim VandeHei, VandeHei, Barry Diller, Robert Thomson, Thomson, Diller, Chris Berend, Pope Francis, Chris Looft, Berend Organizations: New York Times, Getty, NBC, The Washington Post, Street, News Corp, Development, ., A.I, Digital, Facebook, Nasdaq, Market, Big Tech, International News Media, News Media, NBC News Group, Pentagon, Bloomberg, Axios Technology, Google, Disney, ABC, NBC News, CNBC Locations: New York City, New York, Washington ,

Comcast will likely sell its 33% stake in Hulu to Disney at the beginning of 2024, Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said Tuesday. Comcast and Disney struck a deal in 2019 that allowed Disney the option to buy out Comcast's minority stake in 2024. Roberts also suggested the final price for Hulu will likely be higher than the $27.5 billion valuation initially set in 2019. Comcast and Disney have already held talks about Hulu this year, Iger said last week. Comcast executives had assumed Disney would buy out its 33% stake in Hulu when Bob Chapek was Disney's CEO last year.

Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday unveiled its new blended streaming service of HBO Max and Discovery+, called "Max." Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Discovery had more than 96 million global streaming subscribers, from either HBO Max, HBO or Discovery+, at the end of the fourth quarter.

Iger said this week that while a spinout was considered in his absence, it was concluded ESPN should stay with Disney. Another proposition floated to Disney was to have Comcast buy out Hulu. Iger has previously championed Hulu as part of Disney's strategy to offer three relatively low-priced services (Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+) rather than one mega-product that would likely be the most expensive streaming service. Selling Hulu would unwind this strategy, and it also may lead to cancellations of Disney+ and ESPN+. Even if Disney buys the remaining stake of Hulu, the sides must agree on fair market value.

One of the really interesting questions here – this will be fascinating – the core of linear TV is sports rights. When you look at the size and scope of the linear TV business, it's huge. Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty ImagesByron Allen, Entertainment Studios founder and CEO: I think linear TV will exist for a very, very long time. Simmons: I believe Apple, out of nowhere, will start making their own awesome televisions that have Apple TV embedded in them. We are witnessing early stages of this dynamic with deals like "NFL Sunday Ticket" on YouTube and the MLS deal with Apple TV.

The National Football League is finalizing a deal for the rights to its subscription-only package of games known as Sunday Ticket with Google's YouTube TV, according to people familiar with the matter. Goodell said earlier that the league aimed to announce a rights deal with Sunday Ticket by the end of the fall. The Sunday Ticket package has been the NFL's only set of media rights that has yet to be renewed through 2030. The deal with YouTube TV comes after various media operators, including Amazon , Apple and Disney's ESPN, considered the rights to the property. WATCH: I believe NFL media rights will be moving to streaming

Discovery logo is displayed on a smartphone screen and in the background, the HBO Max and Discovery Plus logos. Warner Bros. Discovery executives are close to formalizing a new name and platform for its soon-to-be launched streaming service that will combine the preexisting HBO Max and Discovery+ services. HBO, Discovery, DC Comics and Warner Bros. will be among the landing hubs on the platform, the people added. The pricing of the combined streaming service is still being discussed, the people said.

☆ Iger announces first big moves in new tenure as Disney CEO: Restructuring and departure of Chapek right hand Kareem Daniel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Alex Sherman Lillian Rizzo Sara Salinas | Alex Sherman | Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bob Iger, less than 24 hours after returning to the helm of Disney , told employees Monday that the company would be undergoing a restructuring in coming weeks. One of the first steps, Iger announced, would be the departure of Kareem Daniel, the company's head of media and entertainment, and right hand to now-departed CEO Bob Chapek. "This will necessitate a reorganization of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. As a result, Kareem Daniel will be leaving the company," Iger said in the memo, which was obtained by CNBC. Chapek reorganized the company to establish the DMED division and consolidate budgetary power for Disney's content and distribution divisions under Daniel.

Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBenefits of bundlingFor consumers that buy many streaming services already, purchasing a bundle of them for a discount would be an instant money saver. For corporations, pushing together streaming services reduces the number of people who cancel each month, known in the industry as churn. But those companies also offer their own competing streaming services – The Roku Channel, Prime Video and Apple TV+, respectively – which could deter broader partnerships. Wireless companies already offer promotional pricing to streaming services as sign-up bonuses. From the standpoint of niche services, Peacock hasn't come to them with a coherent strategy, according to several people familiar with the talks.

Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek said he'd love to own Comcast's 33% stake in Hulu "tomorrow" but acknowledged the chances of an early deal are "less and less" as 2024 approaches. Comcast has an existing mutual agreement with Disney to sell its minority Hulu stake as early as January 2024. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said Wednesday he would also like to own Hulu if Disney decided to put the streaming service up for sale. The best way to value Hulu is to figure out what it would sell for in a theoretical auction, Roberts said Wednesday at the conference. Chapek told Faber this year's dip in the public valuation of Netflix should factor in to the eventual sale price.

The future of Hulu continues to be an open question as Comcast and Disney still haven't agreed on terms that will settle the company's future ownership. But Comcast executives are planning on Disney buying them out — even if they'd prefer otherwise. Disney owns two-thirds of Hulu and has an option to buy the remaining 33% from Comcast as early as January 2024. Some analysts and industry watchers have speculated Comcast might try to buy Hulu from Disney rather than the other way around. Disney could have positioned Hulu as its advertising play going forward, but CEO Bob Chapek has chosen to make versions of both Disney+ and Hulu with and without commercials.

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