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DirecTV and Disney have reached a deal that brings Disney’s ESPN and other channels back to the pay-tv provider’s customers after a roughly two week blackout. On Saturday, DirecTV and Disney said they reached a deal that called for “market based terms” on pricing. DirecTV will be able to offer Disney’s streaming services in its packages and a la carte, the company said in a release Saturday. The amount of customers DirecTV lost during the dispute was not “immaterial,” said DirecTV Chief Marketing Officer Vince Torres at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia & Technology Conference on Thursday. DirecTV offered its customers a $30 credit, financed by stopping payments to Disney as soon as the blackout began, Torres said.

Persons: Disney, DirecTV’s, Jimmy Pitaro, “, It’s, ESPN’s Pitaro, ”, Vince Torres, Goldman Sachs, Torres, Venu, DirectTV, ESPN — Organizations: DirecTV, Disney, ESPN, ABC, SEC Network, ACC Network, CNBC, U.S ., Hulu, Charter Communications, Technology Conference, Antitrust, Warner Bros, Discovery, Fox Corp, Federal Communications Commission, FCC

Disney's networks went dark on Sept. 1 after the two sides could not agree to terms on fees and bundle structures. DirecTV called Disney anti-consumer, and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro called the responses DirecTV made to Disney's package offers "basically hypotheticals." The amount of customers DirecTV lost during the dispute was not "immaterial," said DirecTV Chief Marketing Officer Vince Torres at Goldman Sachs' Communacopia & Technology Conference on Thursday. DirecTV offered its customers a $30 credit, financed by stopping payments to Disney as soon as the blackout began, Torres said. This was the second dispute in a year that left pay TV customers without Disney's networks.

Persons: Disney, DirecTV's, Jimmy Pitaro, It's, ESPN's Pitaro, Vince Torres, Goldman Sachs, Torres, Venu, DirectTV, ESPN — Organizations: Clemson Tigers, season's, Clemson, NCAA Division, DirecTV, Disney, ESPN, U.S ., Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, CNBC, & Technology Conference, ABC, Antitrust, Warner Bros, Discovery, Fox Corp, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Charter Communications

☆ ‘It sucks for all of us.’ Charles Barkley says the quiet part aloud as TNT’s NBA future in doubt
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The situation at Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT network “sucks, plain and simple,” Charles Barkley bluntly said Thursday. Barkley, who said he feels “so bad for the people” he works with, laid blame at the feet of the “clowns” atop WBD. Wall Street has responded quite negatively to the possibility WBD, which has built a programming slate around the NBA, could lose the rights to air the games. And TNT has built a programming slate around the NBA games, most notably the highly rated “Inside the NBA” show. Losing the rights to NBA games could throw aspects of that business partnership into question.

Persons: ” Charles Barkley, NBA ”, Dan Patrick, ”, Barkley, ” Barkley, David Zaslav’s, Adam Silver, Turner, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, WBD, “, Shaw, ” Shaw, Joe Flint, Amol Sharma, Isabella Simonetti, Zaslav, Venu, That’s, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Wiedenfels, ” Wiedenfels, there’s, you’ve Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, TNT, NBA, Turner, Comcast, WSJ, WBD, NCAA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, College Football, ESPN —, Disney, Fox Corp, Morgan’s Technology, Media & Communications Locations: WBD

☆ March Madness: There were four million entries. Now just four perfect brackets remain in women’s tournament
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —After 48 games of the women’s tournament at March Madness, just four perfect brackets remain intact of more than four million entries,According to the NCAA, three brackets are left on ESPN while there is one on Yahoo. There were 1,300 perfect brackets heading into the second round and then just 18 after Monday’s games. 5 Utah – 18 perfect brackets became four. The men’s tournament resumes on Thursday, while the women’s tournament picks back up Friday. NCAA.com’s breakdown of the remaining perfect brackets in the women’s tournament, with the Final Four teams in bold:• “Courtney’s COURT 2” on ESPN — South Carolina, Oregon State, Texas, Stanford, Iowa, LSU, USC and UConn• “TarHeelsOnGod!!

Persons: “, ’, NCAA.com Organizations: CNN, NCAA, ESPN, Yahoo, Utah –, South Carolina, Final, ESPN —, LSU, USC, UConn, Notre Dame, UCLA, NC, Warner Bros . Locations: ”, Connecticut, ESPN — South Carolina, Oregon State , Texas, Stanford , Iowa, Notre, Notre Dame , Texas, Yahoo — South Carolina, NC State , Iowa

ESPN and the College Football Playoff have agreed to a six-year deal worth $1.3 billion annually that allows the network to keep exclusive rights to the 12-team playoff through the 2031 season, two people with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. ESPN was first to report the offer of $1.3 billion annually from the network to the CFP, and The Athletic first reported that an agreement had been reached on those terms. That deal pays the CFP $608 million for seven games annually: two playoff semifinals, a championship game and four other major bowl games. The conference commissioners who manage the playoff talked often about having multiple television partners as they tried to come to a consensus on expansion. Discovery and streaming platforms all expressed interest to CFP officials, but instead they are heading toward sticking with ESPN — though the network could sublicense some of the playoff games to other networks.

Persons: Bill Hancock Organizations: ESPN, College Football, Associated Press, CFP, Athletic, Fox, NBC, Warner Bros ., ESPN —, AP

☆ These 4 stocks report quarterly results next week. Here's what we hope to see
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The major averages rebounded strongly this week as quarterly earnings came in largely better than expected and interest rates fell on softer economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 5% for its best week since October 2022. The big theme next week is earnings and the four portfolio companies delivering their quarterly results. Here's the full rundown of all the important domestic data in the week ahead as we consider a number areas of our portfolio for trades next week. ET: Treasury budget statement for October (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.)

Persons: FactSet, we'll, Hulu —, Krystal, Horton, Zimmer, LEV, Armour, Ralph Lauren Corporation, CRON, Patterson, Walt Disney, MARA, Ginkgo, FREYR Battery, FREY, Arcelor Mittal, Wynn, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim Organizations: Dow Jones, Nasdaq, ISM, Services, Coterra Energy, Emerson Electric, Wall, National Instruments, Disney, Hulu, CNBC, Comcast, ESPN —, Wynn Resorts, WYNN, Asia that's, Wynn, Wynn's, Wynn Interactive, United, Brookfield Asset Management, Axsome Therapeutics, Network Corporation, Krystal Biotech, Ceragon Networks, Kosmos Energy Ltd, TreeHouse Foods Inc, Air Lease Corporation, Inc, Eversource Energy, Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc, Graham Corporation, Aereas Inteligentes, Hilton, Energy, Realty Income Corp, Semiconductors, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, Clover Health, Contura Energy, Diamondback Energy, FS KKR Capital Corp, Celanese Corp, Eos Energy Enterprises, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, WEN, Pall Corp, TransMedics, Emerson, Uber Technologies, Holdings, Melco Resorts, Entertainment, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, ACM Research, Lion Electric Company, Emerson Electric Co, Vertex Energy, Waters Corp, Air Products & Chemicals, Esperion Therapeutics, Fidelity National Information Services Inc, Bowlero Corp, Hotels, KKR, Co, Devon Energy Corp, Occidental Petroleum Corp, Dutch Bros Inc, Gilead Sciences, ContextLogic Inc, Akamai Technologies, Viatris Inc, Technologies, Corsair, Enovix Corporation, eBay, EBAY, DaVita Inc, Pan American Silver Corp, Roblox Corporation, Fisker Inc, Warner Bros ., Nuvei Corporation, Farms, Akebia Therapeutics, Biogen Inc, 3D Systems Corporation, Gray Television Inc, BlackSky Technology Inc, Cronos, EVgo Inc, Lumentum Holdings Inc, Nexstar Media Group, UTI Energy, Starwood Property Trust, AMC Entertainment Holdings, Marathon Digital Holdings, IonQ Inc, Digital Turbine, Virgin Galactic Holdings , Inc, Arm Holdings plc, ARM, Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Suncor Energy, AppLovin Corporation, B2Gold Corp, Luminar Technologies, MGM Resorts International, MGM, Bloom Energy Corporation, Li Auto Inc, Oatly, Kopin Corp, Fiverr International, YETI Holdings, YPF S.A, Ship Lease, Himax Technologies Inc, Dickinson, CommScope Holding, RBC, Agile Therapeutics, Apyx Medical Corporation, Grab Holdings, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Profire Energy, Flags Inc, Stereotaxis Inc, TransDigm, US Foods Holding Corp, Utz Brands, Valvoline Inc, Weibo Corporation, Wix.com Ltd, Trade, Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras, Growth, Aurora Cannabis Inc, Navitas Semiconductor Corp, Archer Aviation Inc, Semiconductor, Energy Fuels Corp, Illumina Inc, Spike Investment Corp, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp, AngloGold, Central Puerto S.A, Hudson Global, AirSculpt Technologies, Partners, Soho House, Jim Cramer's Charitable, Handout, Getty Locations: U.S, Macao, Asia, China, Las, Singapore, Wynn's Vegas, Boston, United Arab Emirates, Gilead, VVV, Central, Soho

☆ Disney and Charter reach deal to end cable blackout, expand access to streaming services
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hours ahead of "Monday Night Football," which airs on Disney's ESPN, the companies reached a deal that would allow millions of Charter cable customers to watch the game. Terms of the deal are said to include a discounted wholesale price for subscribers for Disney streaming services, and an increase in marketplace, or subscriber fees, paid to Disney, CNBC's David Faber reported, citing sources. The highly anticipated ESPN streaming service will be made available to Spectrum TV Select subscribers when it launches. At the time of the blackout, Charter had about 14.7 million customers. Hours after the blackout began, Charter executives held an investor call pushing for a revamped deal with Disney that would give Spectrum pay-TV customers free access to Disney's ad-supported streaming apps Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

Persons: CNBC's David Faber, ESPN — Organizations: Charter Communications, Disney, ESPN, Warner Bros . Discovery, Paramount Global, FX, Disney Channel, YouTube, U.S ., ESPN — Disney, Hulu, NFL, Monday Night, Charter Locations: Hulu

☆ Disney's wildest ride: Iger, Chapek and the making of an epic succession mess
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +88 min

Iger told Chapek that he lived for those "two-shower days," according to people familiar with the conversation. In January 2020, Iger told Chapek the plan was back on. During his 27 years at the company, Chapek had only attended one annual meeting — as a guest in the audience. Bob Iger, Disney CEO, during a CNBC interview, Feb. 9, 2023. WATCH: Disney CEO Bob Iger's exclusive July 2023 CNBC interviewTake the 'A'During Chapek's tenure as CEO, Disney lost more than a quarter of its market value.

Persons: Elham, Bob Iger, Bob Chapek, Iger, wasn't, Chapek, Michael Eisner, —, who's, he's, Clint Eastwood, Eastwood, Arthur Bochner, Jackie Hart, Kareem Daniel, Chapek —, Eisner, Michael Ovitz, Ovitz, Bob, Disney's, Kevin Mayer, Mayer, Bryan van der Beek, he'd, Tom Staggs, Staggs, Staggs —, Steve Jobs, cajoled Ike Perlmutter, George Lucas, Rupert Murdoch, Iger's, Susan Arnold, Arnold, Peter Rice, David Paul Morris, Rice, CNBC's Julia Boorstin, Mark Parker, Mary Barra, Michael Froman, Willow, Parker, John Donahoe, Roy Disney, Walt Disney, Stanley Gold, David A, CNBC Eisner, Big Bob, Little Bob, Christine McCarthy, Patrick T, He'd, McCarthy, Iger —, Coronavirus, Gavin Newsom, Michael Kovac, curtly, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Ben Smith, Smith, Disney, Randy Shropshire, Agnes Chu, Ricky Strauss, Chu, Strauss, Kevin Feige, Kathleen Kennedy, Who's, Alan Bergman, Bergman, Bob Kyncl, Daniel —, Iger didn't, Daniel rankled, Daniel, Chapek didn't, James Pitaro, Jesse Grant, CNBC Chapek, Jimmy Pitaro, Zenia Mucha, didn't, Mucha, Barbara Walters, Charles Eshelman, Scarlett Johansson, Scarlett Johansson —, Florence Pugh, Natasha, Yelena, " Johansson, Bryan Lourd, Johansson, Lourd, Steven Spielberg, Al Michaels, David Muir, Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan, Spielberg, Geoff Morrell, Alan Braverman, Alan Horn, Jayne Parker, Bochner, Claire Lee, Paul Richardson, Josh D'Amaro, Ron DeSantis, Morrell, Disney Animation —, George Floyd, Reba Saldanha, Reuters Chapek, DeSantis, Nicholas Maldonado, Octavio Jones, Chapek she'd, we're, " Morrell, CNN's Chris Wallace, Kristina Schake, John Skipper, Daniel steamrolled, Latondra Newton, Newton, Charles Krupa, Pitaro, NBCUniversal's Peacock, Dana Walden, Thomas Murphy, Josh Kushner, Privately, Schake, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Michelle Obama's, David Dee Delgado, Kara Swisher, hadn't, Netflix's, overhiring, McCarthy hadn't, Safra Catz, Kareem, DMED, Horacio Gutierrez, Justin Warbrooke, Alexia Quadrani, Bryan Castellani, Michael Buckner, Quadrani, Lindsay Lohan, Winnie, Nelson Peltz, Catz, Donald Trump's, they'd, Walden, Gutierrez, D'Amaro, Rich Polk, Walden he'd, Iger she'd, Mickey Mouse, Mark Rightmire, haven't, Indiana Jones, Halle Bailey, Ariel, Hamilton Faber, Rich Greenfield, Bob Iger's, — Mayer, McCarthy —, doesn't, they'll Organizations: Disney, Marvel, CNBC, Bloomberg, Getty, Walt Disney, Indiana University, Michigan State University, Shanghai Disney, Man, Hong Kong Disneyland, Walt Disney Parks, Resorts, Pixar, Fox, Chapek, Nike, General, Mastercard, Foreign Relations, University of Pennsylvania, Grogan, Disney's, Fallon, ABC, ESPN, ABC News, California Gov, New York Times, Disney confidants, Hollywood, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Television, Walt Disney Studios, Hulu, HBO Max, Walt Disney Company, YouTube, Companies, Netflix, Apple, Disney Media, Entertainment, Stanford, Rights, Junior, petulant, Filmmagic, Brunswick Group, Covid, CAA, onetime Defense Department, Century Fox, Human, Florida Gov, Republican, Disney Animation, Reuters, Human Rights, HRC, Walt Disney World, Employees, American Foundation for Equal Rights, AP, Amazon Prime, Paramount, South Pacific, Capital Cities, Dow Jones, CVS, Kingdom, Variety, Trian Partners, Charter Communications, U.S, Comcast, Charter's, MediaNews, Orange, Allen, Co, Candle Media, Advisors Locations: Burbank , California, Midwestern, Brentwood, Los Angeles, Westlake Village, Iger, Hammond , Indiana, Shanghai, China, Hong, Fox, Willow Bay, Raleigh , North Carolina, Orlando, U.S, Hulu, Iger's Brentwood, coronavirus, Brunswick, Hollywood, Hawaii, Disney's, Marvel's, Anaheim , California, Montana, Florida, Rye , New Hampshire, Chapek, Hong Kong, California, missteps, South, DMED, Burbank, New York, India, Atlantic, Sun Valley , Idaho, America

☆ How ESPN's $2 billion deal with Penn Entertainment could shake up sports betting, from reinvigorating competition to evolving media's relationship with gambling
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Margaret Fleming | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Many view the deal as a "win-win" for ESPN, Penn, and its former partner Barstool Sports. Industry insiders say the deal could signal a potential ESPN spinoff, disrupt competition, and more. Here's what industry insiders are saying about the deal:1. FanDuel and DraftKings dominate US online sports-betting and gambling market share, followed by BetMGM, according to a July report from Macquarie that analyzed Vixio data. Industry insiders like affiliate-marketing company Gambling.com Group's Max Bichsel aren't sure about that prediction.

Persons: Barstool, Bob Iger, Penn, sportsbooks, who's, Chris Grove, Dave Portnoy, Portnoy, Fox's, Sharp, Sharp Alpha Advisor's Lloyd Danzig, Dan, Danzig, Brandon Nispel, he's, Nispel, Kimberly White, FanDuel, BetMGM, Zachary, Max Bichsel aren't, Bichsel, I'm, Grove, It's, DraftKings, let's, FuboTV, hasn't, Fox Bet, Ed Moed, Fox, Dan Wasiolek, Wasiolek Organizations: ESPN, Penn Entertainment, Penn, Barstool Sports . Industry, ESPN Bet, Investors, Acies Investments, Barstool Sports, Sharp Alpha, Disney, KeyBanc, CFRA Research, . Industry, ESPN —, Fox, Maxim Magazine, Sports, Fox Bet, Morningstar Locations: Macquarie, Canada

☆ Disney's big sports-betting deal has industry insiders abuzz about possibilities, from a potential ESPN spinoff to heightened competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Margaret Fleming | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Many view the deal as a "win-win" for ESPN, Penn, and its former partner Barstool Sports. Industry insiders say the deal could signal a potential ESPN spinoff, disrupt competition, and more. Gambling industry insiders thought Disney CEO Bob Iger might make quick work of setting a sports-betting strategy when he took back the reins of the ESPN owner late last year. Here's what industry insiders are saying about the deal:1. Industry insiders like affiliate marketing company Gambling.com's Max Bichsel aren't sure about that prediction.

Persons: Barstool, Bob Iger, Penn, sportsbooks, who's, Chris Grove, Dave Portnoy, Portnoy, Fox's, Sharp, Sharp Alpha Advisor's Lloyd Danzig, Dan, Danzig, Brandon Nispel, he's, Nispel, Kimberly White, FanDuel, BetMGM, Zachary, Gambling.com's Max Bichsel aren't, Bichsel, I'm, Grove, It's, DraftKings, let's, FuboTV, hasn't, Fox Bet, Ed Moed, Fox, Dan Wasiolek, Wasiolek Organizations: ESPN, Penn Entertainment, Penn, Barstool Sports . Industry, ESPN Bet, Investors, Acies Investments, Barstool Sports, Sharp Alpha, Disney, KeyBanc, CFRA Research, . Industry, ESPN —, Fox, Maxim Magazine, Sports, Fox Bet, Morningstar Locations: Macquarie, Canada

☆ Bob Iger to Remain as Head of Disney Through 2026
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Brooks Barnes | More About Brooks Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A spokeswoman for Mr. Iger said he was unavailable for an interview. In recent months, as Disney’s troubles have increased, senior executives have privately pressed Mr. Iger to renew. In its statement on Wednesday, Disney took pains to point out that it was the board, not Mr. Iger, that pushed for an extension. Mr. Iger is betting that streaming services will return the company to growth. But Disney+ has been shedding subscribers, and a broader streaming division remains unprofitable, losing nearly $2 billion since the start of the fiscal year.

Persons: Iger, Disney, Mark G, Parker, “ Indiana Jones, ”, ESPN —, ’ Organizations: Disney, ESPN, SAG Locations: Hollywood, Hulu

☆ Michael Jordan is selling the Charlotte Hornets — and he stands to make billions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Michael Jordan has agreed to sell his majority stake in his NBA team the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets are valued at $3 billion, per ESPN — more than 10 times the sum Jordan paid in 2010. Michael Jordan could bag a billion-dollar windfall after he agreed to sell his NBA team for what's likely be a huge premium on the price he paid 13 years ago. Jordan previously sold a minority stake in the Hornets to Plotkin, who is the founder of investment firm Tallwoods Capital, and Daniel Sundheim in 2019. Rapper J. Cole is also part of the group that will buy Jordan's majority stake, the Hornets said.

Persons: Michael Jordan, Gabe Plotkin, Rick Schnall, Jordan, Plotkin, Daniel Sundheim, J, Cole, Schnall, He'll, Air Jordan Organizations: NBA, Charlotte Hornets, Hornets, ESPN, Morning, Tallwoods Capital, Charlotte Bobcats, Atlanta Hawks NBA, Nike, Air, Forbes Locations: Forbes

☆ Why the future of Sinclair's Bally Sports Regional Networks matters to every pro league and stakeholder in the TV sports business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sinclair bought its regional sports networks, now branded as Bally, from Fox after it sold assets to Disney. Four years later, the 19 networks now carrying the Bally Sports brand name are likely headed for a Chapter 11 reorganization. "We see downside risk increasing as Pay TV subscribers shift away from the linear bundle. Questions are swirling over how Diamond Sports will continue to pay rights fees to the sports leagues during a reorganization process. Symson said local rights are up in some markets and Scripps is ready to engage.

☆ Disney CEO wants to add sports betting to ESPN — a move we've long called for
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Disney (DIS) has grand plans to innovate at ESPN, including better integration with sports betting, CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC in an interview that aired Thursday. Chapek said Disney does not plan to launch its own sportsbook, meaning it would take bets itself and issue payouts. That's never in the cards for the Walt Disney Company." It's worth noting that of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, the only one that's currently profitable is Hulu. Bob Chapek, CEO of the Walt Disney Company and former head of Walt Disney Parks and Experiences, speaks during a media preview of the D23 Expo 2019 in Anaheim, California, Aug. 22, 2019.

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