Television

Viacom has chance to pitch its own script

10 September 2018

The controlling Redstone family won’t be trying to reunite the media group with sister company CBS any time soon. New leadership, international expansion and an improved movie slate are aiding Viacom’s recovery. At $12 bln it’s cheap, too. It’s a tastier target than CBS.

CBS cancels melodrama in favor of steady series

10 September 2018

Boss Les Moonves is out amid new allegations of sexual assault. A truce between controlling owner Shari Redstone and the $21 bln media firm makes way for better checks and balances. CBS needs Moonves less than it needs a spell of normality – and that’s now within reach.

CEO pay clawback is central to CBS board plotline

6 September 2018

Boss Les Moonves, currently under investigation for sexual harassment, may be negotiating an exit package. The $20 billion media group’s board could take back part of his golden parachute if he’s found to be culpable. It’s one way the directors can justify their presence.

Nielsen’s best option is to rip off the band-aid

13 August 2018

Paul Singer’s Elliott disclosed a 5 pct stake in the stumbling $8.5 bln TV-ratings firm and is pushing for a sale. It’s a surer remedy than auctioning one floundering business unit amidst a protracted CEO search. Buyout firms took Nielsen on once before. Maybe they will again.

Collapsing deals point to tired M&A bull market

9 August 2018

Tribune and Rite Aid terminated plans to sell themselves after shareholders and regulators objected. Perceived double-dealing also played a role. But crummy transactions falling apart is to be expected from a late-stage of a merger cycle that has run its course.

Sinclair dumbly punched a gift horse in the mouth

7 August 2018

The right-wing broadcaster needlessly endangered its $3.9 bln bid for Tribune Media by selling stations to questionable buyers. That put sympathetically inclined Trump regulators in a bind. The Chicago-based TV group is better off pulling the plug and selling to someone else.

Viewsroom: CBS’s $184 mln #MeToo challenge

2 August 2018

That’s what CEO Les Moonves gets if he leaves the U.S. TV network – unless fired for cause. That’s rare in corporate America. But allegations he sexually harassed women put the board on the spot. Plus: Hong Kong battles the Big Apple for IPOs. And China faces a vaccine scandal.

CBS directors need to prepare to fire their CEO

2 August 2018

Les Moonves was accused of sexual harassment in a published report. The company is belatedly investigating. If he violated CBS rules, the overpaid Moonves should lose the $184 mln he could collect if terminated without cause. That would partially redeem an otherwise feeble board.

#MeToo is only one of CBS’s Les Moonves problems

30 July 2018

The media group is investigating its CEO over sexual-harassment accusations. Even without that, he was a risk. CBS has an entrenched board, is fighting unhelpfully with controlling owner Shari Redstone and faces a tricky industry-wide transition. Moonves is no longer an asset.

Comcast’s second loss to Disney is a victory

19 July 2018

Boss Brian Roberts decided not to top rival Bob Iger’s $71 bln bid for Fox assets, instead focusing on buying Sky. In 2004, Comcast also backed down after trying to buy the Mouse House. Given the eye-watering price Disney is paying, Roberts and his shareholders are the winners.

Netflix growth setback gives rivals an opening

16 July 2018

The streaming-video service attracted fewer new subscribers than forecast in the latest quarter, knocking $20 bln off its value. That will comfort Disney and Comcast as they wage a costly battle for Fox and Sky. Yet with 130 mln customers, Netflix remains far ahead in the race.

AT&T throws bone to antitrust watchdogs

13 July 2018

The U.S. Justice Dept faces high hurdles in appealing a harsh ruling that cleared the $85 bln purchase of Time Warner. But since the deal closed, AT&T is raising some customer prices. The hikes came after the DOJ lost its case, but could still sway the court of public opinion.

One number in Fox bid battle just gets smaller

12 July 2018

It’s the return on investment Comcast or Disney stands to make from buying parts of Rupert Murdoch’s empire. The price to beat is $71.3 billion, but the deal no longer looks as rational as when Disney made its first offer. As things heat up, the likely winner is whoever loses.

Comcast can save itself from M&A madness

11 July 2018

The U.S. media group upped its bid for Britain’s Sky to $34 bln, a level that defies financial logic. That could be bearable if it drops out of a bigger, parallel auction for Sky’s main shareholder, Fox – leaving rival Disney to overpay. Doubling down would be downright reckless.

European TV ends self-destructive soccer splurge

26 June 2018

The financial balance of power is shifting from clubs to groups like Sky, Telefonica and Canal Plus. The sport gets less money. But halting rights inflation gives telecom companies cash to invest in mobile networks while media groups can better compete with Netflix and Amazon.

Local TV deals face national-sized nemesis

25 June 2018

Gray Television’s purchase of peer Raycom Media for $3.6 bln will create the third-largest broadcaster in the U.S. Gray has similar problems to AT&T, Disney and Comcast, all doing debt-funded deals to catch more nimble rivals. But the TV minnows are starting from way behind.

Fox’s final stop could be $76 billion

22 June 2018

Back out the bits that Disney and Comcast don’t want, adjust for the time vale of money, and it looks like investors think Rupert Murdoch’s media empire will squeeze $5 billion more from its two suitors. Though the numbers could still shift, it suggests the fight isn’t over.

Viewsroom: Disney, Comcast go from zero to berserk

21 June 2018

The Magic Kingdom and the cable company are driving up the price for parts of Twenty-First Century Fox in a global M&A battle that throws financial logic out the window. But does it make sense strategically? Plus: India’s cricket league takes a few pages from the NFL playbook.

Disney hurls magic and moolah to woo Murdoch

20 June 2018

Boss Bob Iger leapfrogged Comcast by raising his offer for parts of Fox to $71 bln, including a generous dollop of cash. He retains Rupert Murdoch’s support, and has room to go higher still. The cable firm may yet go hostile, but would be better off focusing its efforts on Sky.

AT&T and Comcast alike in debt, not in risk

18 June 2018

Big acquisitions will leave the telco and cable firm with more than $170 billion of debt each. At first, Comcast’s bid for bits of Fox would create the heavier relative leverage load. But it’s AT&T’s recently closed merger with Time Warner that looks more vulnerable.