We have a deal, say Paramount and Skydance, and this time it will stick. Shari Redstone got a slightly sweeter price and proved she was no pushover, just in case anyone thought she was. That’s the trouble with being the 2.0 in a dynasty, everyone, and I mean everyone, assumes you only get to run […]
‘The law is the law’ is often a less black and white statement than it appears, even when talking about a single country. When talking about international or global issues, the law becomes ever more uncertain, in its interpretation and, even more, in its implementation. And that is why it is close to impossible to […]
The Paramount logo is a mountain with a coronet of stars. Its sale still has a mountain to climb and the final outcome – pre-deal or post – is likely to be the current contenders, and others, picking and choosing between those star divisions of the business. When the movie (low budget straight to streaming) […]
Full Disclosure: I write this piece without any pretence to journalistic objectivity. I ride a motorcycle, l love to do it, and I am a huge fan of motorcycle racing. Therefore, I wish Liberty Media all the best with their acquisition of Dorna, the organiser behind MotoGP and World Superbikes. MotoGP is the top, prototype […]
Strange times in the UK news market. GB News continues to generate its own headlines by setting new records for Ofcom breaches, while Talk TV announces it is shutting down its broadcast version. News UK has decided its niche news channel was a bit too niche – the fact star turn Piers Morgan had already […]
It seems like we’ve been waiting for ‘the other shoe to drop’ and someone to buy Paramount for a long time. Even the group’s own CEO holds staff ‘town halls’ openly discussing likely bids while enjoining them to concentrate on their jobs and his own growth plans. That will be a good trick, if they […]
At this time last year, I was writing about the shameful shambles that was the inevitable disintegration of Richard Sharp’s tenure as BBC Chair. A cash machine crony of Boris Johnson, his tenure was nothing short of embarrassing all round. It has taken a year for a new Chair, Samir Shah, to be named. The […]
Streamers, both global and national, are using advertising to boost their SVoD or catch-up services. Global streamers recognise that in macro-economic hard times sign-offs can be rescued by a lower price tier supported by advertising. National catch-up services recognise that ads are so irritating to viewers that they can charge some of them to upgrade […]
You could be forgiven for assuming that Keith Rupert Murdoch answers to no one but himself. And there’s plenty in that – though his companies have been public for years, they have, in effect, been fiefdoms following the iron will of their leader. And that will has led his companies to participate in several groundbreaking, […]
Going dark is an extreme, but not very unusual, tactic when MSOs are negotiating package carriage deals with content companies. So far, so what? as Charter – America’s #2 cable operator – dims the lights on Disney’s channels as contract talks drag. What is different, is that Charter hasn’t shied away from (quite the opposite) […]
