Television Update: WarnerMedia-Discovery deal was structured to make a future sale easier, controlling shareholder suggests potential future deal with Comcast

[SaysWho?]

AT&T to merge with Discovery, bringing together brands including HBO, CNN and the Food Network - The Washington Post

WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM

 

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AT&T announced Monday that it plans to combine its entertainment and media company with Discovery Inc. in a deal that would create a TV, film and streaming behemoth featuring more than a half dozen top cable networks plus Warner Bros. studio and other properties.

 

If approved by federal regulators, the deal would create a top new competitor in the entertainment spectrum three years following AT&T’s blockbuster purchase of Time Warner that provided the telecom giant with CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT and the Warner Bros. studio.

 

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The new company would combine with Discovery, which was founded as a documentary company in the Maryland suburbs in the 1980s but has grown to be the New York-based parent of networks including Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV and the Travel Channel.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I really wonder what happens to WB Games with this new development as this essentially unravels the AT&T’s disastrous merger with Warner Media.

[TwinIon]

I find it kind of hilarious that AT&T spent $85 bilion and fought so hard in court to buy Warner Media with the idea that all that content would somehow boost the mobile division, restructured the entire media empire to become a competitor to Netflix, drove out most of the creative people who knew how to run HBO, and now they're spinning if off after less than three years.

[Guest]

It is probably for the best to get these companies out from under AT&T

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

22 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

I find it kind of hilarious that AT&T spent $85 bilion and fought so hard in court to buy Warner Media with the idea that all that content would somehow boost the mobile division, restructured the entire media empire to become a competitor to Netflix, drove out most of the creative people who knew how to run HBO, and now they're spinning if off after less than three years.

This is easily the greatest blunder in corporate history that does not involve fraud.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

5 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

I really wonder what happens to WB Games with this new development as this essentially unravels the AT&T’s disastrous merger with Warner Media.

I guess I received an answer:

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

So does DC stand for Discovery Comics, now? And can we expect Shark Week to be a cross-issue event?

[TwinIon]

4 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

This is easily the greatest blunder in corporate history that does not involve fraud.

They have tough competition. Even just this month another wireless carrier offloaded its' media business, with Verizion selling Yahoo/AOL for half of what they paid 6 years ago.

[silentbob]

45 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

So does DC stand for Discovery Comics, now? And can we expect Shark Week to be a cross-issue event?

probably not too far off

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

AT&T already had HBO

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

4 minutes ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

AT&T already had HBO

 

The topic title is somewhat confusing.

 

AT&T is spinning off ALL of its Warner Media assets into another company that will merge with Discovery to form a brand-new entity independent of AT&T.

[skillzdadirecta]

I actually heard about this a couple of days ago but was waiting for it to be officially announced... I was confused by what it actually meant. AT&T is one of the most schizophrenic companies out there.

[Kamusha]

I blame the Snyder Cut for all of this.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[TwinIon]

When it comes to straight up dollars and cents, maybe someone that understands M&A better can tell me who "wins" in this situation.

 

So AT&T bought Warner for $85B, and they're only receiving $43B worth of stock from this spin off. However, AT&T shareholders will receive 71% of the new company. (A company that will begin it's life with $55B in debt, fyi).

 

So is it just a straight $42B loss for AT&T? Does AT&T break even if the new company is worth $60B (making 71% worth the $42B), or does the new company have to be worth $120B (making the 71% equal to the original price of $85B)? Or is it just a different story for AT&T the company vs shareholders of AT&T? Or is all this just something we can't figure out given what has been released?

 

(Some of these numbers are from The Verge, some are from The Post.)

[Kal-El814]

2 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

 

What is there to negotiate?

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

19 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

When it comes to straight up dollars and cents, maybe someone that understands M&A better can tell me who "wins" in this situation.

 

So AT&T bought Warner for $85B, and they're only receiving $43B worth of stock from this spin off. However, AT&T shareholders will receive 71% of the new company. (A company that will begin it's life with $55B in debt, fyi).

 

So is it just a straight $42B loss for AT&T? Does AT&T break even if the new company is worth $60B (making 71% worth the $42B), or does the new company have to be worth $120B (making the 71% equal to the original price of $85B)? Or is it just a different story for AT&T the company vs shareholders of AT&T? Or is all this just something we can't figure out given what has been released?

 

(Some of these numbers are from The Verge, some are from The Post.)

 

More information is necessary to determine the exact financial impact to AT&T as there will be differences between the "book" value and the "tax" value of the deal.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

At this point, I can well imagine that the CEO of new entity is looking at the actual comics publishing part of DC Entertainment and the WB Games studios and saying, "Two of these things are not like the others."

 

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the rumored plan to drop the publishing arm of DC Entertainment and simply license the DC characters to other comics publishers does come to fruition.  As for the games studios (no matter who owns them), I have little doubt that the management will call upon those parties that were originally interested in acquiring studios last year to gauge their current level of interest.  I simply can't see how either AT&T or Discovery would have any compelling interest in remaining in the video game development industry.

[Brian]

90 Day Fiancé IP used in a Life is Strange type game? @Rachel @BasemntDweller2 two sales right here

 

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[Guest]

One of the other things that shouldn’t be forgotten: AT&T were the ones who pushed to dump everything on HBO Max which soured relationships with some of the top producers and directors in the Warner stable, most notably Nolan.

[Jason]

21 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I actually heard about this a couple of days ago but was waiting for it to be officially announced... I was confused by what it actually meant. AT&T is one of the most schizophrenic companies out there.

 

They can extract cash from and shift a bunch of debt onto the companies they're getting rid of.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

19 hours ago, TwinIon said:

When it comes to straight up dollars and cents, maybe someone that understands M&A better can tell me who "wins" in this situation.

 

So AT&T bought Warner for $85B, and they're only receiving $43B worth of stock from this spin off. However, AT&T shareholders will receive 71% of the new company. (A company that will begin it's life with $55B in debt, fyi).

 

So is it just a straight $42B loss for AT&T? Does AT&T break even if the new company is worth $60B (making 71% worth the $42B), or does the new company have to be worth $120B (making the 71% equal to the original price of $85B)? Or is it just a different story for AT&T the company vs shareholders of AT&T? Or is all this just something we can't figure out given what has been released?

 

(Some of these numbers are from The Verge, some are from The Post.)

 

It's a straight $42 billion loss for AT&T on the face of it, but I would have to see the Income Statement and its associated footnotes to determine the exact calculation.

[CitizenVectron]

14 hours ago, sblfilms said:

One of the other things that shouldn’t be forgotten: AT&T were the ones who pushed to dump everything on HBO Max which soured relationships with some of the top producers and directors in the Warner stable, most notably Nolan.

 

Not sure if you heard (you probably have), but Dune is apparently no longer going to HBO Max, and will now release wide in theatres.

[skillzdadirecta]

20 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

At this point, I can well imagine that the CEO of new entity is looking at the actual comics publishing part of DC Entertainment and the WB Games studios and saying, "Two of these things are not like the others."

 

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the rumored plan to drop the publishing arm of DC Entertainment and simply license the DC characters to other comics publishers does come to fruition.  As for the games studios (no matter who owns them), I have little doubt that the management will call upon those parties that were originally interested in acquiring studios last year to gauge their current level of interest.  I simply can't see how either AT&T or Discovery would have any compelling interest in remaining in the video game development industry.

 

Yeah it's been rumored for awhile now that DC comics may cease publishing and license that part to other publishers most notably Marvel 

But what's weird is DC has been putting out really good comics (consistently better than what Marvel has been doing) for the last several years.

[Remarkableriots]

13 hours ago, CitizenVectron said:

 

Not sure if you heard (you probably have), but Dune is apparently no longer going to HBO Max, and will now release wide in theatres.

‘Dune’ Release Confusion: Warner Bros. Says Denis Villeneuve’s Epic Still Set for HBO Max Plan

WWW.INDIEWIRE.COM

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The film is tipped to have its world premiere at the 2021 Venice Film Festival.

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The release plan change was quickly shot down by Johanna Fuentes, head of communications at WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group. The executive wrote on social media: “‘Dune’ will premiere in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day in the U.S.” Warner Bros. distribution chief Jeff Goldstein also stressed there was “no change” to the October 1 release date for “Dune.” Goldstein told Deadline “Dune” will follow the rest of the studio’s 2021 slate and keep its hybrid release strategy. Warner Bros. confirmed to IndieWire the theaters-HBO Max plan is happening.

Apparently it WILL be coming to HBOMAX! 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Discovery shareholder John Malone says 'there's no question' Comcast CEO Brian Roberts wanted to acquire WarnerMedia

WWW.CNBC.COM

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AT&T decided regulatory and ownership challenges were too fraught to merge WarnerMedia with NBCUniversal, according to Discovery shareholder John Malone.

 

 

The WarnerMedia-Discovery deal was structured to make a future sale easier

WWW.CNBC.COM

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John Malone was willing to give up super-voting shares in Discovery to make a future sale easier, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Christ, I hope the regulators resoundingly squelch any future media tie-up between WarnerMedia/Discovery and Comcast/Universal.

[TwinIon]

Is Warner so certain of their inability to survive on their own?

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

6 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

Is Warner so certain of their inability to survive on their own?

 

 

I wouldn't necessarily interpret it as such.

 

This is coming from Discovery's major stockholder who would be looking at a helluva payday in any such future transaction.

[Keyser_Soze]

Thousands in Poland protest law that would force Discovery to sell channel

NEWS.YAHOO.COM

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Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Poland's presidential palace on Sunday in protest of a media law passed last week that limits foreign companies from owning major stakes in Polish media, with critics say targets a channel owned by Discovery Inc.Discovery owns the Polish TV firm TVN Group, which in turn controls Poland's highest-watched news channel TVN24, which is known for being critical of the...