Hollywood
‘The Interview’ available on American pay TV channels
NEW DELHI: Sony Pictures Entertainment has made its provocative comedy The Interview available through American pay television operators and it has doubled the number of independent theatres to show the movie.
Sony also announced that the film will also be sold through Wal-Mart on-demand service, Vudu, and on Sony’s PlayStation Network. It was already on Google Play and YouTube.
After the film earned $15 million from two million sales or rentals over four days, Apple added the movie to its iTunes store, where it ranked as the top-selling movie on 31 December, 2014.
This week US cable, satellite and telecommunications providers began making the movie available to rent through their video on-demand and pay-per-view services. The providers include Comcas, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, AT&’s U-verse, Verizon’s Fios and DirecTV. Vudu and Verizon customers also can buy the film.
The Interview also opened in more than 580 independent theatres on 2 January, 2015.
Hollywood
Trump invested over $1.1m in Netflix bonds at the peak of Warner Bros bidding battle
Financial disclosures show U.S. president also bought Warner Bros Discovery debt during high-stakes media takeover race.
WASHINGTON: New government financial disclosures show that U.S. president Donald Trump purchased more than $1.1 million worth of bonds issued by Netflix over the past three months. The transactions occurred during a period when Netflix was engaged in a competitive bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, a potential merger that the Trump administration had publicly criticised on antitrust grounds.
Between December and January, the president acquired Netflix bonds valued between $1.1 million and $2.25 million. The bonds carry a 5.375 per cent interest rate and are scheduled to mature in November 2029. Financial disclosures also revealed an additional investment in Warner Bros Discovery bonds. The purchase was valued between $500,002 and $1 million, with the debt reportedly bought at roughly 92 cents on the dollar. The bonds are now trading at around 95 cents on the dollar, leaving the position currently in profit.
The timing of the investments has drawn scrutiny because the administration had been openly critical of Netflix’s market activities at the time. While the president’s trust was purchasing the debt, the administration reportedly pressured Netflix to remove board member Susan Rice and expressed concerns that a Netflix–Warner merger could harm competition.
The White House has dismissed conflict-of-interest concerns, stating that the president’s assets are managed independently by his children. Spokesperson Anna Kelly said U.S. presidents are legally exempt from the conflict-of-interest laws that apply to other federal officials.
Despite the financial interest, Netflix ultimately lost the race to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. Paramount Skydance secured the deal on 27 February with a $110 billion offer. The acquisition was backed by Larry Ellison, who guaranteed $40 billion to support the bid, while major lenders including Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo Global Management provided $39 billion in financing.
The final acquisition leaves the combined Paramount entity carrying roughly $85 billion in debt, while Netflix withdrew its bid roughly two weeks before the official disclosure report was released.
