English Entertainment
Discovery & Scripps reported to be discussing merger
MUMBAI: Media companies Scripps Networks and Discovery Communications are reportedly in merger talks, supposedly revisiting a probable deal that did not materialise around three years ago.
Channels of Scripps, which has a market value around US$ 8.8 billion, are — HGTV, Travel Channel and a significant major stake in Food Network. It has been seeking a purchaser when it is under pressure to grow, Reuters reported sources as saying. Discovery, which has around US$ 15 billion market value, telecasts a channel by the same name, as well as others such as Animal Planet and TLC, the WSJ added.
Reuters sources added that Viacom Inc also was in discussion to buy Scripps. All three companies denied comment.
A deal between Scripps and Discovery may lead to creation of a US$19-billion cable network that primarily concentrates on non-scripted shows.
Discovery CEO David Zaslav had said that there were discussions about potential deals at a time when broadband and cable companies were merging and need content to de-commoditise and differentiate that pipe. RBC Capital Markets’ Steven Cahall had said that a combination of the non-fiction programmers made good sense.
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English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
