DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[BrianL]

Yeah obviously they weren't literally the 7 dwarfs from the 1937 movie, but it was an obvious homage. Regardless of if they were going to use the people from that image, or if they were going to use "magical creatures" as Disney themselves official announced, it is odd that they would have 2 non-standard representations originally planned.

The Dwarfs in the original are "magical creatures" though. We've been through this before and I don't want to go down that rabbit hole and derail this thread, but they were simply indicating that they are fantasy creature Dwarfs in the Tolkien style. That is all. People really read too much into that phrase.

 

[RivShore]

though in my opinion more deviation from the original would be better

At some point it should not be called a remake, though. Give it a new title and say inspired by...

 

[BrianL]

At some point it should not be called a remake, though. Give it a new title and say inspired by...

That's what they should do with all of them, but the fact is the remakes that are closer to the original perform better.

 

[wabbott]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disney-begins-integrating-hulu-disney-170217379.html

Disney begins integrating Hulu into Disney+ streaming service
Dawn Chmielewski
Wed, December 6, 2023 at 11:02 AM CST·2 min read

(Reuters) - Walt Disney began offering Hulu as part of its namesake streaming service on Wednesday, bolstering Disney+'s family-friendly content with more general entertainment fare, such as FX's intense kitchen drama "The Bear" and the popular reality show "The Kardashians."

The combined offering, known as "Hulu on Disney+", will be available in an early "beta" version to domestic subscribers to the Disney Bundle of streaming services. The formal launch of the integrated service is scheduled for March.

Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors last month that the company would begin offering a "unified one-app experience" that would make Hulu's programs, including "Only Murders in the Building" ABC's "Abbott Elementary," adult animation stand-outs like "Family Guy," available to certain Disney+ subscribers.

"We expect that Hulu on Disney+ will result in increased engagement, greater advertising opportunities, lower churn, and reduced customer acquisition costs, thereby increasing our overall margins," Iger told investors in November, during the company's fiscal fourth quarter earnings call.

Iger is under pressure from investors to make Disney's streaming business profitable. In the quarter that ended on Sept. 30, Disney reduced operating losses to $420 million, representing a dramatic improvement from the prior year, when operating losses exceeded $1.4 billion.

The company said it is on track to achieve profitability by the end of fiscal 2024.

Disney initiated the process of acquiring the remaining stake in Hulu from NBCUniversal parent Comcast, for at least $8.6 billion, which cleared the way for the integration.

Hulu will occupy its own "tile" on Disney+, alongside the company's other entertainment brands, such as Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar, and be included in the promotional carousel at the top of the app.

 

[jade1]

the fact is the remakes that are closer to the original perform better.

Agreed, hmm.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...elson-peltz-disney-activist-fight-1235715097/

Ike’s Revenge? Ousted Marvel Mogul Looms As Disney Proxy Fight Heats Up

Disney says a "personal agenda" against Bob Iger by ousted exec Ike Perlmutter is fueling an activist investor’s new attempt to reshape the company’s board and grab more seats.

December 7, 2023 4:30am PST
by Alex Weprin

The last time Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian Partners waged a proxy battle against Disney, less than a year ago, they laid out their concerns in a PowerPoint presentation. Disney needed to cut costs, Trian said. It needed to bring back its dividend and get its free cash flow back on track. Disney was “over-earning” at its theme parks, gouging guests and not investing enough.

Bob Iger’s return as CEO in November 2022 and the stock surge that followed ultimately called Peltz off. “This was a great win for all the shareholders. Management at Disney now plans to do everything that we wanted them to do,” Peltz told CNBC in February, announcing that he was dropping his proxy fight.

Indeed, Disney did tackle essentially all of Peltz’s concerns. The company has cut $7.5 billion in costs and laid off thousands of employees. It is bringing back its dividend, and says free cash flow will hit pre-COVID levels this fiscal year. The company announced a $60 billion investment in its theme parks business, suggesting that it wants to grow it by adding more, not by charging more.

And yet, months later, Peltz is back. And while he was looking for only one board seat last time, now he is looking for at least three, and possibly more, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

The question on the mind of Iger and other Disney execs — not to mention much of Wall Street — is what Trian’s case will be. Exactly what argument Trian, whose stake in Disney is valued at roughly $3 billion, intends to make (beyond the activist track record of the 81-year-old Peltz) is unclear. Yes, Disney’s share price continues to lag, though it is hardly alone among media companies this year.

“I’m certain that the board will hear them out in terms of what their plans are, what their ideas are,” Iger said at the Dealbook Summit on Nov. 29, adding that he made it “very clear” to Disney’s board that “we have to obviously contend with them in some form, but don’t force me to take my eye off the ball and lose focus in terms of managing the company.”

Trian said in a statement that it was offered a chance to meet with the board, but that it was not proactively offered any seats, forcing it to take its case to shareholders. One of those Disney shareholders, investment firm Ancora Holdings Group, backed Trian Dec. 5, saying Peltz “would make a fantastic addition to Disney’s board.”

Iger said the company has high standards for its board members, which will number 12 at the next annual meeting, and that the board takes the process of adding members seriously, and doesn’t just offer them to any askers. Disney, for its part, named Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch to its board in November. Both will be up for election at the company’s next annual meeting.

Disney has long been willing to deal with activists. In fact, it is dealing with another one now: ValueAct. While the San Francisco-based investment firm has a reputation for being active, sources say its stake is based on what it sees as the intrinsic value of Disney’s theme parks, rather than a desire to shake things up. It is not expected to seek a board seat.

And the company dealt with Dan Loeb’s Third Point in 2020 and 2022. Sources noted that both times Loeb laid out “detailed” strategic plans, something Trian has thus far not done. In 2022, Disney added former Meta executive Carolyn Everson to its board at Third Point’s urging.

Another activist investor and Disney shareholder, Blackwells Capital, believes that defending against Peltz’s proxy fight will cost Disney shareholders “upwards of $50 million and serve only as a value-destructive fog for Disney’s leadership and board.”

“Mindless, drum-beating activism is not the right strategy for shareholders,” Blackwells chief investment officer Jason Aintabi says. “Disney’s Board is acting in the best interests of all shareholders and should be allowed the time to focus on driving value at one of America’s most iconic companies without this fatuous sideshow.

But Peltz’s effort does have its share of supporters. Bill Ackman, the influential hedge fund manager and founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, was seen at the Dealbook Summit carefully listening to Iger, Elon Musk and other interviewees. Iger’s remarks about Disney pulling its ads from Musk’s X (Twitter) seemed particularly troubling to Ackman, who has expressed disapproval of “Disney [caving] to public pressure” regarding X while investing heavily in TikTok.

“If Bob Iger would carefully examine the facts, he would likely continue to advertise on X, but Disney caves to public pressure rather than do the right thing,” Ackman wrote on X. “Meanwhile Disney invests heavily on TikTok, likely alongside videos of kids teaching other teenagers to be anorexic and worse. I am sure Nelson Peltz can fix this when he joins the Disney board.”

Looming over it all is Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter. Peltz’s friend and neighbor in Palm Beach, Perlmutter was “terminated” as chairman of Marvel by Disney this year, the company notes. Perlmutter has pledged his shares in Disney to Peltz, and they comprise nearly 80 percent of Trian’s stake, giving him more financial skin in the game than Peltz. On Nov. 30, Disney cited Perlmutter’s “personal agenda” against Iger, noting that his interests “may be different than that of all other shareholders.”

While a source close to Perlmutter previously told THR that the former Marvel chief was “not involved” in Peltz’s new effort beyond pledging his shares, an SEC filing from Trian confirms that Perlmutter is a “participant in the proxy solicitation.” In Trian’s last proxy fight, it only alluded to Perlmutter’s role (it referred to him as a “third party” known to both Disney and Peltz). Disney made some adjustments to its bylaws in November, which, while largely technical, could shine a light on just how involved Perlmutter is in Peltz’s board play, with enhanced disclosure requirements.

During his 14-year run at Disney, Perlmutter’s influence waned as the years went on, and by the time he was let go, his oversight was restricted largely to consumer products. The reclusive mogul, rarely photographed, was pictured with Donald Trump at the former president’s Florida retreat in 2016. In his 2019 memoir, Iger wrote that Perlmutter was opposed to Marvel projects like Black Panther and Captain Marvel (he allegedly didn’t think a Black or female superhero movie would sell toys), and later said that Perlmutter wanted to fire Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, forcing Iger to step in and move Marvel Studios under the larger theatrical umbrella.

It’s that meddling while leading Marvel that has some worried, should Trian’s endeavor succeed. “There is no silent partner in Ike,” one source warned of Perlmutter. “You’re inviting Trump onto the board. He has proxied his vote to Nelson. It’s so dangerous.”

Kim Masters contributed to this report.

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2023/12/hollywood-jobs-losses-2023-strikes-study-1235656524/

Hollywood Jobs Down Nearly 20% This Year, & Not Just Because Of The Strikes, Study Says
By Dominic Patten - Senior Editor, Legal & TV Critic
December 7, 2023 9:13am PST

Despite the now-resolved writers and actors strikes shutting down Hollywood production for several months, the loss of tens of thousands of Tinseltown jobs this year actually is part of a larger economic contraction, a just-released study claims — and those gigs might not be coming back.

“Entertainment Industry employment in Los Angeles this year peaked in April, when 142,652 workers were employed by the Industry,” says Otis College of Art and Design’s “The Day After Tomorrow” study, produced by Westwood Economics and Planning Associates. “As of October, there were 24,799 fewer workers employed by the Industry than there were in April,” the California-centric report states of the 17% drop.

Set to be the first of two studies on the entertainment biz, the report released Thursday (read it here) estimates that ress”Greater Los Angeles Entertainment Industry workers lost roughly $1.4 billion in wages between April and September 2023, or roughly 0.5% of the industry’s annual economic activity.” During the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which ended in late September and late last month respectively, the California economy overall took a $6.5 billion hit. Nationally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 45,000 jobs were lost from when the 12,000-strong scribes guild hit the picket lines in early May, followed by the 160,000-strong actor’s guild in mid-July, to mid-October.

“Beyond the short-term impact, the strikes should be understood within the context of a broader restructuring of the Industry: employment was contracting in the Industry even before the strikes,” the Otis College reports declares. “Employment in the Industry peaked in May of 2016, and reached nearly the same level in August of 2022. Since this time, employment has shrunk by 26%”.

One of the primary authors of Otis College’s “Day After Tomorrow” warns that end of the strikes, which officially came on Dec 5 with SAG-AFTRA members voting to ratify their deal with the studios by just over 78%, don’t mean everything will be returning to normal. In fact, Patrick Adler, Principal at Westwood Economics and Planning Associates and Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong, says normal had left the ever-changing industry way before the strikes started

“The end of the strikes means there’s a possibility of reversing the steady and steep employment declines of the last year,” Dr. Adler told Deadline today. “But it’s an open question if all of the lost jobs over the past year are coming back,” he added.

“We show that the industry’s business model is at a serious inflection point. Fundamental questions about how much content will be produced and how it will be paid for are less resolved now than they were ahead of the last SAG-AFTRA deal,” the academic went on to say. “The industry’s employment level hangs in the balance. We should resist the urge to see ratification as an end to some great reckoning.”

From Disney’s Bob Iger on down, executives over the past year have stressed a shift to less shows and projects in a cost-saving and stock bumping moves cloaked as “quality over quantity.”

“Almost all of Hollywood production is controlled by publicly traded companies, and Wall Street has exerted more pressure on the industry since interest rates spiked in 2022,” Dr. Adler notes. “Basically, one dollar of production money is much more expensive today than it was in 2021, and so the street expects higher return.”

Putting a spotlight on the shortcomings of streaming services as revenue streams, the18-page report itself says: “The bigger picture reveals that Peak TV, rather than the strikes, represents the more enduring threat to employment in the Industry. An arms race among streaming platforms heralded a surge in production between 2016 and 2022, as platforms pursued subscriber growth at all costs. As this business model has transitioned into one which emphasizes profitability and sustainability, we have likely reached the highwater mark in production.”

Worth noting that while the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have reached new contracts with the studios, IATSE and the Teamsters will be entering negotiations with the AMPTP next year. As the Hollywood employment contraction tightens further, both those unions will clearly have job saving as one of their top priorities as more strikes and standstills could loom.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/wga-strike-tv-deals-1235715385/

It’s Quiet, Too Quiet, in Hollywood: Where Are the Deals?

Executives were expecting a deluge of pitches after the writers strike, but that didn’t arrive: "If come January and February, it’s still crickets, then we have a problem."
By Lacey Rose, Lesley Goldberg
December 7, 2023 6:55am PST

Once the writers strike ended in late September, president of FX Entertainment Nick Grad and his colleagues began to clear their schedules. After a 148-day stoppage, the second longest in Writers Guild of America history, surely there would be a deluge of writers with fresh ideas and new spec scripts coming through, and Grad and team were ready.

But here we are, nearly two and a half months later, and that deluge never came. Not for those FX executives, or, as an informal survey of the television industry suggests, their rivals across the landscape. “It’s eerie, nobody’s buying anything,” says one top producer, echoing a chorus of sources who express surprise at how quiet the marketplace has been since Hollywood’s writers went back to work.

Everybody seems to have a theory, of course. Some are adamant that writers took the “pencils down” mandate more seriously during this strike than they did the last. And while technically they were allowed to pen spec scripts, the consensus is that very few did. “In my circle, I don’t know anybody who wrote something during the strike to take out,” says One Day at a Time producer Mike Royce, a self-described “unicorn” because he has been able to get a few projects going. Grad is one of many who suggest that for writers, “It was hard to tune out the noise and be creative.”

Others say that writers and, more notably, their reps are concerned about putting material out there in a considerably softer marketplace. After all, executives across Hollywood have spent the better part of the past year bemoaning a broken model and warning of more belt-tightening and contraction to come. “Everyone is afraid the market is drying up, and nobody wants to whiff” with their one shot before buyers, explains an exec at one of the big streamers. Adds an agency partner, whose writer roster has largely been laying low: “There are enough places that are not buying aggressively that going out with competitive new stuff has a relative high bar — and anybody who’s sat on anything for nine months isn’t really in the mood to clear the decks and get it passed on. There’s a little bit of, like, ‘Do you dip your toe in the water without knowing its temperature?’ ”

Still more write off the crickets as customary for the end of the year — even if nothing else about this year has been customary — and say writers are simply holding off until early 2024, when the various streamers and cable networks might have a better sense of their budgets and pipeline, and perhaps more of an appetite for new fare. Among the projects rumored to be on the runway is a Tina Fey adaptation of the 1981 Alan Alda-Carol Burnett vacation comedy The Four Seasons.

“Right now, the focus at these places is on getting shows that were paused back into production before we turn to new ones coming in. It’s not about them not buying, it’s about prioritization,” says one studio chief, who suggests what happens at the top of the year will ultimately be more telling. “If come January and February, it’s still crickets, then we have a problem.”

What this moment has provided is a potential shift in leverage that reps and their independent studio partners are, by their own admission, eager to take advantage of. “These buyers have had the ability to just tell us what the market looks like all day, every day through these years of ramp up, and now they’re all going, ‘Oh, well, we’re going through this thing and we don’t know how many slots we have and blah, blah, blah,’ ” explains one top agent, who notes that now, rather than simply be dictated to, he and his fellow reps have been putting together compelling packages — with writers, directors and, more recently, talent — outside the studio system, relying instead on independent backers like A24, MRC, Wiip and Fifth Season. He adds, “So, there’s more activity than buyers think, we’re not just going straight to them. Our feeling is like, ‘Let’s finance a script, let’s package it together, let’s tell them what we want to do.’ ”

Indeed, many of those who have gone to market with pitches in recent months share stories similar to Howard Gordon’s. Since the WGA strike ended, he and his Homeland writing partner Alex Gansa have shopped a few ideas, but little has come of them. “They were well received, but we’ve heard nothing,” says Gordon, more baffled by the degree of uncertainty in the marketplace than anything else. “And then everybody who we’ve told that to has said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s what happened to us, too.’ ”

There have been exceptions, of course, led by Cape Fear, a Nick Antosca-penned series reimagining the classic Universal thrillers with both Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese attached as producers. Though there were conversations about holding the long-gestating pitch until the new year, Universal Content Productions (UCP) and the other stakeholders decided that it had the goods (i.e., the pitch, the pedigree and the IP) to cut through. The group took it out in mid-November and it quickly ignited one of the first high-profile bidding wars in months. Even two sides of the same company — HBO and Max, both under Casey Bloys — made offers. Other exceptions include a Hannah Waddingham-Octavia Spencer assassin series (think Thelma & Louise meets Jack Ryan, according to sources) and a propulsive Amy Adams thriller from Academy Award-winning screenwriter Graham Moore, both of which ginned up multiple offers.

Still, what seems to be unanimous is that the strategies across the board are shifting and the yeses won’t be as plentiful — certainly not at the Hulus and HBOs, for instance. (The latter, which has made some offers, is said to be encouraging writers to hold their pitches for the new year.) By all accounts, Apple and Netflix remain the “most open” for business, as one seller describes it, though multiple sources say that Amazon will still spend (very) big for projects it wants. Nevertheless, the 600-series era of simply expecting a sale is over. As Universal Studio Group chair Pearlena Igbokwe puts it: “It’s the quality-over-quantity era now.”

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2023/12/paramo...ts-david-ellison-red-bird-capital-1235658155/

David Ellison & RedBird Capital Kicking Paramount Global’s Tires Via National Amusements – The Dish
By Anthony D'Alessandro, Dade Hayes
December 7, 2023 7:09pm PST

EXCLUSIVE: There’s a lot of noise in town about Skydance Boss David Ellison and RedBird Capital making a go at Paramount Global, but via National Amusements.

The Michael Redstone-founded, Norwood, Mass.-based exhibitor owns 77% of Paramount’s Class A (voting) shares. For anyone wanting to take control of Paramount Global, the trojan horse is by taking over National Amusements’ voting shares.

All of this is loose lipped chatter right now. But as the old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Reps for RedBird Capital and Skydance didn’t return request for comment. Paramount Global tells us no comment.

What happens next? Certainly, RedBird and Skydance don’t want anything to do with running KCBS-TV, or the cable networks, right? There’s a lot under the umbrella they probably don’t want. Oversee of IP and Paramount Pictures makes sense. However, making a play for Paramount’s Class A voting shares would give RedBird and Skydance control of the conglom without buying it outright. From there, they could piecemeal try to offload CBS, TV stations, and package some of the cable channels — all possibilities.

Paramount Global has tried to sell Noggin and BET Media Group, and they sold Bellator to Professional Fighters League, and unloaded Simon & Schuster to private investment firm KKR for $1.62 billion. They’ve also sold off Television City on Fairfax and Beverly in Los Angeles.

Paramount Global’s current market cap is $9.9 billion, and closed today at $15.03.

Paramount has been facing a number of challenges of late, especially as it looks to compete in streaming. Its traditional businesses, including broadcast and cable TV, have been in decline, and advertising in its TV Media division fell 14% in the third quarter compared with the prior year.

Interest rates are an important variable. They have risen dramatically over the past year, which has made the proposition of swinging big M&A deals a lot more daunting for many players. The result has been a chill in the air in terms of overall dealmaking. But with Paramount, there has been a growing sense in the financial community that the best window for current ownership to sell is now.

As we reported recently, Paramount Global will start the New Year with some big bills to pay and questions swirling about its creditworthiness.

RedBird Capital had made a significant financial commitment in launching Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity production company which produced the Amazon MGM feature, Air.
Stay tuned…

 

[wabbott]

https://www.investors.com/news/tech...dgment-day-netflix-in-lonely-spot/?src=A00220

Judgment Day Is Coming For Streaming Services Not Named Netflix Or Amazon
by PATRICK SEITZ

• 09:00 AM EST 12/08/2023

Consumers who binged on streaming video services when they were cheap might be inclined to purge them after recent price hikes. That's created a survival-of-the-fittest climate for the numerous subscription video-on-demand services struggling to compete with market leaders like Netflix and Amazon.

Industry pioneer Netflix (NFLX) is the only major player making money with its subscription streaming video service. The rest are hunting for a winning formula to compete in a crowded — and cutthroat — market. Now, Wall Street analysts say the streaming video industry is poised for consolidation.

"We've entered a new phase in the market," nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon told Investor's Business Daily. "Companies are done with growing subscribers at all costs and now they're focused on profits. But there is a limited number of levers they can pull to boost their profitability."

Streaming Video Business Levers

One problem is all of those levers — raising prices, cutting costs by reducing content spending, and running more ads — are bad for customer experience. And therefore likely bad for business.

That's why some Wall Street analysts say the market climate will spur mergers and partnerships as the various players look to survive. There are about a dozen mainstream general-interest streamers duking it out for the same customers in the U.S.

"This industry needs four or five players," Michael Nathanson, an analyst with investment research firm MoffettNathanson, told IBD. But "it's just not very obvious how that happens."

One key hurdle involves companies with heavy exposure to the declining traditional pay-TV business. That includes content producers who support legacy cable TV channels.

"These companies need to stem the losses of streaming because their core businesses are being hit by cord cutting, slowing advertising and a weak box office," Nathanson said.

In fact, investors are pressuring companies like Walt Disney (DIS), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Paramount Global (PARA) to start showing positive results from their streaming services.

Price Hikes Galore At Major Streaming Services

Companies with subscription video-on-demand, or SVOD, services are trying to shore up their operations by raising prices and cutting costs. They're also cracking down on account sharing to convert freeloaders into paying customers.

In mid-October, Netflix increased the price of its ad-free Premium plan by 15% to $22.99 a month. Meanwhile, Disney raised the price of its ad-free Disney+ service by 27% to $13.99 per month. And Apple (AAPL) hiked the price of Apple TV+ by 43% to $9.99 a month.

Prices also have gone up this year at Comcast's (CMCSA) Peacock, Paramount's Paramount+ and Warner's Max.

Those price hikes likely will lead to increased churn as customers quit some services to save money.

"In general, whenever there's a meaningful price hike, we do observe a bump in churn," Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoon told IBD.

The churn problem is worse for companies outside of the top three or four services, Yoon says. For the top services, such as Netflix and Disney+, there's an initial increase in churn but subscriber numbers tend to normalize after a few months, he says.

Besides Netflix, other top services include Amazon.com's (AMZN) Amazon Prime Video and Disney-controlled Hulu.

To survive and thrive, streaming video services need a steady stream of new content to keep subscribers engaged. But that takes significant resources that only large companies can handle, Nathanson says.

Netflix, for instance, plans to spend $17 billion on content in 2024, up 31% from $13 billion this year.

Subscale Streaming Services At Risk

The streaming video services in the biggest pickle now are those that are considered subscale: Paramount+ and Peacock, and services offered by AMC Networks (AMCX) and Lionsgate (LGFA), analysts say.

"Most content players with SVOD offerings are losing material dollars, which may lead to shuttering of offerings and/or consolidation in streaming offerings," Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said in a recent client note.

Some consolidation is already occurring. Paramount merged its Showtime streaming service into the premium tier of Paramount+ in June. On Nov. 1, Disney agreed to take full ownership of Hulu by buying Comcast's 33% stake in the streaming service for an expected $8.61 billion. Disney hopes to complete the deal in 2024.

While consolidation might seem obvious given the challenges in the market, it will likely take longer than most people think, Parks Associates analyst Eric Sorensen told IBD. That's because of a host of factors, including regulatory issues and dealing with the legacy businesses that many companies have, especially pay TV.

Content Distribution Partnerships In Vogue

Some SVOD players are trying to stay viable by leaning into advertising-supported video on demand and forging content distribution partnerships to bundle their services, Sorensen says.

Among the streaming bundles, Paramount+ is now bundled with retailer Walmart's (WMT) membership program, Walmart+. In addition, Paramount has discussed a streaming bundle with Apple TV+, according to the Wall Street Journal.

On Nov. 29, Comcast's Peacock streaming video service and Maplebear's (CART) Instacart grocery-delivery service announced a deal that would give customers of Instacart+, who pay $9.99 a month, access to Peacock with ads at no additional cost.

This month, Verizon (VZ) began offering a streaming bundle of the ad-supported versions of Netflix and Max for $10 a month combined instead of about $17. Verizon is offering the deal to its myPlan wireless customers.

Meanwhile, Warner has taken to licensing some premium library content to rival Netflix to shore up its finances. That content includes HBO series like "Band of Brothers" and "Six Feet Under" and DC superhero movies like "Man of Steel," "Wonder Woman" and "The Batman."

Streaming Video Market Grows Saturated

But it's unclear if these efforts are enough to overcome the major challenge: There are simply too many streamers out there. In addition to the mainstream streaming video services, there are scores of niche services devoted to genres such as British television, Nordic noir, Japanese anime, horror movies and documentaries.

The U.S. streaming video market is "extremely saturated," Sorensen said. The average streaming household subscribes to 5.6 streaming services, according to Parks Associates.

Some 89% of broadband households have at least one subscription video service. And 29% of broadband households have eight or more such subscriptions, Parks says.

Most streaming video services now offer lower-priced, ad-supported service tiers to lower churn and buck up their finances. Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, Max and Peacock have all found that revenue per user is higher on ad-supported plans when compared with ad-free subscriptions.

Netflix reported on Nov. 1 that it reached 15 million monthly active users worldwide of its advertising-supported service, one year after launching the offering.

Relearning To Be 'Ad Tolerant'

Running ads is, of course, a tricky revenue-driver. Many consumers aren't thrilled to sit through ads after experiencing ad-free services.

"You can persuade some people to watch with ads," Dixon said. "But I have a feeling that you can't persuade a great deal of them."

He added, "Come on, who really wants to be watching ads when you're completely engrossed in an episode of 'Loki' or the latest Avengers movie? You just don't want it."

Parks analyst Sorensen said consumers are having to "relearn" how to be "ad tolerant."

The growth of free, ad-supported streaming television, or FAST, services shows that consumers are willing to put up with ads to save money, Sorensen says.

Some 41% of U.S. broadband households watch ad-supported video-on-demand services now. That's up from 18% in 2018, Parks says.

Meanwhile, consumers who saved money by cord cutting and switching from cable TV to streaming have found their monthly video bills back to where they used to be. And now they're in the position of having to bundle their own video programming package.

"It's ironic," Nathanson said. "It turns out the cable bundle was actually pretty good. You got all those channels in one place for one price."

Analysis Of Streaming Video Stocks

Among stocks with a stake in streaming services, Netflix is one to watch now. The company has posted two quarters of accelerating earnings growth. On a technical basis, Netflix stock is forming a cup-with-handle pattern with a potential buy point of 482.70. Netflix stock closed Thursday at 452.

Amazon is on the IBD Leaderboard list of timely growth stocks. Amazon stock broke out of a cup base with a 145.86 buy point in November and is trading within the 5% buy zone, which goes to 153.15.

Apple stock, meanwhile, has made big gains from its 2022 lows. It broke out of a cup-with-handle base Tuesday and remains in buy range from its 192.93 entry.

As for the others, AMC Networks, after a long, steep slide starting in 2021, broke out of a first-stage cup base in early November. But AMC Networks stock is now extended from the 15.59 buy point.

Disney stock has retaken its 40-week line after its own long, deep correction, but shares need more time to form a base.

Follow Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=para+stock

Market Summary > Paramount Global Class B

16.90 USD +1.88 (12.48%)

Dec 8, 2:57 PM EST • Disclaimer

 

[Elijah Abrams]

https://deadline.com/2023/12/paramo...ts-david-ellison-red-bird-capital-1235658155/

David Ellison & RedBird Capital Kicking Paramount Global’s Tires Via National Amusements – The Dish
By Anthony D'Alessandro, Dade Hayes
December 7, 2023 7:09pm PST

EXCLUSIVE: There’s a lot of noise in town about Skydance Boss David Ellison and RedBird Capital making a go at Paramount Global, but via National Amusements.

The Michael Redstone-founded, Norwood, Mass.-based exhibitor owns 77% of Paramount’s Class A (voting) shares. For anyone wanting to take control of Paramount Global, the trojan horse is by taking over National Amusements’ voting shares.

All of this is loose lipped chatter right now. But as the old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Reps for RedBird Capital and Skydance didn’t return request for comment. Paramount Global tells us no comment.

What happens next? Certainly, RedBird and Skydance don’t want anything to do with running KCBS-TV, or the cable networks, right? There’s a lot under the umbrella they probably don’t want. Oversee of IP and Paramount Pictures makes sense. However, making a play for Paramount’s Class A voting shares would give RedBird and Skydance control of the conglom without buying it outright. From there, they could piecemeal try to offload CBS, TV stations, and package some of the cable channels — all possibilities.

Paramount Global has tried to sell Noggin and BET Media Group, and they sold Bellator to Professional Fighters League, and unloaded Simon & Schuster to private investment firm KKR for $1.62 billion. They’ve also sold off Television City on Fairfax and Beverly in Los Angeles.

Paramount Global’s current market cap is $9.9 billion, and closed today at $15.03.

Paramount has been facing a number of challenges of late, especially as it looks to compete in streaming. Its traditional businesses, including broadcast and cable TV, have been in decline, and advertising in its TV Media division fell 14% in the third quarter compared with the prior year.

Interest rates are an important variable. They have risen dramatically over the past year, which has made the proposition of swinging big M&A deals a lot more daunting for many players. The result has been a chill in the air in terms of overall dealmaking. But with Paramount, there has been a growing sense in the financial community that the best window for current ownership to sell is now.

As we reported recently, Paramount Global will start the New Year with some big bills to pay and questions swirling about its creditworthiness.

RedBird Capital had made a significant financial commitment in launching Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity production company which produced the Amazon MGM feature, Air.
Stay tuned…

Deadline trying to make up lies here that David Ellison and RedBird Capital like to sell off assets of a company.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.ft.com/content/6c4c8318-44d1-439d-b0f2-455eb7903970

Shari Redstone weighs options for Paramount as Skydance eyes bid for studio
Hollywood production company’s shares up nearly 40% over month as deal speculation mounts

James Fontanella-Khan and Anna Nicolaou in New York and Christopher Grimes in Los Angeles
12/8/23

Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder has held talks about a sale of the legendary Hollywood studio and other assets to Skydance, the production company behind Top Gun: Maverick, according to people familiar with the company controlled by Shari Redstone.

Skydance, whose shareholders include the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners, has emerged as a leading contender to take over Redstone’s National Amusements, which has a controlling stake in Paramount.

The two companies have co-produced a series of movies.The conversations were at a very early stage and there was no certainty they would lead to a deal, two knowledgeable people said. Other parties were also interested in acquiring some of Paramount’s assets, they added.Skydance was particularly interested in Paramount’s Hollywood studio, people familiar with the New York-based company said. But other assets, including TV networks such as CBS and its lossmaking streaming platform Paramount Plus, could be acquired and then sold to other potential buyers.

Skydance declined to comment. RedBird did not respond to a request for comment. Paramount declined to comment.

Founded in 2010 by David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Skydance has co-produced a number of blockbusters with Paramount, including the Tom Cruise vehicles Top Gun and the Mission: Impossible films.

Their next Mission: Impossible film is due out in cinemas in 2025.The Ellison family is the largest shareholder in Skydance, which would have little trouble raising capital for a deal.

In October 2022, Skydance’s valuation jumped to $4bn following a cash injection of $400mn led by RedBird, along with the Ellison family, KKR and Tencent.

Paramount also received a boost in 2022 when Warren Buffett disclosed he had purchased a stake of about 75mn shares at $28 per share — well above where they stand today.

But the shares have risen 39 per cent over the past month as speculation mounted that the company was exploring a sale. The stock rose 12 per cent to $16.85 on Friday. Redstone has long said the company, whose roots lie in a drive-in cinema business founded by her grandfather, was not for sale. But last month Paramount’s board of directors approved “golden parachute” compensation for chief executive Bob Bakish and other senior executives, prompting speculation that she was open to offers.

Like other big, diversified studios, Paramount’s traditional TV business is in decline and its streaming business has lost billions.

Rich Greenfield, an analyst at LightShed Partners, said in a recent research note that Paramount faced a “very difficult future”.

“Whether or not . . . Shari Redstone wants to sell, we have a hard time seeing how a sale in whole or in pieces is not Paramount’s ultimate fate,” he wrote.

But he added that he expected Redstone to take other steps before selling the studio, including cutting costs, dramatically scaling back its ambitions for Paramount Plus and increasing licensing deals with other streamers.

Talks between Paramount and Skydance were first reported by Puck.

*This story has been amended to clarify that the potential bid is for Paramount’s controlling shareholder, National Amusements

 

[wabbott]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/business/media/shari-redstone-national-amusements.html

Shari Redstone Is Said to Be in Talks to Sell Her Stake in Media Empire

Ms. Redstone waged a bitter battle for control of National Amusements, the parent company of MTV, CBS and the Paramount movie studio. Now, she’s considering a sale.

By Benjamin Mullin
Dec. 10, 2023 - Updated 2:31 p.m. EST

The media mogul Shari Redstone is in talks to sell a controlling stake in National Amusements, the parent company of the sprawling news and entertainment empire that includes the Paramount movie studio, CBS and MTV, according to three people familiar with the talks.

In recent weeks, National Amusements has held talks with Skydance, the media and entertainment company founded by David Ellison, who is the son of the billionaire founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison. It’s unclear whether a deal will be reached, and the value the talks place on Ms. Redstone’s stake couldn’t be determined.

A deal for Paramount, if it came to fruition, could be a starting gun for a far-reaching reordering of the media industry over the next year. Comcast, the TV and cable giant that owns NBCUniversal, is on the prowl for deals. Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of HBO and CNN, in effect, comes on the market next year because of arcane tax reasons.

Ms. Redstone, 69, who waged a bitter battle with her onetime allies to retain control of the company, now appears to be seriously considering relinquishing it. She has held out for years amid broader headwinds facing the traditional media industry, but is exploring her options now that a serious suitor has expressed interest, two of the people said.

Ms. Redstone’s holdings are facing some economic pressures, including long-term debt obligations and the unreliable advertising market for media companies like Paramount.

Puck earlier reported that Ms. Redstone and Skydance were in talks. Spokespeople for National Amusements, Ms. Redstone and Skydance declined to comment.

A deal for Ms. Redstone’s stake in National Amusements would represent a major changing of the guard in the media business. Paramount has been in the Redstone family for decades, since Ms. Redstone’s father, the bellicose deal maker Sumner Redstone, won the company in a hard-fought bidding war that drew heavyweights including the billionaire Barry Diller.


Paramount, with its bundle of cable channels, a movie studio and its CBS broadcast network, has long been considered an acquisition target. Ms. Redstone began holding conversations about a deal earlier this year with parties including technology firms like Amazon, Apple and Netflix, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The feverish deal making that seems poised to sweep the industry has partly been set off by the slow decline of television. For years, TV companies like Paramount were buoyed by ever-rising payments from cable distributors. But in recent years, the business model of cable TV has begun to collapse as consumers have dropped their cable subscriptions and shifted to streaming services like Netflix, leaving traditional television programmers looking for an exit.

Even streaming, once thought to be a savior of the media business, has begun to show signs of strain. Old-school TV companies like Paramount, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery are pouring billions of dollars into building up streaming services in an attempt to catch Netflix, but none have so far managed to replicate the profits of cable TV.

Ms. Redstone is being advised by BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank founded by Byron Trott, a former Goldman Sachs partner who consults with some of America’s wealthiest and best-connected family business owners. Earlier this year, BDT & MSD Partners said it was taking a $125 million stake in National Amusements that would help the parent company pay down its loan obligations.

At the end of last year, Ms. Redstone owned a controlling stake in National Amusements. In a February filing, Paramount said that National Amusements directly or indirectly owned about 77.4 percent of Paramount’s voting class A common stock.

Founded in 2010 by David Ellison, Skydance has emerged as one of the leading independent studios in Hollywood. It has a longstanding relationship with Paramount, producing hits like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning.”

Skydance is backed by Redbird Capital Partners, a private equity firm that is among the most active in the media industry. Redbird is also backing RedBird IMI, the venture led by the former CNN chief Jeff Zucker that is pursuing a deal for the British newspapers The Telegraph and The Spectator.

Relinquishing Paramount would be a momentous step for Ms. Redstone, who fought to hold onto her family’s control as her father’s mental capacity began to decline. In 2018, CBS — led at the time by Les Moonves — sued Ms. Redstone to strip her control of her media holdings, but Ms. Redstone ultimately prevailed. Mr. Moonves, who faced a series of sexual harassment allegations, was ousted from CBS in 2018. He has denied allegations of nonconsensual sexual relations.

Though the value of Paramount has declined steadily in recent years — matching the broader fortunes of traditional media — investor speculation about a deal for National Amusements caused shares in the company to spike this month. Though its flagship streaming service, Paramount+, continues to lose money, Paramount said earlier this year that it had narrowed its losses for the service while continuing to add subscribers.

Rachel Abrams contributed reporting.

A correction was made on Dec. 10, 2023

An earlier version of this article misstated when Warner Bros. Discovery could, in effect, come on the market. It is next year, not later this year.

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2023/12/disney-plus-hulu-app-netflix-ampere-analysis-research-1235658312/

Disney+ Hulu App Will Leapfrog Netflix On Popularity & Volume In The U.S., Says Report
By Max Goldbart
International TV Co-Editor
December 11, 2023 1:30am PST

The combined Disney+ Hulu app will leapfrog Netflix on both popularity and volume in the U.S., according to a report from Ampere Analysis.

One-third of the 100 most popular Q3 titles in their home market were on Disney+ and Hulu, Ampere found, with 17 on the former and 16 on the latter, placing the pair at the top of the popularity pile. Netflix’s figure sits a few lower at 29, with Max in third on 18 and Amazon Prime Video lagging behind on 11. Ampere measures popularity based on key metrics such as volume of interest, web traffic and box office income from major services such as Google, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

Meanwhile in terms of volume, Disney+ and Hulu will shoot above Netflix to become the second most populous streamer with 9,578 titles, with Hulu holding the majority, 7,250. The combined app is ahead of Netflix by more than 1,000 and second only to Prime, even with the 300 titles set to be removed following Disney+’s buyout of Comcast’s Hulu stake. Given that the Disney+ Hulu app doesn’t launch for several months, these figures could change.

Disney+ and Hulu bring together the might of the likes of the new Star Wars movies and TV series, Pixar pics and Hulu hits such as Only Murders in the Building and American Horror Story. Disney+’s content strategy relies on its strong children and family content portfolio and tentpole sci-fi releases from major franchises. These would represent 81% of the top 100 most popular titles on the combined platform, Ampere said, while Hulu’s content library would complement Disney+’s as it includes underserved Disney+ genres such as crime, romance and horror. Disney+ already features some of the Hulu library in international markets under the Star banner.

As of October 2023, Hulu had more subscribers than Disney+ in the U.S. According to Ampere’s consumer survey, 44% of U.S. Hulu subscribers already have access to Disney+, largely due to bundles offering both platforms plus ESPN.

“With a combined app offering Disney+ and Hulu due to launch in the U.S. in early 2024, its compelling new streaming content offer will surely shake up the status quo,” said Ampere analyst Joshua Rustage.

“The combined Disney+ and Hulu catalogue will provide one of the most well-rounded and popular offerings in a single platform, upping the content stakes at a time when many are pulling back on content investment. Rivals will have to ensure their offerings remain competitive as the battle for viewing time intensifies, especially as the need to pull in advertising dollars is now also central to the streaming mix.”

Earlier this week, Disney added Hulu as a sixth vertical on the home screen of Disney+ with an integrated “one-app experience” launching in beta. The apps will be combined in earnest next March. The launch scheme, initially announced last month during Disney’s quarterly earnings call, comes as Disney is in the process of buying out Comcast’s one-third stake in Hulu and becoming its full owner. It has had 100% operational control of Hulu since 2019.

 

[clarker99]

https://deadline.com/2023/12/disney-plus-hulu-app-netflix-ampere-analysis-research-1235658312/

Disney+ Hulu App Will Leapfrog Netflix On Popularity & Volume In The U.S., Says Report
By Max Goldbart
International TV Co-Editor
December 11, 2023 1:30am PST

The combined Disney+ Hulu app will leapfrog Netflix on both popularity and volume in the U.S., according to a report from Ampere Analysis.

One-third of the 100 most popular Q3 titles in their home market were on Disney+ and Hulu, Ampere found, with 17 on the former and 16 on the latter, placing the pair at the top of the popularity pile. Netflix’s figure sits a few lower at 29, with Max in third on 18 and Amazon Prime Video lagging behind on 11. Ampere measures popularity based on key metrics such as volume of interest, web traffic and box office income from major services such as Google, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

Meanwhile in terms of volume, Disney+ and Hulu will shoot above Netflix to become the second most populous streamer with 9,578 titles, with Hulu holding the majority, 7,250. The combined app is ahead of Netflix by more than 1,000 and second only to Prime, even with the 300 titles set to be removed following Disney+’s buyout of Comcast’s Hulu stake. Given that the Disney+ Hulu app doesn’t launch for several months, these figures could change.

Disney+ and Hulu bring together the might of the likes of the new Star Wars movies and TV series, Pixar pics and Hulu hits such as Only Murders in the Building and American Horror Story. Disney+’s content strategy relies on its strong children and family content portfolio and tentpole sci-fi releases from major franchises. These would represent 81% of the top 100 most popular titles on the combined platform, Ampere said, while Hulu’s content library would complement Disney+’s as it includes underserved Disney+ genres such as crime, romance and horror. Disney+ already features some of the Hulu library in international markets under the Star banner.

As of October 2023, Hulu had more subscribers than Disney+ in the U.S. According to Ampere’s consumer survey, 44% of U.S. Hulu subscribers already have access to Disney+, largely due to bundles offering both platforms plus ESPN.

“With a combined app offering Disney+ and Hulu due to launch in the U.S. in early 2024, its compelling new streaming content offer will surely shake up the status quo,” said Ampere analyst Joshua Rustage.

“The combined Disney+ and Hulu catalogue will provide one of the most well-rounded and popular offerings in a single platform, upping the content stakes at a time when many are pulling back on content investment. Rivals will have to ensure their offerings remain competitive as the battle for viewing time intensifies, especially as the need to pull in advertising dollars is now also central to the streaming mix.”

Earlier this week, Disney added Hulu as a sixth vertical on the home screen of Disney+ with an integrated “one-app experience” launching in beta. The apps will be combined in earnest next March. The launch scheme, initially announced last month during Disney’s quarterly earnings call, comes as Disney is in the process of buying out Comcast’s one-third stake in Hulu and becoming its full owner. It has had 100% operational control of Hulu since 2019.

What took them so long to figure this out? Lol

Post in thread 'DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY'
https://www.disboards.com/threads/dis-shareholders-and-stock-info-only.3881254/post-65133848

 

[clarker99]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/business/media/shari-redstone-national-amusements.html

Shari Redstone Is Said to Be in Talks to Sell Her Stake in Media Empire

Ms. Redstone waged a bitter battle for control of National Amusements, the parent company of MTV, CBS and the Paramount movie studio. Now, she’s considering a sale.

By Benjamin Mullin
Dec. 10, 2023 - Updated 2:31 p.m. EST

The media mogul Shari Redstone is in talks to sell a controlling stake in National Amusements, the parent company of the sprawling news and entertainment empire that includes the Paramount movie studio, CBS and MTV, according to three people familiar with the talks.

In recent weeks, National Amusements has held talks with Skydance, the media and entertainment company founded by David Ellison, who is the son of the billionaire founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison. It’s unclear whether a deal will be reached, and the value the talks place on Ms. Redstone’s stake couldn’t be determined.

A deal for Paramount, if it came to fruition, could be a starting gun for a far-reaching reordering of the media industry over the next year. Comcast, the TV and cable giant that owns NBCUniversal, is on the prowl for deals. Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of HBO and CNN, in effect, comes on the market next year because of arcane tax reasons.

Ms. Redstone, 69, who waged a bitter battle with her onetime allies to retain control of the company, now appears to be seriously considering relinquishing it. She has held out for years amid broader headwinds facing the traditional media industry, but is exploring her options now that a serious suitor has expressed interest, two of the people said.

Ms. Redstone’s holdings are facing some economic pressures, including long-term debt obligations and the unreliable advertising market for media companies like Paramount.

Puck earlier reported that Ms. Redstone and Skydance were in talks. Spokespeople for National Amusements, Ms. Redstone and Skydance declined to comment.

A deal for Ms. Redstone’s stake in National Amusements would represent a major changing of the guard in the media business. Paramount has been in the Redstone family for decades, since Ms. Redstone’s father, the bellicose deal maker Sumner Redstone, won the company in a hard-fought bidding war that drew heavyweights including the billionaire Barry Diller.


Paramount, with its bundle of cable channels, a movie studio and its CBS broadcast network, has long been considered an acquisition target. Ms. Redstone began holding conversations about a deal earlier this year with parties including technology firms like Amazon, Apple and Netflix, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The feverish deal making that seems poised to sweep the industry has partly been set off by the slow decline of television. For years, TV companies like Paramount were buoyed by ever-rising payments from cable distributors. But in recent years, the business model of cable TV has begun to collapse as consumers have dropped their cable subscriptions and shifted to streaming services like Netflix, leaving traditional television programmers looking for an exit.

Even streaming, once thought to be a savior of the media business, has begun to show signs of strain. Old-school TV companies like Paramount, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery are pouring billions of dollars into building up streaming services in an attempt to catch Netflix, but none have so far managed to replicate the profits of cable TV.

Ms. Redstone is being advised by BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank founded by Byron Trott, a former Goldman Sachs partner who consults with some of America’s wealthiest and best-connected family business owners. Earlier this year, BDT & MSD Partners said it was taking a $125 million stake in National Amusements that would help the parent company pay down its loan obligations.

At the end of last year, Ms. Redstone owned a controlling stake in National Amusements. In a February filing, Paramount said that National Amusements directly or indirectly owned about 77.4 percent of Paramount’s voting class A common stock.

Founded in 2010 by David Ellison, Skydance has emerged as one of the leading independent studios in Hollywood. It has a longstanding relationship with Paramount, producing hits like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning.”

Skydance is backed by Redbird Capital Partners, a private equity firm that is among the most active in the media industry. Redbird is also backing RedBird IMI, the venture led by the former CNN chief Jeff Zucker that is pursuing a deal for the British newspapers The Telegraph and The Spectator.

Relinquishing Paramount would be a momentous step for Ms. Redstone, who fought to hold onto her family’s control as her father’s mental capacity began to decline. In 2018, CBS — led at the time by Les Moonves — sued Ms. Redstone to strip her control of her media holdings, but Ms. Redstone ultimately prevailed. Mr. Moonves, who faced a series of sexual harassment allegations, was ousted from CBS in 2018. He has denied allegations of nonconsensual sexual relations.

Though the value of Paramount has declined steadily in recent years — matching the broader fortunes of traditional media — investor speculation about a deal for National Amusements caused shares in the company to spike this month. Though its flagship streaming service, Paramount+, continues to lose money, Paramount said earlier this year that it had narrowed its losses for the service while continuing to add subscribers.

Rachel Abrams contributed reporting.

A correction was made on Dec. 10, 2023

An earlier version of this article misstated when Warner Bros. Discovery could, in effect, come on the market. It is next year, not later this year.

Catching up on some of the weekends posts and who would have thought Paramount would be sold? Guess Ms. Redstone is not up for the fight after all.

Post in thread 'DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY'
https://www.disboards.com/threads/dis-shareholders-and-stock-info-only.3881254/post-64977566

Collate a few years worth of quarterly reports and you can make some educated guesses.

 

[HokieRaven5]

What took them so long to figure this out? Lol

Post in thread 'DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY'
https://www.disboards.com/threads/dis-shareholders-and-stock-info-only.3881254/post-65133848

Catching up on some of the weekends posts and who would have thought Paramount would be sold? Guess Ms. Redstone is not up for the fight after all.

Post in thread 'DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY'
https://www.disboards.com/threads/dis-shareholders-and-stock-info-only.3881254/post-64977566

Collate a few years worth of quarterly reports and you can make some educated guesses.

Was gonna ask if you started sharing information with them. Lol

 

[RivShore]

What took them so long to figure this out? Lol

Post in thread 'DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY'
https://www.disboards.com/threads/dis-shareholders-and-stock-info-only.3881254/post-65133848

Amazing call, as usual @clarker99 !! This little thread of ours is always way ahead of the lamestream media (that term is way overused but it really does fit in this case!).

 

[wabbott]

Catching up on some of the weekends posts and who would have thought Paramount would be sold? Guess Ms. Redstone is not up for the fight after all.

Hollywood has always had more than its share of outsized personalities. Looks like this Ellison fellow wants to make a big (bigger?) name for himself. He's for sure got the money to back up his dreams.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ellison

To me, it's a bit surprising that Shari would let it go up for sale after all the heartbreak she went through to get control. I've just ordered the James Stewart book on the Redstone saga.

https://www.amazon.com/Unscripted-Battle-Empire-Redstone-Family/dp/1984879421
Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy
by James B Stewart & Rachel Abrams