Business of Media
Global media giants Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global in merger talks
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish on Tuesday in New York City to discuss a possible merger, US news site Axios has reported.
Media reporter Sara Fischer said: WBD’s market value was around US$29 billion as of Wednesday, while Paramount’s was just over US$10 billion, so any merger would not be of equals.
A merger would help both companies compete with streaming platforms Netflix and Disney+, reports The Telegraph (republished in The SMH). Both companies’ existing streaming platforms, Paramount+ and Max, have so far struggled to make serious ground against competitors.
Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global are likely to be “worse off” together as a merger will leave them billions deeper in debt and saddled with dying traditional television assets, Wall Street analysts said on Thursday, reports Reuters.
Shares of both companies extended losses after dropping sharply a day earlier on news that their CEOs had met to discuss a potential deal.
The merger would create what analysts said would be the largest movie studio in Hollywood and a streaming business with the third-highest US subscribers. The firms together would also account for up to 40% of total time viewed on traditional TV.
Warner Bros Discovery-Paramount merger impact in Australia
The ramifications of a merger between the two companies could be significant in Australia. The most likely would be the global merger of the streaming platforms Max and Paramount+. Max has not yet launched in Australia, but it was anticipated it could have been a new player in the market here during 2025.
Paramount+ bills itself as Australia’s fastest-growing streaming platform, with Telsyte reporting it had 1.5m subscribers as at June 30, 2023. Back then it ranked equal fifth in terms of most subscribers, sitting alongside Binge.
See also: Telsyte streaming report – Paramount+ fastest growing, Netflix reports first YOY drop
A key ingredient to the Max content library is HBO content. As to the possible launch of Max in Australia, Mediaweek reported earlier this year: “With Foxtel securing HBO content until 2025, there is no prospect of Max launching in Australia before then.”
When asked mid-year by Mediaweek about Max launching locally, managing director and head of studios for Warner Bros Discovery ANZ, Michael Brooks said: “There is no specific timeline for the market launch [of Max] in Australia however it is not in our plans for 2024.”
See also: Warner Bros. Discovery on local production plans and possible Max launch date
A merger of the companies could see Max replace Paramount+, with feature content from the pipelines of both studio groups making it a serious competitor to other bigger local players Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Stan.
If Warner Bros Discovery took control of Network 10 it would mean 10 has access to the local production powerhouse Warner Bros. International Television Productions (WBITP). The production business already has strong links with 10, making The Bachelor, The Masked Singer and Betoota Advocate.
WBITP also has links with Foxtel where it supplies the programs Love Me, The Twelve, FBoy Island and Selling Houses Australia.
Billionaire Richard White spends $11m on Rolling Stone’s local owner
Australia’s wealthiest chief executive, WiseTech billionaire Richard White, has spent $11 million to bankroll the takeover of music publisher The Brag Media, which owns the local licence to mastheads Rolling Stone and Variety, reports Financial Review’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
See also: Luke Girgis sells The Brag Media to ASX-listed Vinyl Group for up to $10m
White, a former musician who used to repair guitars for AC/DC and The Angels, has doubled down on the music industry in the acquisition. He will own more than a third of ASX-listed Vinyl Group by funding its purchase of The Brag. It is his first foray into the world of media.
Diary of a TikTok moderator: ‘We are the people who sweep up the mess’
TikTok says it has more than 40,000 professionals dedicated to keeping the platform safe. Moderators work alongside automated moderation systems, reviewing content in more than 70 languages, reports The Guardian’s Hibaq Firah.
Earlier this year, TikTok invited journalists to its new “transparency and accountability” centre, a move aimed at showing the company wanted to be more open. It says moderators receive training that is thorough and under constant review.
Television
Prime Video caps a big year with big turnout for Nicole Kidman series Expats
Mediaweek yesterday reported on the launch event held in Sydney this week for the new Prime series Expats.
The event bookended a massive year for the Amazon Prime streaming service in Australia.
For the Sydney Expats event, Prime took over three cinemas in the Verona multiplex with star and executive producer Nicole Kidman and screenwriter and executive producer Alice Bell visiting each cinema to introduce the series to guests and taking part in a Q+A with event host Angela Bishop.
On entering each cinema the 300 guests were offered a hamper pack filled with snack food including cheese, crackers, and a selection of fruits.
In addition to the guest list detailed yesterday, taking a lower profile in one of the cinemas was former Sunrise co-host David Koch and his wife Libby. Koch looked fitter than ever away from the rigours of breakfast TV while the chairman of Port Adelaide looked to be enjoying the AFL off-season.
Koch can be seen on-air these days at the streaming business TV channel Ausbiz which he co-founded with Kylie Merritt.
Prime, along with Stan and Paramount+, continue to set the standard on how to launch a TV series.
Best TV of 2023: TV Gold specials see podcast hosts joined by TV Tonight’s David Knox
Every year TV Gold podcast hosts Andrew Mercado and James Manning deliver a year-end episode listing the best TV series of the year.
This week the hosts have released two year-end episodes with details of over 60 great shows worthy of your time.
A special bonus for listeners this year is special guest David Knox, founder and editor-in-chief of TV Tonight.
Best Australian TV
There is a list of over 20 shows on the podcast we all enjoyed including The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Prime), Scrublands (Stan), Bay of Fires (ABC iview) and While the Men Are Away (SBS On Demand).
Best International TV
There is a comprehensive selection of over 40 international dramas, comedies, and documentaries to choose from if you are catching up on the best of 2023. Those series include Stonehouse (Britbox), Beef (Netflix), The Sixth Commandment (Binge), The Long Shadow (Stan) and The Last of Us (Binge).
See also: Mercado on TV – The big list of what to watch over your summer break
Entertainment
Academy unveils shortlists in 10 Oscar categories
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Academy Awards, repots The Hollywood Reporter’s Kimberly Nordyke.
The shortlists were unveiled in the following categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live-action short film, sound and visual effects.
News Brands
Communications minister critical of ABC board process to appoint David Anderson in 2019
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has described an apparent failure to follow proper process when appointing ABC managing director David Anderson in 2019 as “unfortunate” in correspondence with the broadcaster’s chair Ita Buttrose earlier this year, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Calum Jaspan.
Buttrose, whose term as chair will end in March, wrote to Rowland on March 17 to inform her of Anderson’s reappointment, outlining the importance for the broadcaster’s board to remain independent of government in appointing its managing director.
Buzzfeed, Semafor sued by Ozy Media over alleged trade secret theft
Ozy Media has sued digital media company Buzzfeed, startup news outlet Semafor and its founder Ben Smith for allegedly stealing trade secrets from the now-shuttered U.S. media and entertainment company, court records filed on Thursday showed, reports Reuters’ Luc Cohen.
Ozy and its CEO Carlos Watson were themselves criminally charged earlier this year for scheming to defraud investors of tens of millions of dollars by misrepresenting the company’s debts, financial performance and audience size. Both pleaded not guilty.
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Top image: Media brands Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount (Source: Axios)