Sony & Paramount Sign Non-Disclosure Agreement Allowing Deal Talks To Start

Sony has signed an NDA with Paramount Global, a move that will give it access to the books and allow deal talks to move ahead, sources hears.

Sony and private equity giant Apollo kicked things off previously with a preliminary bid of $26 billion, but what’s being contemplated now is not that, but something narrower. A look at the books is necessary to move forward in any case.

The non-disclosure agreement comes two weeks after a Paramount’s month-long exclusive negotiating window with David Ellison’s Skydance ended with no deal but the indie studio still hanging in, still interested.

After a few weeks passed with no Sony NDA, there’s was speculation its interest was waning as it considered the significant regulatory hurdles, and that’s possibly what’s at play in looking for a different kind of deal.

Sony just wants the studio. Some industry players believe Apollo mostly wants the studio lot as a real estate play. Paramount Global’s CBS broadcast assets might need to be sold off. Sony might not be able to own them under foreign ownership regulations, and may not want to. As things stand, Apollo’s current station holdings would put it over the Congressionally mandated broadcast cap.

Hollywood values the lot and is backing Ellison, although some question the circa $5 billion valuation put on the company as part of a proposed two-step deal. Skydance said its latest capital raise in the fall of 2022 valued it at over $4 billion. A merger of two studios envisioned in a Sony deal is, of course, unpopular with the town that saw downsizing when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox. Combining another two studios also poses a regulatory risk.

Paramount Global shareholders, on the other side, kind of hate the Skydance deal since it leaves the company public with the bulk of proceeds going to Redstone to acquire her controlling stake. Ellison, backed by Larry Ellison and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, sweetened the pot once offering to buy out some shares from common shareholders. It did not appease them and its not sure anything would. It’s also not clear if they have a case to sue as they’ve been threatening legal action from day one. The Skydance deal would keep the company together at least at first and inject fresh capital into highly indebted company. Jeff Shell would step in to run things under David Ellison.

Shareholders loved the Sony-Apollo $26 billion cash offer. It will be interesting to see what they think with that no longer on the table.

Could MultiChoice And Canal+ Continue To Operate Separately After The Acquisition?

During the year, Canal+ had expressed interest in acquiring remaining shares of the DStv parent company, MultiChoice. Initially serving as a minority shareholder with around 6%-8% in 2020 now owns almost half of the pay-tv company in 2024.

As some readers are aware, Canal+ possible takeover of MultiChoice won't be a simple walk in the park. There's various legal procedures which they have to go through particularly with the Competition Commission seeing as Canal+ is a foreign investor.

According to mandate, Canal+ can only have 20% voting rights of the company. If a takeover is to happen, we could be faced with the possibility of MultiChoice losing its status as an official broadcaster in South Africa.

MultiChoice serves as a monopoly in their current field extending their doors to over 50 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. It is home to SuperSport, Africa's biggest player in the sporting industry all of which might be folded under French management.

Canal+ intends to play good sport and abide by whatever condition are set by local legislation. This isn't the first rodeo as they snatched French broadcaster Orange TV film and pay-tv group alongside M7 Group a pay-tv brand based in Europe. 

The intention is to unify MultiChoice with their current operations and better equip it to take on the likes of Netflix and Disney+. MultiChoice's pay-tv dominance had seen declines in recent years particularly in South Africa which puts them at uncertainty. 

If this deal were to move around some guesses here is that Canal+ may be exempted from some properties like M-Net, Mzansi Magic and KykNET. Perhaps those will be structured like Moja Love and SABC News were funding is being splashed to keep it on air.

Other brands like Africa Magic and SuperSport could be under the division of Canal+. Same goes with MultiChoice Studios, although channels like M-Net remain untouched in these matters the content however is all under French management. 

Honestly such scenario wouldn't really seem to far fetched. When Disney had acquired 21st Century Studios this exempted FOX News and the American feed of FOX even Canal+ acquisition of Orange TV this was a subsidiary not the parent company, Orange S.A.

MultiChoice and M-Net could continue to operate independently with less expenses. This new division would probably put more focus on Showmax and select few linear channels with someone appointed to manage these assets while others opt for Canal+.

Development Alert (Rumour): Transformers: Earthspark Reportedly Cancelled On Nickelodeon And Paramount+ After 2 Seasons

Transformers: EarthSpark is an animated television series based on the Transformers toyline by Hasbro. It was developed by Dale Malinowski, Ant Ward and Nicole Dubuc for the streaming service Paramount+ and also Nickelodeon. 

Synopsis for Transformers: Earthspark 

Fifteen years after the space bridge to Cybertron is destroyed, ending the civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, the Malto family relocates from Philadelphia to the small town of Witwicky, Pennsylvania. There, young Robby and Mo Malto witness the birth of a new breed of Earth-born Transformers called Terrans, who become emotionally bonded to the two via special cyber-sleeves on their arms.

The first season premiered on Paramount+ in the United States by November 11, 2022 and was produced by Entertainment One in partnership with Nickelodeon Animation Studio, with animation services provided by Icon Creative Studio.

In February 2023, a second season of Transformers: Earthspark was commissioned by the network which is set to rollout in the United States by June 7, 2024 and elsewhere sometime in the year. 

According to a user named Protoman, this would be the final season with "someone" working on the next iteration to Transformers. Ratings were reportedly low for Transformers: Earthspark which affected toy sales and other merchandising. 

Taking to account availability of Paramount+, this isn't a streaming service available on a wider scale like Netflix but is more like SkyShowcase in Europe - regional. It's broadcast on Nickelodeon channels was atrocious with very little airtime as they were weekly. 

Now the possible cancellation is being cited as low viewership perhaps with proper marketing the show could have expanded wider as Monster High.

Development Alert: SuperScreen Pop-Up Channel To Rollout On The DStv Compact Bouquet To Kick Off The Final Premier League Season

SuperSport viewers will, for the first time ever, be able to view all 10 matches of the final Premier League season on one channel simultaneously thanks to our one-of-a-kind SuperScreen.

The innovative viewing experience is set to add to the thrill of match day 38, the climax of the 2023/24 Premier League season, on Sunday 19 May 2024.

Viewers will miss none of the action from 10 different venues across the UK as Manchester City and Arsenal compete for the Premier League title, while the final Uefa competition places will also be decided as well as the last relegation place.

The SuperScreen, which will be available only in South Africa on DStv Channel 199, will begin with the Premier League build-up that will air at 15:30 on Sunday, ahead of kick-off at 17:00 (all times South African).

SuperSport will also roll out the SuperScreen during the final match day of the DStv Premiership season on Saturday 25 May and the feature will form an integral part of the immersive viewing experience for the Paris Olympic Games starting on 26 July 2024.

Said SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha: “At SuperSport, our goal is to always innovate and to find new ways of enhancing the viewing experiences for our passionate sports fans. To be able to bring all 10 Premier League matches into one channel at the conclusion of yet another exciting season is the stuff that fans dream about.

“The channel will also be crucial for fans who don’t want to miss a moment’s action during the Paris Games. With SuperSport broadcasting every gold medal event live, with eight dedicated channels covering the Olympics, this will no doubt add to what is expected to be a memorable and spectacular event.”

The SuperSport SuperScreen on DStv Channel 199 will be available for DStv Compact, Compat Plus and Premium subscribers in South Africa.

Disney, Fox and WBD Unveil Name of Sports-Streaming Venture: Venu Sports

The joint venture of Disney/ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery to package together a sports streaming bundle has a name — Venu Sports.

“We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV ecosystem can experience an incredible collection of live sports, all in one place,” Pete Distad, CEO of Venu Sports, said in a statement. “As preparations for the platform continue to accelerate, we are singularly focused on delivering a best-in-class product for our target audience, built from the ground up using the latest technologies to engage and entertain discerning sports fans wanting one-stop access to live games.”

Disney, Fox and WBD unveiled their partnership in February, positioning the new streaming bundle as a way to reach consumers who don’t subscribe to pay TV. It’s pegged to debut in the fall of 2024. The trio in March announced the hiring of Distad, who worked for a decade at Apple and most recently was responsible for Apple TV+ business, operations and global distribution. Distad is based out of the Venu Sports offices in L.A.

Pricing and a specific launch date haven’t been announced for Venu, which will combine ESPN+ with the three companies’ linear TV networks that carry sports programming (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews, Fox, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV).

When the joint venture was announced, some had jokingly dubbed it “Spulu,” a mash-up of “sports” and “Hulu,” which had originally been formed as a JV among TV broadcasters.

The venture also launched a new website at venu.com. A notice at the bottom of the landing page says, “Launch is conditional on receiving regulatory approval and is expected for Fall 2024.” The site’s terms of service indicate that it’s operated by “Rookie Enterprises, LLC,” a subsidiary of Fox Corp. In announcing the new name, the three companies also noted that the JV is still pending the “finalization of definitive agreements amongst the parties.”

The Justice Department reportedly has planned to review the three-way venture to look at anticompetitive implications, and last month two leading congressional Democrats expressed concerns that the JV may “result in higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for upstream sports leagues and downstream video distributors.” Meanwhile, streaming TV provider Fubo filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the JV service’s launch, alleging the venture violates antitrust laws. On May 2, Fubo, DirecTV, Dish Network, Newsmax and others sent a letter to members of Congress calling for hearings on the state of competition in the pay-TV market, specifically calling out the Disney-Fox-WBD joint venture as “rais[ing] serious competition concerns that call for Congress’s immediate oversight.”

Venu (pronounced “venue”) will be made available directly to consumers via a new app, the companies said. Subscribers will also have the ability to purchase it in a bundle, including with Disney+, Hulu or Max.

The JV’s new name and brand identity were developed in partnership with R/GA, a global design and advertising firm. According to a spokesperson for the company, the Venu Sports name “takes inspiration from where live sports lives: the stadiums, arenas, speedways, octagons, courts, rinks, ballparks and more, where fans come to watch and connect with the action.”