Insidus

Friday, May 21, 2021

New Series Alert: Till The End Of Time Coming Soon To eExtra

Indian lovers are in a treat next month as eExtra will be welcoming another drama from Sony to the lineup under the name, Till The End Of Time.

Till The End Of Time (Beyhadh) tells the story of Maya who falls in love with Arjun while working on an assignment. But soon, her love for him turns into an obsession, affecting their relationship with each other and their respective family members. Jennifer Winget, Kushal Tandon and Aneri Vajani star as the protagonists.

The first season debuted back in 2016 and lasted a year with a total of 273 episodes each consisting of 20 minutes. During that period the show managed to score 4 wins and 1 nomination.

Till The End Of Time was also dubbed in other languages for Mauritius, Kenya, Tanzania, Iran and Korea.

Now viewers can watch the show in English from Thursday 3 June at 14:55

Heads Up: The Girl Named Feriha S1 and S2 replaces Ice Adonis on the 17th of June on eExtra and e.tv's 23:00 timeslot where Die Wiel Draai is occupying will be used to repeat shows like As Die Skoen Pas and Vierspeel Vuurspel.

Disney Africa Showcase: Here's What You Can Expect On FOX, Disney, ESPN And National Geographic

FOX:
- War Of The Worlds season 2 premieres 24 May
- Marvel's Helstorm premieres 12 July at 8:45pm
Daimon and Ana Helstrom are the son and daughter of a mysterious and powerful serial killer; the siblings have a complicated dynamic as they track down the terrorizing worst of humanity.
- Further seasons of The Resident and Grey's Anatomy

National Geographic (June):
- Storm Rising (new series)
- The Grand African Green Up, Friday 4 at 6pm
The Grand African Green Up tells the story of people across Africa that are restoring their landscapes, from the dry forests of Senegal to the green hills of Kenya.
- Lawless Island season 3, Monday 14 at 7pm
- Impact With Gal Gadot, Sunday 27 at 9pm
National Geographic Presents: IMPACT with Gal Gadot is a short-form documentary series that follows the powerful stories of six women who are making an extraordinary impact on their communities around the world.
- Genius: Aretha, Wednesday 30 at 9pm
Aretha Louise Franklin's relationship with her preacher father C.L. Franklin from a young girl through to adulthood, her marriage to her agent/husband Ted White, as well as her introduction to music producer Jerry Wexler are portrayed.

National Geographic (July):
- Airport Security: Rome season 8, Thursday 15 at 7pm
- Bob Ballard: An Explorer's Life, Wednesday 14 at 7pm

National Geographic Wild (June):
- Kangaroo King, Sky Safari and Wild Australia, Sundays at 6pm
- New season of Alaska Animal Rescue

National Geographic Wild (July)
- New season of The Incredible Dr. Pol
- 9th annual SharkFest
- America's Funniest Home Videos: Animal Edition (new series)

ESPN (June):
- NBA playoffs live
- MLB: Red Sox, Dodgers, Yankees, Mets.
- Australia's National Rugby League (NRL):
3: Dragons/Broncos 11:50
12: Rabbitohs/Knights 9:30
18: Panthers/Roosters 11:55
20: Titans/Sea Eagles 8:05

ESPN (July):
- NBA Finals
- NHL playoffs for new Stanley cup winners
- MLS Atlanta United, LAFC, D.C. United, LA Galaxy to feature in games.
- Australia's National Rugby League

Disney Channel:
- My Magic Is Me premieres 25 May (press release below)
- Movies for June: Kim Possible, Avalon High, Tangled: Before Ever After and Bad Hair Day
- A new live-action movie called SPIN is coming to Disney Channel.
- A new live-action series called Secrets Of The Sulphur Springs is coming to Disney Channel.
- A new Miraculous World Shanghai once-off TV special is coming followed by the fourth season of Miraculous on Disney Channel.

Disney Junior:
- Disney Junior reaches 7 million viewers in South Africa (including 20% of TV kids)
- New season 4 episodes of PJ Masks from 7 to 11 June and 14 to 18 June at 9am
- New episodes of Vampirina from 14 to 18 June at 12:30pm
- New episodes of T.O.T.S from 21 to 25 June at 1pm
- New episodes of The Rocketeer is coming in July followed by Bluey season 2 and Muppet Babies season 3 in August then season 3 of Puppy Dog Pals in October.
- New animated series Chicken Squad airs in September 2021.

Additional info:
- A host of special 9/11 programmes is coming in September, including 9/11: One Day in America.

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DISNEY CHANNEL PREMIERES LOCAL SHORT-FORM CONTENT SERIES

“MY MAGIC IS ME”, THIS AFRICA DAY

Brought to screens in collaboration with FNB, the live-action and animation short series celebrate the diverse and unique stories of young viewers

The Walt Disney Company Africa today announced the premiere of My Magic is Me, a new locally-produced series of live-action and animated short-form content that celebrates every-day kids. Premiering on Africa Day, Tuesday 25 May, the content will play across Disney Channel (DStv, Channel 303) and other channels in the Disney portfolio, as well as on Disney Africa’s social media and digital platforms.

In each of the one-minute live-action short films, viewers will be introduced to one of a group of twelve children from diverse backgrounds, who have been cast as the leads in their own personal story. Each will share what it is that makes them uniquely and extraordinarily them – their interests, their talents, their aspirations, their language, culture, internal and external traits, all creating their own distinctive brand of authentic magic. In addition to these live-action shorts, each child’s story will be further brought to life through a moving original locally-produced animation short that will play across Disney’s social and digital platforms, giving young viewers an opportunity to see their world’s commemorated in true Disney-inspired fashion.

Each episode is themed according to one of Carl Jung’s 12 Brand Archetypes, including the warrior child to the caregiver, creator and mentor. The story begins with each child entering the Disney Story Pod – a magical Afro-futuristic themed space, complete with their own personal touches and decorations, a baobab tree and more. Once settled, each child depicts themselves through artistic drawing at the table of creation as they share their personal story.

Inspired by Disney Channel’s core values of entertaining, informing and inspiring children across the globe, My Magic is Me also aims to strengthen the narrative of self-acceptance and celebration of diversity.

“At Disney we know that stories shape how we see ourselves and everyone around us. We also know that stories are better when the storytellers represent the vast experiences of the people who will hear or see them,” says Evert van der Veer, Vice President, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa. “My Magic is Me is inspired by this ethos and is an opportunity for young viewers to see themselves proudly depicted on screen, and celebrated in a unique way that pays tribute to the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and individuality that make all of them magic.”

My Magic is Me was filmed under the guidance of educational psychologist and play therapist Chery Radley van Staden and is produced in collaboration with Brainbow Conscious Creatives, an African women-owned brand storytelling agency that specialises in creating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) narrative work. Understanding that, in the foundational phase of development, children’s personalities and identities are greatly shaped by their environment and their interaction with family and those around them, the creative teams strove to ensure that not only would children see themselves represented, but also show them that they are valued and accepted as they are.

First National Bank (FNB) has collaborated with The Walt Disney Company Africa to bring My Magic is Me to audiences, as the official sponsor of the short-form content series.

Bonga Sebesho, Head of Sponsorship at FNB says, “FNB is proud to team up with The Walt Disney Company Africa on this fantastic initiative. Our long-term collaboration with Disney, starting with live events, was informed by FNB’s positioning as a family bank and this initiative speaks to children, the heart of families. FNB is firmly committed to the spirit of diversity and encouraging children, in all communities, to be the best they can be.”

My Magic is Me kicks off from Africa Day, Tuesday 25 May on Disney Channel (DStv, Channel 303) and other channels in the Disney portfolio, as well as on Disney Africa’s social media and digital platforms*.

Read Also:

- June on Nicktoons and Nick Jr

- Moja Love Is Launching A NEW CHANNEL On DStv?

- It's official: Star is coming to replace FOX Africa as UK shuts down the channel
- Cartoonito is coming back to viewers in Europe and Africa as WarnerMedia searches for original preschool content
- Is Boomerang officially dead?
- Discovery and WarnerMedia set to merge no details as yet how this will affect their linear channels or streaming services
- Upcoming programs for Paramount+
- HBO Max to rollout in 60 countries
- Cartoon Network is doing live-action again
- New kids programming coming to Cartoon Network

FOX To Close In The UK With Content Moving To Disney+ Due To The Ongoing Expansion Of Star + Press Release Of Asia's Shutdown

FOX To Close Down In The UK

Fox channel is to close in the UK after 17 years as Disney continues to withdraw from traditional television and shift its focus to Disney+ which isn't available in South Africa or the rest of Africa as yet alongside HBO Max, Discovery+ and Paramount+.

Fox will stop broadcasting on Sky and Virgin Media from June 30, with many of its titles making the jump to Star on Disney+. This will include originals such as War Of The Worlds , which is about to enter its second season, and tentpole third-party shows like The Walking Dead.

A Disney spokeswoman said: “On 30th June the FOX channel in the UK will close. Many titles will become available on Star on Disney+ and will be announced in the near future. We appreciate the support of our UK fans and can’t wait to keep sharing the best stories with you.

“Star on Disney+ serves as the home of movies and television from Disney’s creative studios, including Disney Television Studios (20th Television and ABC Signature), FX Productions and 20th Century Studios.”

Star is also available as linear channels in Latin America in place of the FOX branding of which Disney is getting rid off with markets such as Korea finding an alternate brand for FOX that is known as Channel NOW.

To avoid confusion with the Star India channels, Utsav has been the name chosen to replace the branding in Europe with more markets set to follow.

The closure of Fox follows Disney’s decision last June to take Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney Junior off air. National Geographic continues to broadcast in the UK. Disney has also retreated from linear TV in other markets, including Asia.

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Disney To Close 18 Channels In Asia

Continuing to narrow its focus on direct-to-consumer streaming, Disney will be shuttering 18 of its linear TV channels in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong as of October 1.

This latest announcement follows on the heels of similar closures in the UK (2020) and Australia/New Zealand (2019).

Disney will continue to operate Chinese-language channels Star Chinese Channel and Star Chinese Movies, as well as factual nets National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD. But its other 18 linear channels—including all kids offerings in the region (Disney Channel and Disney Junior)—will go dark.

"As part of The Walt Disney Company's global effort to pivot towards a direct-to-consumer first model and further grow our streaming services, the company is consolidating its Media Networks business primarily in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. These efforts will help us align our resources more efficiently and effectively to current and future business needs," Disney said in a statement about shutting down its linear TV channels.

Disney+ recently launched in Indonesia and Singapore, but the SVOD hasn’t rolled out yet in all of the countries where the linear channels are closing. The platform should go live in Hong Kong later this year, but a Malaysian launch that was originally planned for Q1 2021 has been temporarily halted, and there’s no update yet on when it will resume.

New Series Alert Reminders: George Of The Jungle Coming On To eToonz

George of the Jungle is a Canadian-American animated television series. It is a reboot of the 1967 animated series of the same name, using Flash animation and split with 11 minute segments.

The series follows the titular character whose dimwitted but big-hearted "ape man" who lives in the jungle just like the original. He is called upon in each episode to save his inhabitants from various threats. Joining him on his escapades is his best friend Ape, love interest Magnolia and pets Tookie Tookie and Chep.

The series premiered on Teletoon back in 2008 and a year later on Cartoon Network for the first season and returned after an 8 year hiatus with its second season which premiered between 2016 and 2017.

NBCUniversal maintains ownership and distribution rights to the show through DreamWorks Classics which was formerly known as Classic Media.

Season 1 airs Wednesdays at 16:00 from 26 May on eToonz. It is currently airing on DreamWorks Channel through StarTimes (Starsat).

June 2021 On Universal Africa | New Series Alert: Unforgettable | Returning And Continuing Series

UNFORGETTABLE
Season 1 - Channel Premiere
Double bills on Fridays at 8pm from June 11th
Poppy Montgomery stars as former police detective Carrie Wells as US drama Unforgettable comes to Universal TV. Carrie has a rare medical condition that means she can visually remember everything, but the one thing she isn’t able to recall is just what happened on the day her sister was murdered. Haunted by her sister’s death, Carrie reluctantly agrees to join New York’s homicide unit when her ex-boyfriend, Lieutenant Al Burns (Dylan Walsh), asks for her help.

CHICAGO P.D.
Season 5 - Channel Premiere
Double bills on Wednesdays at 8pm from June 16th
Season five of Chicago P.D. arrives on Universal TV this month, with Jason Beghe returning as Detective Sergeant Hank Voight. In the season premiere, a young bystander is shot during a tough operation, and when Chief Lugo reviews the shootout, Halstead becomes a key player in the outcome. The cases continue with a lethal bomb exploding during an annual street festival, before the investigation into the murder of an illegal immigrant runs into problems due to the perception of police among the city's migrant population.

NCIS
Season 16 - Channel Premiere Tuesdays at 8pm
Mark Harmon, Sean Murray and Wilmer Valderrama are back as season 16 of NCIS continues in June. First up this month, the team hunts for an active shooter following a lockdown at a hospital, before they investigate the murder of a Marine Major who was previously believed to have been killed in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. Kasie solves a 30-year-old cold case, but a loophole in the legal system could see the murder suspect freed, and the NCIS team uncovers evidence of a secret government bank account that's helping to fund a network of vigilantes.

LAW & ORDER: SVU
Season 22 - Territory Premiere Wednesdays at 8pm Season finale on June 9th
Season 22 of the award-winning US crime drama comes to a thrilling conclusion in June. Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Kelly Giddish and the rest of New York’s Special Victims Unit have been facing up to COVID-19 in addition to fighting crime, but between lockdowns and quarantine there are always new cases for Captain Olivia Benson and her expert team to crack. Season 22 saw the long- awaiting return of Detective Elliot Stabler (Christoper Meloni), and more explosive surprises are promised as we speed towards this month’s season finale.

NCIS: NEW ORLEANS
Season 5 - Channel Premiere Thursdays at 8pm
Scott Bakula stars as season five of NCIS: New Orleans continues. This month, Special Agent Pride teams up with a social media journalist to investigate the murder of a vigilante, before the team investigates a series of murders linked to a construction company that creates an experimental chemical to strengthen sea walls. When a terrorist with a personal vendetta against Hannah resurfaces, she and her family are put into protective custody, and the team probes the disappearance of a petty officer.

June 2021 On Wild Earth | Leopards | Hyena | Elephants | More

Wild Earth is a 24/7 wildlife channel that brings viewers face to face with the thrill of Africa in real time through LIVE safari shows from five of the best wilderness locations across South Africa.

Sunrise Safari
Start: 6.30 am End: 9.30 am CAT
Start: 4.30am End: 7.30am GMT
Start: 6.30 am End: 9.30 am CET
Start: 12.30am End: 3.30am EST
Sunset Safari
Start: 2.30pm End: 6.30pm CAT
Start: 12.30pm End: 4.30pm GMT
Start: 2.30pm End: 6.30pm CET
Start: 8.30am End: 12.30pm EST

A BRAND NEW LEOPARD CUB
WildEarth has followed a leopard dynasty at DjumaPrivate Game Reserve for over two decades. Generations and generations of these beautifulwild cats have come and gone whilst the LIVE broadcasting has continued. Viewers havewatched countless litters of cubs grow up and become parents themselves. It is always a hugelyexciting moment when one of the expert guides comes across a brand new cub in a den. Recentlya leopardess known as Thalamba who we met when she was just born has become a motherherself. Steve found her brand new cub in a den in April and by June she will be oldenough to face the real world. However, at two months she will still be extremely vulnerable andcould fall prey to many other predators such as hyena or lion. Thalamba will not take the cub huntingas this is too dangerous. Cubs usually get hidden in the thicket under a tree where they waituntil their mother returns and takes them to the kill. The new cub will be very curious and playfulby two months old. She will want to test out her environment by pouncing on blades of grass and climbing on small logs. It will certainly be a treat to see.

IT'S A PREDATOR PLAYGROUND
June is the heart of winter here in Africa and a timeof plenty for the predators. The rain stops in April and does not come back generally until Septemberor even October. June is therefore extremely dry in the bush and as a result the herbivores really struggle. There are small pockets of water across the reserves where animals can drinkbut it means that there are large congregations of animals such as impala, wildebeest,zebra and giraffe all trying to drink from a small area of water. This is of course a predatorsplayground. They know that the general game has to drink at least once a day and so hide in thebush surrounding the waterhole and lie in wait. It is a very dangerous time for the herbivoresbecause they have to drink. They realise that they must never drop their guard.
June will see an increase in general predator actionacross all of the reserves. Prey animals are weak due to lack of water and the cold and as a resultare far more vulnerable. The scavengers such as hyena often come across weak or dying animals that they can easily take down. The bush is filled with the smell of dead carcasses andyou can often see vultures circling above.

ELEPHANTS HEAD TO THE MOPANE FOREST
As the winter months arrive here in Africa, the bushthins out. The leaves fall off many of the tree’s and the herbivores have a tough time. In manyof WildEarths locations the elephants start to move on due to lack of food but at Ngala PrivateGame Reserve they have a mopane forest where the elephants move to in winter
The mopane tree characterizes the landscape for muchof the year with the vibrant, green leaves providing a luscious backdrop for wildlifein the summer and eventually turning from gold through to brown in a kaleidoscope of colours throughoutautumn. The word 'mopane' comes from the Shona language meaning 'butterfly', a nodto the leaf shape that beautifully resembles butterfly wings!
The leaves of the mopane tree are also very nutritious containing lots of protein, phosphorus, calcium and fibre - and are undoubtedly a favouriteof the elephants! In winter, the dry leaves still retain about 40% of the nutrients of the freshleaves, making them a valuable source of nutrition for animals when food is scarce. Surprisingly,these dry leaves are far tastier in the winter months as they contain less tannins, which are very bitter and distasteful chemicals that the tree produces in summer to protect the new leaves from hungry browsers.

HYENA CUBS IN DANGER
The Djuma Clan of Hyena are a group that WildEarthfollows daily on the LIVE shows. Currently all five adult females have cubs that have been bornin the past six months. However as the winter season approaches, the cubs are becoming olderand more curious. It is natural that they will stray further from the den to learn about their environment and of course to play. There are quite a few of them now and so playing is currentlytheir number one priority.
However, whilst cubs play they are not aware of anythingelse and this is when disaster can strike. A young hyena cub is very vulnerable and couldeasily be taken by a lion, leopard or even another hyena from a different clan. This isa worry for Ribbon, the Matriarch and the other mothers in the Clan. As a result in June and July we will see The Djuma Clan move their den a number of times so that predators do not become comfortable with their location.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Boomerang Might Be Getting Discontinued With WarnerMedia EMEA's Increased Investment Towards Preschoolers

In an interview with C21 as mentioned earlier WarnerMedia EMEA is looking to get more original preschool content under Cartoonito but what's baffling about this is some of the details highlighted with regards to Boomerang.

For starters, they referred to Boomerang as a channel which targets children aged 4-7 and that technically is the definitive age for preschoolers.

Another thing was that they're working to get family-oriented shows onto Cartoon Network (again) which is something Boomerang has been doing since it's very existence or until at least last year.

This change out lead to the termination of the channel in the UK and Italy which managed to sustain Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Cartoonito and Boing (Italy).

Boomerang started out as a kids version of TCM with series and stacked up archived content from Hanna Barbera, MGM and Cartoon Network meaning little new content.

TCM is also owned by WarnerMedia and has scrapped internationally with some markets putting up placeholders for the outdated brand. In South Africa, TCM's successor is now the most watched movie channel.

Getting back to Boomerang

In 2015, the channel got a new look and repositioned itself as a family friendly since then the offering has been feeling aimless.

It has a thing going in Africa kind of like Disney XD in Latin America but if we've learnt anything from ESPN Classic, Style Network or Sprout is that change is inevitable.

Even if international markets decided to follow the main counterparts' version of the channel. The problem with that WarnerMedia already has a brand for such instances called Boing.

In the end, the possible termination wouldn't be a bad idea. Most of Boomerang's current programming don't make it through a year or are quickly killed off by the channel on the basis of scheduling and promotion. The most popular aspects of the channel are outdated as opposed to Cartoon Network.

- June 2021 on Nicktoons and Nick Jr
- Adult Swim refreshes with brand-new shows on Showmax
- HBO Max to rollout in 60 countries
- Cartoon Network is doing live-action again
- New kids programming coming to Cartoon Network
- June on Da Vinci Kids

Cartoonito EMEA Revival Officially In The Works As WarnerMedia Eyes Original Preschool Content

WarnerMedia Kids in EMEA is looking for original preschool series, family and female-focused content, and live-action shows aimed at tweens, according to department head Vanessa Brookman.

Speaking to C21, Brookman, who took the helm of WarnerMedia Kids in EMEA late last year, said the division needed to expand the breadth of its offering as it plans for the roll-out of WarnerMedia’s SVoD platform HBO Max in the region.

“Linear networks in the past have been very targeted. [WarnerMedia-owned] Cartoon Network targets 6-11s, Boomerang targets 4-7s, et cetera. But when you’re talking about HBO Max, what we really need is breadth, variety and an expansive range of content so that we can be all things to all kids as much as possible. So we’re looking to expand into genres that we haven’t traditionally focused on,” Brookman said.

A key area on which the company is building is preschool. In countries like the UK, Ireland, Turkey and Italy, and across the Middle East, WarnerMedia has a small preschool offering through its Cartoonito brand, which has a few networks and programming blocks. With Cartoonito soon to launch in the US, WarnerMedia is working to expand the brand’s offering.

“Preschool is a really big example [of a genre on which WarnerMedia hasn’t traditionally focused]. We don’t have a reputation for preschool at the moment so we are looking for originals in the preschool space as we seek to build on our Cartoonito offering in the region,” Brookman said.

On top of that, the company is seeking family and female-focused content, in addition to live-action for tween audiences. “Traditionally, Cartoon Network has probably not been known for its family offering.

But as we move into HBO Max, it’s really crucial that we are devising and developing ideas and content that all of the family can sit down and enjoy together,” Brookman said.

“We’re also looking at our girl audience. Traditionally, we’ve been a very boy-focused network, so we absolutely need to attract and entertain 50% of the kids’ population, which is our girl audience. And then we also definitely need to move into the space of live action; we need to appeal to more tweens.

“The needs of a streaming service mean you have to be broader and mean more to more people, and that’s what we’re working on. So there are huge opportunities for producers and the creative community to do more with us that they wouldn’t ordinarily have been able to do six months ago.

“We’re going to continue to work with the European kids community and we’re really open-minded to hear about any projects that target kids and family audiences, from preschool to tween and from comedy to factual.”

Read Also:

- Boomerang might be discontinued

- Discovery and WarnerMedia set to merge

- June on Nicktoons and Nick Jr

- Adult Swim refreshes with brand-new shows on Showmax
- HBO Max to rollout in 60 countries
- Cartoon Network is doing live-action again
- New kids programming coming to Cartoon Network
- June on Da Vinci Kids

Justice League Vs. Shark Week As AT&T's WarnerMedia And Discovery Are To Merge To Form A New Monopoly

On Monday morning AT&T (T) and Discovery, Inc. (DISCA) announced a deal under which AT&T's WarnerMedia will be spun off and combined with Discovery in a new standalone media company.

The deal, subject to regulatory approval, will combine two treasure troves of content, including the HBO Max and discovery+ streaming services. CNN will be included in the transaction.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav will run the combined business, according to Monday's announcement.

"I think we fit together like a glove," Zaslav said at a virtual press conference.

On one level, the tie-up is a logical way to better compete with Netflix and Disney, the two top streaming players.

On another level, it is also a complex way for AT&T to unwind its 2016 bid for Time Warner, which took effect in 2018, with the assets named WarnerMedia.

The companies said they expect the deal to take effect in mid-2022.

A spin-off will help AT&T prioritize its broadband business and pay down its huge debt load. "AT&T would receive $43 billion (subject to adjustment) in a combination of cash, debt securities, and WarnerMedia's retention of certain debt," Monday's announcement said. Zaslav said Monday the new company will start with $55 billion in debt.

AT&T's shareholders would get the majority of the shares in the combined company, at 71%, while Discovery's shareholders would get 29%.

Shares of AT&T were up more than 3% pre-market, while shares of Discovery were up 16%. Prominent Wall Street analysts had been predicting, and in some cases encouraging, this type of move.

Earlier this year AT&T struck a deal to carve out its satellite business DirecTV at a significant loss from the 2015 purchase price.

And another telecom giant, Verizon, threw in the towel on its content efforts as well, agreeing to sell Yahoo and AOL for $5 billion.

Of course, the media world looks very different today than it did just a few years ago. Investors are more laser-focused on streaming with each passing year.

"We are now in a world where relevance and future success will be tied to greater scale and growth globally," AT&T CEO John Stankey said in a memo to WarnerMedia staffers. "To be one of the best global media companies requires not only broad and deep creative assets, but an investor base and access to capital to make it happen. The decision to combine WarnerMedia with Discovery is rooted in this conclusion."

Bloomberg News broke the news of the impending deal on Sunday. Zaslav and Stankey indicated Monday that the pairing had been in the works for months.

Discovery's nonfiction-focused streaming service launched in January, utilizing a library of shows from channels like TLC and Animal Planet. At the time, Zaslav told CNN that discovery+ was a "great complement to someone who has Disney or Netflix, or HBO, Disney and Netflix."

When CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans asked how many streaming services Americans would end up having, Zaslav said, "I think people will have three or four."

Zaslav also emphasized Discovery's global reach. HBO Max, currently available in the US, is about to make an international push. Stankey said the combination will support HBO Max's global growth "and create efficiencies which can be re-invested in producing more great content to give consumers what they want."

Zaslav said Discovery and Warner currently spend a total of $20 billion a year on content. Netflix plans to spend at least $17 billion on content this year.

"Executives from both companies" will be in "key leadership roles," according to the press release.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar was not mentioned in the announcement, but Zaslav signaled that Kilar may remain with the company. "Jason is a fantastic talent," Zaslav said.

Zaslav also affirmed the independence of CNN's newsroom. He said he commits to "the greatest editorial integrity" for CNN and intends to fund CNN's streaming service plans.

Zaslav, a longtime friend of CNN Worldwide chief Jeff Zucker, said at the press conference, "We love CNN...We think one of the true differentiators of the future is live news, live sports."

- June on TLC and Real Time
- June on Discovery Channel and Discovery Family