Comcast Announces Spin-Off of NBCUniversal and Sky
"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.COMCAST SEPARATION:Comcastannounced its intention to separate into two independent publicly traded companies through a tax-free spin-off of NBCUniversal and Sky. Upon completion of the transaction, Comcast shareholders will own shares in both Comcast and NBCUniversal, creating two focused industry leaders, each with significant scale, strong financial profiles and distinct strategic opportunities. Brian L. Roberts will continue to be actively involved in the leadership of Comcast and NBCUniversal, working in partnership with the CEOs of both companies. Mike Cavanagh will be the Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal and Comcast's former Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelakis will become the Chief Executive Officer of Comcast, following completion of the separation and in the interim will join as a Strategic Advisor.The separation is expected to be completed through a tax-free spin-off to Comcast shareholders in approximately one year, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including final approval by Comcast's Board of Directors, receipt of tax opinions, regulatory approvals and completion of financing arrangements. NBCUniversal will have the same dual-class share structure as Comcast. Comcast expects to retain a stake of up to 19.9% ownership position in NBCUniversal for up to one year after the completion of the spin, which it intends to monetize in a tax-efficient manner over time.PARAMOUNT/WARNER BROS.:Britain's culture minister Lisa Nandy, who set a July 6 deadline for the companies to respond, said that the United Kingdom could intervene in Paramount Skydance'sproposed takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, reported Reuters. Nandy is quoted as having stated: "I am mindful of the need to reach a final decision in a timely manner, and I will endeavour to do so as appropriate." Paramount said on Tuesday it was confident the deal did not pose any issues on media plurality and it remained confident in its stated timeline, noted Reuters.Meanwhile, Reuters' Foo Yun Chee reported that Paramount has offered remedies to address EU concerns related to its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount is "confident that this remedy directly and comprehensively addresses any concerns expressed in the European Commission's preliminary assessment and support the path for timely clearance."SEAPORT UPGRADES WARNER BROS.:Seaport Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery to Buy from Neutral with a $31 price target, arguing that the risks to closure of the $31 per share cash acquisition by Paramount Skydance "appear to be waning somewhat." The multinational regulatory approval process seems to be moving as quickly as Paramount telegraphed, with "primarily workable potential conditions," the analyst tells investors.DISNEY+/MALAYSIA:Disney+has struck a content-swapping agreement with an expansion of its deal with Malaysia's Astro, Deadline's Max Goldbart reported. Disney+ content such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Maleficent, Brave, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scrubs and New Girl will head to Astro's platforms including Astro TV, Astro GO and NJOI, while Disney+ in Malaysia gets local titles like Zombi Kampung Pisang, Polis Evo 1 & 2, Ola Bola, Khun:Sa - Che Khun Che Nisa, Takdir Itu Milik Aku, Syurga Itu Bukan Mudah, Travelawak: Projek Bapak Bapak and Didi & Friends, according to the report.ADEIEA/FUBO:Adeiaannounced that its wholly owned subsidiary has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against FuboTVand certain of its subsidiaries in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. In its complaint, Adeia alleges that the Fubo defendants infringe four U.S. patents in Adeia's media intellectual property portfolio. The asserted patents relate to technologies that enable key features of advanced media delivery and streaming experiences used by consumers across a broad range of video platforms. Although Disney is a controlling shareholder of Fubo, Adeia's previously announced settlement and license with Disney is separate and independent from the claims asserted in this lawsuit regarding Fubo's unauthorized use of Adeia's patented technologies. This lawsuit is a distinct matter between Adeia and Fubo.NETFLIX/'PERSONA':Netflixis working on a live-action series based on Sega's"Persona" franchise of video games, Variety's Joe Otterson reported. "Star Trek: Picard" co-executive producer Christopher Monfette is slated to write the adaptation and serve as executive producer and showrunner, while "Deadpool & Wolverine" director Shawn Levy will also executive produce along with Robert Atwood, Dmitri Johhnson, Michhael Lawrence Goldberg, and Timothy Stevenson. Sega's Toru Nakahara will executive produce the project as well, the author notes.STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the space include AMC Networks, Roku, Amazon, and Apple.
