Hearst achieved record revenue and profit in 2013, and recorded its fourth consecutive year of revenue and profit growth since the recession of 2008–2009.

Strong year-over-year performances came from our cable networks, A+E Networks and ESPN; Fitch Ratings; healthcare businesses First Databank and MCG, formerly Milliman Care Guidelines, acquired last December; and the newspaper group. Our U.S. magazines grew profit in 2013, and our television stations exceeded expectations and are poised for a strong 2014 with the return of the Olympics and congressional and gubernatorial elections. Our ventures team scored a very strong return on its investment in digital marketing company HootSuite.

Hearst’s outstanding performance reflects the quality of what our talented colleagues create every day for the screen and the page, and the strong and innovative partnerships we forge with our clients around the world. Our profit achievement also reflects the hard work of so many who constantly look for more efficient ways to do business without compromising the quality of what we offer customers.

Our business mix continues to evolve. Today, roughly 60 percent of our revenue comes from sources other than advertising revenue, including carriage fees for our cable networks and television stations, business-to-business and consumer subscription revenues, and marketing services fees. More than 20 percent of our revenue is derived from outside the U.S.
On June 1, our executive vice chairman, Frank Bennack, ended his second tour of duty as our chief executive. A few weeks later, he and I spoke with our chairman, Will Hearst, and the rest of our board members about the fundamental principles of Frank’s highly successful 30-year run and how they form the basis of the company’s future growth strategy.

We boiled them down to four, not necessarily in order of importance:
I. Continue Remaking Our Business Mix for Growth
II. Strengthen Our Core Portfolio
III. Become a More Digital Company
IV. Secure and Retain Top Talent
I’m going to discuss each of these in the context of what we accomplished in 2013 and what we will continue to do in the years ahead.

I. Continue Remaking Our Business Mix for Growth
A hallmark of Frank’s tenure has been the continued allocation of capital to the sectors of the media and information landscape that have offered the best prospects for growth. While this is of course harder than it sounds, we are confident that there are two areas where we have shown particular skill and where the underlying growth prospects are quite strong: business media and entertainment.

Hearst Business Media, led by Rich Malloch, was active in 2013. In December, we announced the acquisition of 85 percent of Homecare Homebase, a leader in the field of providing software, data and analytics to the fast-growing homecare and hospice industries. Homecare Homebase, founded and led by CEO April Anthony, becomes the fourth significant company in the Hearst healthcare portfolio, along with First Databank, Zynx Health and MCG. In its first full year under our ownership, MCG, led by President and CEO Jon Shreve, outperformed our optimistic expectations and finished the year with profits up more than 25 percent. First Databank acquired Design Clinicals, a company that helps hospitals reconcile the drugs a new patient is already taking with those the hospital seeks to prescribe. Under President and CEO Paul Taylor, our 50 percent–owned Fitch Ratings business acquired 7city Learning, a financial services industry training company based in London that we’ve renamed Fitch Learning. Meanwhile, our two principal automotive businesses kept their amazing profit-growth streaks alive: For National Auto Research/Black Book, headed by Tom Cross, it was its 22nd straight year of profit growth and for Motor Information Systems, under Kevin Carr, its 20th straight year.
At our cable networks, A+E
Networks announced that it will turn its BIO channel into a new lifestyle channel called FYI, bringing A+E’s singular reputation for creativity to such lifestyle subjects as food, home and travel. ESPN, led by President John Skipper, announced the creation of a new cable channel with the hugely successful SEC sports conference, featuring such powerhouse college sports teams as Alabama, Auburn and Missouri. And ESPN has secured exclusive coverage of the US Open starting in 2015, further enhancing its continuing coverage of the four major professional tennis tournaments.
Our partnership with prolific television producer Mark Burnett, ONE THREE MEDIA, also had a great 2013 on the strength of its productions The Voice on NBC and Shark Tank on ABC, as well as the success of VIMBY, a 50 percent–owned ONE THREE venture that makes commercial video for key partner companies such as Wal-Mart. Mark and his wife, Roma Downey, also partnered with us to produce HISTORY’s hugely successful series The Bible.

II. Strengthen Our Core Portfolio
We continue to invest in our longtime franchise businesses of local television, magazines and newspapers. We supported our highly successful Omaha television station KETV by acquiring the iconic downtown train station in Omaha and beginning the process of turning it into KETV’s new home. We also became the first TV station group to partner with its network to launch TV Everywhere streaming applications when we announced our partnership with Disney’s ABC network in May.
Our magazine group under David Carey launched an ambitious upgrade of all our Web and mobile products, beginning with leaders Cosmopolitan.com and ELLE.com, that will be fully unveiled in early 2014. Cosmopolitan continued to develop its branded products with the announcement of a conference business in partnership with the William Morris Endeavor agency. And Seventeen announced an exciting partnership in the fast growing world of streaming video by teaming with Dreamworks’ AwesomenessTV venture on a new streaming network for the teen market.
And Hearst Newspapers President Mark Aldam’s investment in the group’s LocalEdge suite of digital marketing services products for small business customers around the country continues to bear fruit as the initiative turned solidly profitable in 2013 with revenue more than doubling. More than 40 other media entities have also signed on to sell the LocalEdge product suite in their markets, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, New York Daily News and Newsday. And LocalEdge just signed its first international customer, Australia’s Fairfax newspaper group.

III. Become a More Digital Company
To truly succeed we can’t just offer our customers digital products; we have to become a more digital company in the way we operate our businesses every day. Under the leadership of Chief Technology Officer Phil Wiser, we launched an audience exchange to connect, for the first time, our clients to the more than 100 million unique users who visit Hearst digital products every month. We created Digital Studios to allow for fast prototyping, building and testing of new digital products. We introduced a new video platform that allows any of our journalists around the world to shoot and edit on their mobile phones. And we convened hackathons in our New York headquarters for our fashion magazine brands and on the campus of the University of Michigan for our automotive brands.

IV. Secure and Retain Top Talent
We are dedicated to developing and promoting our key talent from within the organization wherever possible. But as the world changes at such a rapid pace, it is also incumbent upon us to reach out to new sources of talent to gain new perspectives and new skills. We executed on both of those efforts in 2013.
Beginning with internal promotions, David Barrett completed at year-end an outstanding 15-year run as CEO of Hearst Television and handed over leadership to his deputy, Jordan Wertlieb, president, and himself a 20-year veteran of the group. David will remain very active as a Hearst trustee and board member. Mike Hayes, general manager at our Pittsburgh station, WTAE-TV, came to New York as an SVP and group head.

At our A+E Networks, CEO Abbe Raven became chairman after eight incredibly strong years as CEO and having run the A&E, HISTORY and BIO channels prior to becoming CEO in 2005. Nancy Dubuc, a 15-year veteran of A+E, became CEO. Nancy also named four people as general managers of our principal networks: David McKillop at A&E, Dirk Hoogstra at HISTORY, Rob Sharenow at Lifetime and Jana Bennett at the forthcoming FYI and Lifetime Movie Network.

New leadership at our Entertainment & Syndication group also came from within, as the deputy in that group, George Kliavkoff, partnered with the company’s chief creative officer, Neeraj Khemlani, himself a former deputy head of E&S, to become new co-presidents.

Dr. Greg Dorn, a 14-year veteran of our medical businesses, became executive vice president and deputy group head of Hearst Business Media, with primary responsibility for our healthcare businesses under Rich Malloch. Two top executives at our First Databank became executive vice presidents there, Bob Katter and Chuck Tuchinda.
We also successfully went outside of the company for top talent. Hearst Magazines remade its digital leadership team with three major new hires: Troy Young, former president of Say Media, as president of digital; Todd Haskell, former head of digital advertising at The New York Times, as head of digital advertising; and Mike Smith, former president of Forbes.com, to lead our innovation efforts marrying technology and advertising sales.

Private equity executive Jeff Johnson, a former publisher of the Los Angeles Times, became publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Nancy Barnes, who led the Minneapolis Star Tribune to a Pulitzer Prize last year, became editor of the Houston Chronicle. Mike DeLuca, a Groupon sales leader, became president of LocalEdge.

Dr. Justin Graham, formerly chief medical information officer at NorthBay Healthcare in California, became head of innovation for our healthcare operations, and David Vogler left digital ad agency The Wonderfactory to become executive creative director of Hearst Digital Studios.

All our operating groups benefit from the great support provided by our corporate teams: finance, led by Chief Financial Officer Mitch Scherzer; legal, led by Chief Legal and Development Officer Jim Asher and General Counsel Eve Burton; and communications, headed by Chief Communications Officer Debra Shriver.

We head into 2014 with a great deal of optimism due in no small measure to the innovation and dedication each of you show to Hearst each day. On behalf of our chairman, Will Hearst, and executive vice chairman, Frank Bennack, I want to thank you for all you do to make this the great company that we are all so fortunate to serve.

This Press Release is courtesy of Hearst.com

2 November 2017 – Justice must be done for the murder of journalists, who perform important functions in taking forward fundamental freedoms and bolstering the strength of societies, a senior United Nations official said Thursday, marking the International Day to end impunity for crimes against them.

“Justice is a cornerstone of a free society. It dissuades those who threaten freedom of expression and emboldens those who stand to defend it,” said Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in her message for the International Day, observed annually on 2 November.

The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013.

“This is why injustice against journalists is so costly for all societies,” she added.

From 2006 to 2016, at least 930 journalists were killed. In 2016 alone, some 102 journalists were killed in the line of duty. Worryingly, more than nine out of 10 cases, the perpetrators are never brought to justice.

“We must ensure justice is done for every journalist killed,” she declared.

Journalists must be defended through concerted action by Governments, supported by the UN, working with all relevant actors, from international regional organizations, judiciaries and media to private companies, academia and civil society.

This partnership for action was embodied UNESCO’s recent Multi-Stakeholder Consultation, held in Geneva to strengthen implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

On Wednesday in Geneva, two UN experts warned that the world is witnessing a “downward spiral of attacks” on journalists, spurred on by hate speech even from senior politicians.

Speaking on the eve of International Day, the Special Rapporteurs on arbitrary, summary and extrajudicial executions, Agnes Callamard, and on freedom of expression, David Kaye, said that when authorities fail to follow up such attacks with independent and impartial investigations, the killers and their allies achieve their objectives.

The attacks need to stop, so too does the public demonization of reporting and specific media outlets and reporters by political leaders at the highest levels, they added.

New York, NY, – December 15, 2016 – Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (“21st Century Fox”) today announced that it has reached agreement with Sky plc (“Sky”) on the terms of a recommended pre-conditional cash offer by 21st Century Fox for the fully diluted share capital of Sky which 21st Century Fox and its affiliates do not already own (the “Acquisition”).

Under the terms of the Acquisition, Sky shareholders will be entitled to receive for each Sky share £10.75 in cash.

The price of £10.75 per Sky share represents:

• a premium of approximately 40 per cent. to the closing price of £7.69 per Sky share on December 6, 2016, being the last business day before the date on which an initial proposal was received from 21st Century Fox by Sky;

• a premium of approximately 36 per cent. to the closing price of £7.90 per Sky share on December 8, 2016, being the last business day before the start of the offer period; and

• a multiple of approximately 11.4 times Sky’s adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £2,178 million for the twelve month period ended June 30, 2016.

21st Century Fox currently anticipates that the Acquisition will complete before the end of 2017. Under the terms of the Acquisition, if the Effective Date (as defined in the UK Announcement) has not occurred on or before December 31, 2017, Sky shareholders shall be entitled to receive a special dividend of 10 pence per Sky share, payable in 2018.

The price of £10.75 per Sky share shall be reduced to the extent that:

• the dividend in respect of the six months ending December 31, 2017 exceeds 13.06 pence per Sky share; and

• the dividend in respect of the year ending June 30, 2018 exceeds 21.8 pence per Sky share.

Sky will not pay any dividends in 2017.

The Cash Consideration implies a value of approximately £11.7 billion ($14.8 billion based upon an exchange rate of USD:GBP 1.27) for the fully diluted ordinary share capital of Sky (excluding the Sky shares already owned by 21st Century Fox and its affiliates).

The independent committee of Sky intends to recommend unanimously that unaffiliated Sky shareholders vote in favour of the Acquisition.

Commenting on the Acquisition, 21st Century Fox said:

“As the founding shareholder of Sky, we are proud to have participated in its growth and development. The strategic rationale for this combination is clear. It creates a global leader in content creation and distribution, enhances our sports and entertainment scale, and gives us unique and leading direct-to-consumer capabilities and technologies. It adds the strength of the Sky brand to our portfolio, including the Fox, National Geographic and Star brands.”

“Sky is a creative, commercial, and consumer powerhouse delivering its own content to customers across all platforms. Sky is the #1 PayTV brand in all its key markets, with an exciting growth runway in each. The enhanced capabilities of the combined company will be underpinned by a more geographically diverse and stable revenue base. It will also create an improved balance between subscription, affiliate fee, advertising and content revenues. This combination creates an agile organization that is equipped to better succeed in a global market.”

The Acquisition is subject to a number of pre-conditions and conditions as set forth in the UK Announcement released today in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the UK City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, including the receipt of regulatory approvals and the approval of Sky’s shareholders.

This announcement should be read in conjunction with the full announcement, which includes additional information about the terms of the Acquisition, the Co-operation Agreement and the Bridge Credit Agreement described below, which was issued in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the UK City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, and which can be found on our website at https://www.21cf.com/investor-relations/possible-offer-sky-plc (the “UK Announcement”).

21st Century Fox entered into the Co-operation Agreement with Sky pursuant to which 21st Century Fox and Sky agreed to take certain steps to facilitate completion of the Acquisition. The Co-operation Agreement provides for a £200 million break fee payable by 21st Century Fox in the event that regulatory approvals are not obtained prior to the longstop date described in the agreement.

To provide financing in connection with the Acquisition, 21st Century Fox and its 100% owned subsidiary 21st Century Fox America, Inc. entered into a Bridge Credit Agreement with Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners. The Bridge Credit Agreement provides for borrowings of up to £12.2 billion.

About 21st Century Fox
21st Century Fox is the world’s premier portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets spanning six continents across the globe. Reaching more than 1.8 billion subscribers in approximately 50 local languages every day, 21st Century Fox is home to a global portfolio of cable and broadcasting networks and properties, including FOX, FX, FXX, FXM, FS1, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FOX Sports, Fox Sports Network, National Geographic Channels, STAR India, 28 local television stations in the U.S. and more than 300 international channels; film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film; and television production studios Twentieth Century Fox Television and a 50 per cent. ownership interest in Endemol Shine Group. The Company also holds approximately 39.1 per cent. of the issued shares of Sky, Europe’s leading entertainment company, which serves 22 million customers across five countries. For more information about 21st Century Fox, please visit www.21CF.com.

About Sky
Sky is Europe’s leading entertainment company. As at 30 June 2016, Sky served approximately 22 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland.

Sky has annual revenues of approximately £12 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £5 billion. Sky employs more than 30,000 people as at 30 June 2016 and supports an estimated 130,000 jobs across Europe.

The majority of Sky’s revenue is derived from retailing pay television services both in the home and on the move. In the UK and Ireland, Sky also offers customers broadband and telephony products, including internet via DSL, fibre and WiFi, and has recently established a mobile offering. Sky retails TV services to commercial customers and operates adjacent businesses which include wholesaling Sky’s channels to other providers and selling advertising on Sky’s own and partner channels. Sky also sells both Sky originated television programmes and third party television programmes internationally through ‘Sky Vision’.

New York, NY – The Board of 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA, FOX) today announced a series of senior management changes, which will take effect July 1,
2015.

Rupert Murdoch, the Company’s founder and Chairman and CEO, together with Lachlan Murdoch, currently Co-Chairman, will become Executive Co-Chairmen. Chase Carey, the Company’s Deputy Chairman, President and COO since 2009, will become the Executive Vice Chairman and serve in that role through June 30, 2016. James Murdoch, currently Co-Chief Operating Officer, will become Chief Executive Officer.

In conjunction with these changes, the Company’s corporate functions, and its global television and film operations will now jointly report to Lachlan and James Murdoch.
Rupert Murdoch said: “It has always been our priority to ensure stable, long term leadership for the Company, and these appointments achieve that goal. Lachlan and James are each talented and accomplished executives and together, we, as shareholders and partners, will strive to take our company to new levels of growth and opportunity at a time of dynamic change in our industry.”

He added: “I can’t thank Chase Carey enough for his friendship, counsel and leadership over the past decades. He will be actively engaged in supporting Lachlan and James as they step in to their new roles.” Chase Carey said: “I am grateful to Rupert for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime and truly believe there isn’t a Company out there that’s more exciting, with more growth potential, than 21st Century Fox. I look forward to continuing to work with Rupert to support Lachlan and James in their new positions.”

Lachlan Murdoch and James Murdoch, in a joint statement, said: “We are both humbled by the opportunity to lead, with our father and the talented team of executives at 21st Century Fox, this extraordinary company. We are grateful to Chase for being the leader and partner that he has been, and we are both delighted that his wisdom and sure handedness will continue to serve 21st Century Fox. We are also grateful to the Board for providing us the opportunity to lead this great company.”

“Most importantly, we each look forward to working with the entire team of creators, executives, artists and all of our colleagues that make up our global businesses, to steer the Company into the future, and to drive continued value for our shareholders.”

Rod Eddington, Lead Director, 21st Century Fox, said: “The Board has long been focused on succession and we’re fortunate to have two very talented executives in Lachlan and James to take this Company into the future. Working in tandem with Rupert, we’re confident their partnership and stewardship will give this business real momentum for many years to come. We are also deeply grateful to Chase Carey for his many years of exceptional leadership and his agreement to continue his contributions through his new position.”

EXECUTIVE BIOGRAPHIES
LACHLAN MURDOCH
Lachlan Murdoch is currently Co-Chairman, a position he has held since March 2014. Effective July 1, 2015, Mr. Murdoch, 43, will serve as Executive Co-Chairman of 21st
Century Fox. Mr. Murdoch has spent the past two decades building, operating and investing in many of the world’s most prominent television and publishing businesses, and also currently serves as Co-Chairman of News Corp, Executive Chairman of NOVA Entertainment and Executive Chairman of Illyria Pty Ltd. He is a Director of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art and a Trustee of the Commando Welfare Trust. Mr. Murdoch previously served as NonExecutive Chairman of Ten Network Holdings.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Murdoch has served as Co-Chairman of 21st Century Fox beginning in March 2014 and has served the Company as a member of the Board of
Directors since 1996, as well as in a number of senior executive roles from 1994-2005. From 2000 – 2005, Mr. Murdoch served as Deputy Chief Operating Officer of 21st Century Fox (previously known as News Corporation), a role in which he was directly responsible for the Company’s U.S. television stations group and publishing assets.

As part of his duties as Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Murdoch was Chairman of Fox Television Stations (FTS) and Publisher of the New York Post, and also oversaw
HarperCollins and the Company’s lines of business in Australia, including REA, Australia’s leading online real estate business.

He led the Company’s purchase of a controlling stake in REA, which began with an approximate $1 million cash investment and resulted in a corporate asset that is currently valued at more than $3 billion.

At FTS, Mr. Murdoch oversaw the Company’s 35 owned-and-operated television stations, where he raised the bar on local news coverage across the nation, increasing the total number of local news hours across the group to more than 850 per week.

At the New York Post, he overhauled the tabloid and grew its circulation by more than 40 percent. During his tenure, the Post became the nation’s fastest-growing newspaper and the seventh largest in the United States. In 2005, Mr. Murdoch founded Illyria Pty, a successful private investment company. In 2009, Illyria acquired 50 percent of DMG Radio, a network of radio stations, which later expanded to include pay television assets and was renamed NOVA Entertainment. After Mr. Murdoch became its Chairman in 2009, NOVA grew exponentially, nearly doubling in value during the first three years of his tenure, while its EBITDA rose more than threefold from $16M in 2009 to $52M in 2014. In 2012, Illyria purchased the remaining 50 percent and, under Mr. Murdoch’s leadership, NOVA Entertainment became Australia’s leading network of FM stations. Mr. Murdoch holds a B.A. from Princeton University.

JAMES MURDOCH
James Murdoch is currently Co-Chief Operating Officer of 21st Century Fox, and will serve as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer effective July 1, 2015. Mr. Murdoch, 42, has held a succession of leadership roles over his nearly two-decade career with the Company, culminating in his appointment to CEO. Over that period, he has
been a key driver of the Company’s domestic and international expansion, having most recently served as Co-Chief Operating Officer, and previously as Chairman and CEO for
Europe and Asia, as well as Chairman of BSkyB, Sky Deutschland, and Sky Italia, the businesses that now comprise the pan-European Sky group. His significant operational
experience also includes tenures as CEO of both BSkyB and STAR, India’s number one entertainment broadcaster.

As 21st Century Fox’s Co-Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Murdoch had a broad purview across the Company’s global portfolio of businesses, and direct responsibility for its cable and broadcasting networks and properties, which reach more than 1.8 billion subscribers every day. From 2011 to 2014 he served as Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chairman and CEO, International, and prior to that, Chairman and CEO, Europe and Asia since 2007.

Mr. Murdoch has played an integral role in a number of strategic transactions, including the separation of the former News Corp into two distinct Companies, the combination of the Endemol Shine Group joint venture, the acquisition of the YES Network, and, through the creation of Sky Deutschland and the combination of Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia and BSkyB, the creation of the European entertainment leader Sky plc.

During his tenure as BSkyB’s Chief Executive Officer (of which 21st Century Fox owns 39.1%) from 2003 to 2007, and its Chairman from 2007 until 2012, the Company
experienced transformative growth, amassing more than 10 million subscribers, and created a full-service residential media and telecommunications company.
Mr. Murdoch led 21st Century Fox’s partial acquisition of the former Premiere AG and from that the creation of Sky Deutschland, which was valued at €6.6 Billion upon its combination with BSkyB and Sky Italia in 2014. In addition, he led the restructuring of the Company’s European and Asian businesses between 2008 and 2010, including the separation of its Asian satellite television group, STAR, into India and ex-India operations, and the sale of the company’s Russian and Eastern European media holdings.
Mr. Murdoch became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of STAR in 2000 and led the company’s turnaround and by 2003, the company established itself as the premier content and broadcasting company in India, South Asia and Taiwan. Prior to joining STAR, Mr. Murdoch held a variety of corporate roles at News Corporation between the time he joined the Company in 1996 and 2000, primarily focused on digital businesses.

Before joining the Company, Mr. Murdoch co-founded and chaired Rawkus Entertainment, a seminal Hip Hop independent based in lower Manhattan. Mr. Murdoch serves as a board member of 21st Century Fox and Sky, and of News Corp. In addition, he is a non-executive director of Yankee Global Enterprises, Vice Media, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Lampoon and the Ghetto Film School.

He and his wife Kathryn founded their family foundation, Quadrivium, in 2014. Quadrivium supports a variety of initiatives involving natural resources, science, civic life, childhood health, and equal opportunity.

About 21st Century Fox
21st Century Fox is the world’s premier portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets spanning six continents across the globe. Reaching more than 1.8 billion subscribers in approximately 50 local languages every day, 21st Century Fox is home to a global portfolio of cable and broadcasting networks and properties, including FOX, FX, FXX, FXM, FS1, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FOX Sports, Fox Sports Network, National Geographic Channels, STAR India, 28 local television stations in the U.S. and more than 300 channels that comprise Fox International Channels; film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film; and television production studios Twentieth Century Fox Television and a 50% ownership interest in Endemol Shine Group. The Company also holds a 39.1% ownership interest in Sky, Europe’s leading
entertainment company, which serves 21 million customers across five countries. For more information about 21st Century Fox, please visit www.21CF.com.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today applauded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Netflix v. Babin unanimously affirming the district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction barring any further Texas state prosecution of Netflix over the film Cuties.

The Court held that sufficient evidence supported the district court’s finding that the District Attorney prosecuted Netflix in bad faith, writing “While states certainly have a legitimate interest in the enforcement of their criminal laws, they have no such interest when the enforcement of those laws is carried out in bad faith. ‘With respect to the interests of the State,’ we have said, ‘it by definition does not have any legitimate interest in pursuing a bad faith prosecution brought to retaliate for or deter the exercise of constitutionally protected rights.’”

The Court further held that “The balance of equities . . . favors Netflix. It has an obvious interest in the continued exercise of its First Amendment rights, and the State has no legitimate interest in a bad-faith prosecution.”

In June of this year AAP joined a broad coalition of representatives of public policy organizations, movie studios, Texas Broadcasters, newspapers, reporters, publishers, authors, and photographers in filing an amicus brief in support of free speech in the Fifth Circuit on behalf of Plaintiff-Appellee Netflix.

The brief raised critical free speech issues implicated by this case, highlighting the importance of addressing bad-faith prosecutions and vindicating First Amendment rights in federal court in a timely fashion; and the unconstitutional chilling effects of such criminal prosecutions on all speakers.

AAP’s amicus brief can be found here: https://publishers.org/news/public-policy-organizations-movie-studios-texas-broadcasters-newspapers-reporters-publishers-authors-and-photographers-file-amicus-brief-in-netflix-case-in-support-of-free-speech/

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 18, 2021 /CNW/ – The Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) is pleased to announce the launch of the Accenture Editorial Fellowship on the Future of the Public Service. The fellow, acclaimed journalist Kathryn May, will write for the IRPP’s award-winning digital magazine Policy Options.

The two-year journalism fellowship is generously sponsored by Accenture and will provide in-depth and independent coverage of the complex social, economic and technological challenges and opportunities that Canadian public servants are navigating today. These include the transition to digital government; post-pandemic shifts in workplace norms; the pursuit of equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization; and the modernization of hiring and training.

“This editorial fellowship will fill an important gap in Canadian journalism and provide valuable insights for decision-makers. There are more than 300,000 people inside the federal public service, and Kathryn will be taking a close look at the pivotal work they’re doing to prepare our country for a host of emerging policy issues,” says Les Perreaux, editor-in-chief of Policy Options.

Kathryn May covered the federal public service for 25 years for the Ottawa Citizen and iPolitics, and as a contributor to the National Observer, Policy Options and others. She won a 2007 National Newspaper Award for her work.

Accenture’s established federal public service practice in Ottawa helps organizations build trust by leveraging advanced technologies to transform services for Canadians. From scaling cloud adoption and managing data, to building cyber resilience and reimagining the back office, Accenture helps government organizations accelerate their digital transformation with fresh thinking and innovative solutions.

“We are thrilled to support independent Canadian journalism in a subject area that is critical to the transformation of public services and the shaping of public policy,” says Mark Lambert, managing director and federal public service lead at Accenture. “Now more than ever, public service organizations must balance stability with speed to meet citizens’ expectations. Kathryn’s expert coverage will bring much needed attention to their challenges and achievements as they strive to become innovative, agile and embrace accelerating change.”

About the IRPP and Policy Options
Founded in 1972, the Institute for Research on Public Policy is an independent, national, bilingual, not-for-profit organization. The IRPP seeks to improve public policy in Canada by generating research, providing insight and informing debate on current and emerging policy issues facing Canadians and their governments. Policy Options is the award-winning digital magazine of the IRPP, publishing daily on issues of public policy from a variety of perspectives.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of advanced technology and intelligent operations centres. Our 624,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit www.accenture.com.

SOURCE Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP)

CONTACT: or interview requests, please contact Cléa Desjardins, 514-245-2139, cdesjardins@irpp.org or Susan Kirwin, 416-641-514, susan.kirwin@accenture.com

SEATTLE– (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Today, Amazon Publishing and Alloy Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Television Group, announced a digital-first imprint that will focus on young adult, new adult and commercial fiction. The new imprint, named Alloy Entertainment, will be part of Amazon Publishing’s Powered by Amazon program. Powered by Amazon enables publishers and authors to leverage Amazon’s global distribution and personalized, targeted marketing reach.

Today also marks the publication date for the imprint’s first three titles:

Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand, which follows Ven, the clone of a wealthy, 18-year-old named Raven. Imitations like Ven only leave the lab when their Authentics need them—to replace the dead, be an organ donor, or in Ven’s case, serve as bait when Raven’s life is threatened. It is Ven’s job to draw out Raven’s assailants, but she must decide if she is prepared to sacrifice herself for a girl she has never met.
Every Ugly Word by Aimee Salter, a coming-of-age story about a teenager named Ashley who sees her 23-year-old self when she looks in the mirror. Her older self has been through it all before, and helps Ashley survive torment from high school bullies, unrequited love for her best friend and a volatile relationship with her mom. But her older self also carries the scars of a terrible and imminent event in Ashley’s life that she’s powerless to stop.
Rebel Wing by Tracy Banghart, a sci-fi fantasy adventure set in the war-torn Dominion of Atalanta. For Aris, the fighting is worlds away from the safety of her seaside town until her boyfriend Calix is drafted into the military. When Aris herself is recruited to become a pilot for an elite search-and-rescue unit, she leaps at the chance, hoping to be reunited with Calix. But what starts as a mission driven by love turns into one of duty as Aris becomes a true soldier determined to save her Dominion…or die trying.
Alloy Entertainment acquired the books based on the unique voices of the authors and originality of the stories. The company worked closely with each of the writers throughout the publishing process in an effort to gain the widest possible readership. The books will be published under the Alloy Entertainment publishing banner, which currently includes more than 75 New York Times bestsellers.

“One of our strengths is working with talented authors to create and develop properties that have mass entertainment appeal,” said Leslie Morgenstein, President of Alloy Entertainment. “This program is an exciting extension of our business and will allow us to leverage Amazon’s ability to distribute to an incredibly diverse and broad readership.”

“Rebel Wing is the book of my heart. It’s a story I felt compelled to tell, both from the perspective of an Army wife and as someone who believes you can never have enough strong female characters in the world,” said author Tracy Banghart. “Being given the opportunity to work with the incredibly talented folks at Alloy to make it the best version of itself was an exciting and affirming process, and knowing that its distribution will be handled by Amazon—a company that has already made so much possible for me as an indie author—is pretty much the definition of win-win as far as I’m concerned.”

“Alloy has a tremendous track record developing stories, like Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries, that our customers love,” said Jeff Belle, Vice President of Amazon Publishing. “We’re thrilled to promote these books from Alloy Entertainment with our Powered by Amazon program. It’s a great fit.”

Authors who publish with Alloy Entertainment’s new digital-first imprint receive an advance and royalties paid on a monthly basis. Alloy Entertainment will also look for opportunities to develop acquired titles as television series, feature films, and digital entertainment.

About Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment, a division of the Warner Bros. Television Group, develops and produces original novels, television series and feature films. More than 75 of AE’s books have been on The New York Times bestseller list, including The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Luxe, Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, and The 100. AE has successfully adapted several of its properties into hit television shows for broadcast across multiple networks, including The CW, ABC, ABC Family and Nickelodeon. Current Alloy Entertainment television series include Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals and The 100. AE feature films include Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 & 2, Sex Drive and The Clique, with several additional projects currently in development including Sisterhood Everlasting, The Merciless and The Brokenhearted.

About Amazon.com
Amazon opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by three principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

CHICAGO and NEW YORK, Tribune Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Tribune Media (NYSE: TRCO), and Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) today announced that they have reached a comprehensive agreement on carriage and retransmission consent. The agreement enables Altice USA to continue carrying Tribune local televisions stations across the country and provides for carriage of Tribune’s cable entertainment network WGN America. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) is home to a diverse portfolio of television and digital properties driven by quality news, entertainment and sports programming. Tribune Media is comprised of Tribune Broadcasting’s 42 owned or operated local television stations reaching approximately 50 million households, national entertainment cable network WGN America, whose reach is more than 77 million households, and a variety of digital applications and websites commanding 54 million monthly unique visitors online. Tribune Media also includes Chicago’s WGN-AM and the national multicast networks Antenna TV and THIS TV. Additionally, the Company owns and manages a significant number of real estate properties across the U.S. and holds a variety of investments, including a 31% interest in Television Food Network, G.P., which operates Food Network and Cooking Channel. For more information please visit www.tribunemedia.com.

ALTICE USA (NYSE: ATUS) is one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, delivering broadband, pay television, telephony services, Wi-Fi hotspot access, proprietary content, and advertising services to approximately 4.9 million residential and business customers across 21 states through its Optimum and Suddenlink brands. For more information please visit www.alticeusa.com.

NEW YORK – From a nail-biter World Series matchup and breathtaking Summer Olympics Games to some of the highest-rated political debates in history, 2016 provided no shortage of must-watch television. To provide insights about consumer television viewing activity Altice USA has released its first Altice USA Data Flash Review, which analyzed 2016 viewing trends of its Optimum TV customers. Altice USA Data Flash Reviews leverage the company’s Total Audience Data platform from approximately 11 million Optimum and Suddenlink household set-top boxes across a
nationwide footprint*. Privacy is of utmost importance to the company, and our census-level tuning data is maintained on an aggregated, anonymous and protected basis and individual viewing information is not shared.

Altice USA is the fourth largest cable company in the U.S. and provides Optimum and Suddenlink-branded high-speed data, television and voice products and services across 20 states. It is a subsidiary of Altice N.V. (Euronext: ATC, ATCB), a leading global telecommunications, media and entertainment company.

“Optimum customers love watching television and live tune-in continues to be the most popular way they choose to access their favorite content,” said Paul Haddad, Global Chief Data Officer for Altice. “We have also seen customers take advantage of options to watch programming on their own terms, with viewing up substantially on our DVR platform.

With deep insights into the viewing trends of our Optimum customers, Altice USA is able to constantly innovate and prioritize new features and services that align with consumers’ preferences and demands.”

In 2016, Optimum TV subscribers throughout the New York tri-state area were once again heavy live TV viewers, with households tuning in more than eight hours per day while also spending over an hour daily viewing time-shifted content, with DVR being the most preferred tuning mode.

• Overall in 2016, the most popular ways to watch TV included live viewing with 91.9% of viewing, DVR representing 4.9% and VOD comprising 2.7%.
• Compared to 2015, DVR-based viewing by Optimum customers rose more than 9 percent to an average of 1 hour and 47 minutes per day, representing the most popular time-shifted or on-demand viewing method.
• Hours spent viewing VOD content remained unchanged at just over 90 minutes per day.
Additional interesting trends and shifts relative to 2015 live TV viewing patterns were uncovered:
• News programming tune-in increased more than 4% over 2015, with viewership of political-focused programming increasing by 88% over last year.
• Hours spent tuned to sports programming fell 4% compared to 2015.

“Altice USA brings deep experience in industry-leading utilization of customer viewing data that helps our programming and brand partners more effectively and efficiently reach the right audiences in the right places,” said Haddad. “As viewing habits continue to evolve across the platforms Altice USA remains committed to supporting advanced ad delivery capabilities that meet changing campaign objectives.”

About Altice USA
Altice USA, a subsidiary of Altice Group (Euronext: ATC, ATCB), is the fourth largest cable operator in the United States, delivering residential and business services to 4.6 million customers across 20 states. Providing high-quality products that keep customers connected, Altice USA (through its Optimum, Lightpath and Suddenlink brands) offers digital cable television, high-speed Internet, voice, WiFi and advertising services. To meet our customers’ content and information needs, the company through News 12 also offers hyper-local news and programming created specifically for the
communities we serve in the tri-state area. For more information, visit www.alticeusa.com.

LUXEMBOURG– (NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon and leading Italian bookstore chain Giunti announced an exclusive agreement to launch an innovative bookstore model, blending digital and physical reading together, and offering Giunti customers access to a wide selection of Amazon products. Italian customers will be able to discover and buy Kindle e-readers in 170 Giunti al Punto bookstores by the end of the summer. Giunti booksellers will help readers find print or digital books they want that are most suitable for their literary tastes.

Starting today through December 31, 2014, Giunti al Punto customers will receive five free Kindle books of their choice, from the Giunti catalog when they buy any Kindle e-reader at the Giunti al Punto bookstores.

Later this year and with the support of Amazon, Giunti al Punto bookstores will open an online shop where its customers will have access to a vast selection of books, physical media products and toys available on Amazon.it. Customers of the Giunti online shop will benefit from a great customer experience from Amazon logistics, delivery and customer service. Moreover, for every purchase on the new Giunti online shop, customers will also earn Giunti points, which can be converted into vouchers and spent in the Giunti al Punto physical bookstores.

“Giunti, with its centenary history, and its bookstore chain, among Italy’s best known and loved, continue to innovate on behalf of its customers,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “Amazon and Giunti share the same core values: customer obsession and a passion for reading. With its 170 bookstores, Giunti is the ideal partner for Amazon to help Italian readers discover the benefits of digital reading.”

“The Giunti-Amazon agreement represents a milestone to advance the bookstore experience for our customers and promote reading in Italy, in any possible format,” said Martino Montanarini, Giunti CEO. “The Kindle ecosystem is truly appreciated by customers all over the world, thanks to this agreement, we can make the largest possible selection of books, digital innovation and eBooks available to our customers, adding the Italian Kindle Store and the Giunti online shop to the traditional Giunti al Punto offer.”

The Amazon.it Kindle Store offers more than 2.5 million books, including one of the largest selections of books in Italian—with over 75,000 titles, including free classics and thousands of books for less than € 1.99. Amazon also has agreements with Waterstones, the UK’s largest brick and mortar bookseller, and independent bookstores in the US.

Giunti al Punto bookstores
With 170 bookstores extensively distributed throughout the Italian territory, Giunti al Punto is the #1 Italian bookstore chain in terms of directly operated stores. Giunti al Punto stores have a size ranging between 100 to 1000 square meters and carry a wide selection. Bookstores are conveniently located in historic city centers, shopping malls, airports and outlets.

About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Amazon Fire TV is a tiny box that plugs into your HDTV for easy and instant access to Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, SHOWTIME, low-cost video rentals, and much more. Kindle Paperwhite is the world’s best-selling and most advanced e-reader. It features new display technology with higher contrast, the next generation built-in light, a faster processor, the latest touch technology, and exclusive new features designed from the ground up for readers. Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, features improved fonts and faster page turns. The new Kindle Fire HDX features a stunning exclusive 7” or 8.9” HDX display, a quad-core 2.2 GHz processor, 2x more memory, and 11 hours of battery life, as well as exclusive new features of Fire OS 3.0 including X-Ray for Music, Second Screen, Prime Instant Video downloads, and the revolutionary new Mayday button. The all-new Kindle Fire HD includes an HD display, high-performance processor and dual speakers at a breakthrough price.

NEW YORK – American Media, LLC today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with James Cohen, the owner and CEO of Hudson Media, for the sale of its newsprint tabloids, including the National Enquirer (US and UK editions), Globe and National Examiner. The agreement also includes a multi-year service contract that will generate substantial fees for American Media to provide publishing, financial and distribution services for the tabloid brands.

“The sale of these brands shows their vitality in today’s newsstand marketplace where they continue to generate nearly $30 million in profit annually,” said American Media President and CEO David J. Pecker. “James and his team at Hudson have a proven history in publishing and have the market-based knowledge and long-term vision needed to ensure the growth of these brands.”

“Year after year, the Enquirer has continued to be one of the best-selling and most profitable newsstand titles,” said James Cohen. “But this transaction is about more than a weekly publication, it’s about a brand with extraordinary potential across multiple platforms.”

Mr. Cohen said he plans to accelerate the Enquirer’s current collaborations with Investigation Discovery, as well as the documentary shows it produces for REELZ. In addition, he sees exponential growth and engagement through weekly series podcasts from the tabloid’s archives. The recent 12-part audio documentary podcast, “Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood,” quickly became the #2 program among all Apple podcasts worldwide with 4+ million downloads in 2018. Expanding the National Enquirer theme parks that recently opened in Branson, Missouri and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to other markets is another priority.

The result of this transaction is a significant deleveraging for American Media, leaving the company with only $355 million of debt. Interest expense will be reduced by $13 million per year, which will enhance the company’s free cash flow and allow American Media to continue to deleverage.

The agreement between the companies is expected to close as soon as possible once the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained.

About American Media, LLC
American Media, LLC owns and operates the leading print and digital celebrity and active lifestyle media brands in the United States. American Media’s titles include Us Weekly, Star, OK!, In Touch, Life & Style, Closer, Men’s Journal, Muscle & Fitness, Powder, Snowboarder, Surfer, Bike, Mr. Olympia Contest, National Enquirer and other celebrity and teen titles. American Media also manages nineteen different digital sites including Usmagazine.com, OKmagazine.com, RadarOnline.com, Intouchweekly.com, Lifeandstylemag.com, Closerweekly.com, MensJournal.com, MuscleandFitness.com, Powder.com, Surfer.com and other digital and social properties. American Media’s magazines have a combined total circulation of 5.7+ million and reach approximately 49.4 million men and women each month. American Media’s digital properties reach approximately 65 million unique visitors monthly.

SYDNEY —Apple® today announced iTunes Radio™ is now available to music fans in Australia. iTunes Radio is a free Internet radio service featuring over 100 stations and an incredible catalog of music from the iTunes Store®, combined with features only iTunes® can deliver. When you tune into iTunes Radio on your iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac®, PC or Apple TV®, you’ll have access to stations inspired by the music you already listen to, Featured Stations curated by Apple and genre-focused stations that are personalized just for you. iTunes Radio evolves based on the music you play and download. The more you use iTunes Radio and iTunes, the more it knows what you like to listen to and the more personalized your experience becomes. iTunes Radio also gives you access to exclusive “First Play” premieres from top selling artists, plus the ability to tag or buy anything you hear with just one click.

iTunes Radio offers music fans access to thousands of new songs every week, as well as serving up exclusive music from new and popular artists before you hear them anywhere else. Whether it’s an exclusive single from an up-and-coming band or a pre-release stream of an entire album, iTunes Radio has it all. iTunes Radio is home to special events including live streams direct from the iTunes Festival in London and other exclusive iTunes Sessions.

iTunes Radio is ad-supported and free for everyone. iTunes Match® users get iTunes Radio ad-free, so instead of hearing the occasional ad on iTunes Radio, iTunes Match makes your listening completely ad-free. With iTunes Match, all your music—even songs you’ve imported from CDs—are stored in iCloud®. iTunes Radio can use information about your entire music collection to make your stations even more personalized. iTunes Match costs AU$34.99 for a year.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.apple.com

CUPERTINO, California— Apple® today updated Final Cut Pro® X, Motion and Compressor with new features for motion graphics and key enhancements to accelerate video editing, packaging and delivery. Final Cut Pro 10.2 introduces stunning 3D titles that are easy to use, improved masking for color grading and effects, and native support for more camera formats, as well as GPU-accelerated RED RAW processing. Motion 5.2 extends the power of 3D titles with the ability to create custom materials and environments and instantly publish them to Final Cut Pro X. Compressor 4.2 makes it easy to package a movie for sale on the iTunes Store®.

“From Hollywood blockbuster directors to first time movie makers, Final Cut Pro X is changing the way we edit movies today,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The updated Final Cut Pro X, Motion and Compressor make it even easier to edit, title and package everything from short videos to feature-length films.”

“We loved using Final Cut Pro X to edit Focus,” said Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, co-directors of the 2015 feature film, Focus. “We created the final theatrical titles for the movie right in Final Cut Pro, and the new 3D titling and effects features will let us take in-app graphics even further. We’re using the new Final Cut Pro on our next feature film.”

Final Cut Pro 10.2 lets video editors create gorgeous 3D titles with drag-and-drop ease and ships with simple templates to get started quickly, as well as cinematic templates with built-in backgrounds and animations. Users can choose from a set of text styles to customize the look of their titles with hundreds of combinations of materials, lighting and edges, and instantly convert 2D titles to 3D and see changes in real time. Final Cut Pro 10.2 also lets editors view up to four video scopes simultaneously, for more precision when color grading, and includes improved Shape masks on any effect that can be saved as presets for quick access later. In addition, Final Cut Pro 10.2 natively supports even more video formats, including Panasonic AVC-Ultra and Sony XAVC-S, and makes working with RED RAW files faster than ever with GPU-accelerated transcoding, playback and rendering—including support for dual GPUs on Mac Pro®.

Video editors and motion graphics professionals can take advantage of Motion 5.2, which offers even more options for 3D titles. The app now lets users create dynamic titles with multiple lights and cameras, as well as multilayered scenes with 3D titles that cast ultra-realistic shadows and reflections on other objects. Dozens of third-party partners offer even more options for beautiful 3D titles, and hundreds of new 3D templates are coming soon from developers including Ripple Training, motionVFX and FxFactory—all of which work seamlessly in the new versions of Motion and Final Cut Pro. Motion also includes 12 new generator effects, improved keyframing and enhanced controls for mask and shape creation.

Compressor 4.2 makes it easier than ever to prepare a movie for sale on the iTunes Store. Simply choose the movie, trailer, closed captions, and more, and Compressor creates an iTunes Store Package, which users can submit to an iTunes Delivery Partner for sale on the store. Compressor also delivers key performance improvements for encoding tasks, including fast GPU rendering when using Send to Compressor and hardware-accelerated multi-pass H.264 encoding on compatible systems.

Pricing & Availability
Final Cut Pro 10.2, Motion 5.2 and Compressor 4.2 are available today from the Mac® App Store℠ for $299.99 (US), $49.99 (US), and $49.99 (US), respectively to new users, or as a free update for existing customers.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Mountain View, CA and Washington, DC; – The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and Google today announced a settlement agreement that will provide access to publishers’ in-copyright books and journals digitized by Google for its Google Library Project. The dismissal of the lawsuit will end seven years of litigation.

The agreement settles a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Google on October 19, 2005 by five AAP member publishers. As the settlement is between the parties to the litigation, the court is not required to approve its terms.

The settlement acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright-holders. US publishers can choose to make available or choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project. Those deciding not to remove their works will have the option to receive a digital copy for their use.

Apart from the settlement, US publishers can continue to make individual agreements with Google for use of their other digitally-scanned works.

“We are pleased that this settlement addresses the issues that led to the litigation,” said Tom Allen, President and CEO, AAP. “It shows that digital services can provide innovative means to discover content while still respecting the rights of copyright-holders.”

“Google is a company that puts innovation front and center with all that it does,” said David Drummond, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer, Google. “By putting this litigation with the publishers behind us, we can stay focused on our core mission and work to increase the number of books available to educate, excite and entertain our users via Google Play.”

Google Books allows users to browse up to 20% of books and then purchase digital versions through Google Play. Under the agreement, books scanned by Google in the Library Project can now be included by publishers.

Further terms of the agreement are confidential.

This settlement does not affect Google’s current litigation with the Authors Guild or otherwise address the underlying questions in that suit.

The publisher plaintiffs are The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.; Pearson Education, Inc. and Penguin Group (USA) Inc., both part of Pearson; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; and Simon & Schuster, Inc. part of CBS Corporation.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.google.com

DALLAS and NEW YORK CITY, — AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire Time Warner in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $107.50 per share. The agreement has been approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both companies.

The deal combines Time Warner’s vast library of content and ability to create new premium content that connects with audiences around the world, with AT&T’s extensive customer relationships, world’s largest pay TV subscriber base and leading scale in TV, mobile and broadband distribution.

“This is a perfect match of two companies with complementary strengths who can bring a fresh approach to how the media and communications industry works for customers, content creators, distributors and advertisers,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “Premium content always wins. It has been true on the big screen, the TV screen and now it’s proving true on the mobile screen. We’ll have the world’s best premium content with the networks to deliver it to every screen. A big customer pain point is paying for content once but not being able to access it on any device, anywhere. Our goal is to solve that. We intend to give customers unmatched choice, quality, value and experiences that will define the future of media and communications.

“With great content, you can build truly differentiated video services, whether it’s traditional TV, OTT or mobile. Our TV, mobile and broadband distribution and direct customer relationships provide unique insights from which we can offer addressable advertising and better tailor content,” Stephenson said. “It’s an integrated approach and we believe it’s the model that wins over time.

“Time Warner’s leadership, creative talent and content are second to none. Combine that with 100 million plus customers who subscribe to our TV, mobile and broadband services – and you have something really special,” said Stephenson. “It’s a great fit, and it creates immediate and long-term value for our shareholders.”

Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said, “This is a great day for Time Warner and its shareholders. Combining with AT&T dramatically accelerates our ability to deliver our great brands and premium content to consumers on a multiplatform basis and to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities created by the growing demand for video content. That’s been one of our most important strategic priorities and we’re already making great progress — both in partnership with our distributors, and on our own by connecting directly with consumers. Joining forces with AT&T will allow us to innovate even more quickly and create more value for consumers along with all our distribution and marketing partners, and allow us to build on a track record of creative and financial excellence that is second to none in our industry. In fact, when we announce our 3Q earnings, we will report revenue and operating income growth at each of our divisions, as well as double-digit earnings growth.
Bewkes continued, “This is a natural fit between two companies with great legacies of innovation that have shaped the modern media and communications landscape, and my senior management team and I are looking forward to working closely with Randall and our new colleagues as we begin to capture the tremendous opportunities this creates to make our content even more powerful, engaging and valuable for global audiences.”

Time Warner is a global leader in media and entertainment with a great portfolio of content creation and aggregation, plus iconic brands across video programming and TV/film production. Each of Time Warner’s three divisions is an industry leader: HBO, which consists of domestic premium pay television and streaming services (HBO Now, HBO Go), as well as international premium & basic pay television and streaming services; Warner Bros. Entertainment, which consists of television, feature film, home video and videogame production and distribution. Warner Bros. film franchises include Harry Potter & DC Comics, and its produced TV series include Big Bang Theory and Gotham; Turner consists of U.S. and international basic cable networks, including TNT, TBS, CNN and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. Also, Turner has the rights to the NBA, March Madness and MLB. Time Warner also has invested in OTT and digital media properties such as Hulu, Bleacher Report, CNN.com and Fandango.

Customer Benefits

The new company will deliver what customers want — enhanced access to premium content on all their devices, new choices for mobile and streaming video services and a stronger competitive alternative to cable TV companies.

With a mobile network that covers more than 315 million people in the United States, the combined company will strive to become the first U.S. mobile provider to compete nationwide with cable companies in the provision of bundled mobile broadband and video. It will disrupt the traditional entertainment model and push the boundaries on mobile content availability for the benefit of customers. And it will deliver more innovation with new forms of original content built for mobile and social, which builds on Time Warner’s HBO Now and the upcoming launch of AT&T’s OTT offering DIRECTV NOW.

Owning content will help AT&T innovate on new advertising options, which, combined with subscriptions, will help pay for the cost of content creation. This two-sided business model — advertising- and subscription-based — gives customers the largest amount of premium content at the best value.

Summary Terms of Transaction
Time Warner shareholders will receive $107.50 per share under the terms of the merger, comprised of $53.75 per share in cash and $53.75 per share in AT&T stock. The stock portion will be subject to a collar such that Time Warner shareholders will receive 1.437 AT&T shares if AT&T’s average stock price is below $37.411 at closing and 1.3 AT&T shares if AT&T’s average stock price is above $41.349 at closing.

This purchase price implies a total equity value of $85.4 billion and a total transaction value of
$108.7 billion, including Time Warner’s net debt. Post-transaction, Time Warner shareholders will own between 14.4% and 15.7% of AT&T shares on a fully-diluted basis based on the number of AT&T shares outstanding today.

The cash portion of the purchase price will be financed with new debt and cash on AT&T’s balance sheet. AT&T has an 18-month commitment for an unsecured bridge term facility for $40 billion.

Transaction Will Result in Significant Financial Benefits

AT&T expects the deal to be accretive in the first year after close on both an adjusted EPS and free cash flow per share basis.

AT&T expects $1 billion in annual run rate cost synergies within 3 years of the deal closing. The expected cost synergies are primarily driven by corporate and procurement expenditures. In addition, over time, AT&T expects to achieve incremental revenue opportunities that neither company could obtain on a standalone basis.

Given the structure of this transaction, which includes AT&T stock consideration as part of the deal, AT&T expects to continue to maintain a strong balance sheet following the transaction close and is committed to maintaining strong investment-grade credit metrics.

By the end of the first year after close, AT&T expects net debt to adjusted EBITDA to be in the 2.5x range.

Additionally, AT&T expects the deal to improve its dividend coverage and enhance its revenue and earnings growth profile.

Time Warner provides AT&T with significant diversification benefits:
Diversified revenue mix — Time Warner will represent about 15% of the combined company’s revenues, offering diversification from content and from outside the United States, including Latin America, where Time Warner owns a majority stake in HBO Latin America, an OTT service available in 24 countries, and AT&T is the leading pay TV distributor.
Lower capital intensity — Time Warner’s business requires little in capital expenditures, which helps balance the higher capital intensity of AT&T’s existing business.
Regulation — Time Warner’s business is lightly regulated compared to much of AT&T’s existing operations.
The merger is subject to approval by Time Warner Inc. shareholders and review by the U.S. Department of Justice. AT&T and Time Warner are currently determining which FCC licenses, if any, will be transferred to AT&T in connection with the transaction. To the extent that one or more licenses are to be transferred, those transfers are subject to FCC review. The transaction is expected to close before year-end 2017.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, mobile, high-speed Internet and voice services. We’re the world’s largest provider of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. We offer the best global coverage of any U.S. mobile provider*. And we help businesses worldwide serve their customers better with our mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.

About Time Warner Inc.
Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) is a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in television networks and film and TV entertainment, uses its industry-leading operating scale and brands to create, package and deliver high-quality content worldwide on a multi-platform basis.

BET Networks, a unit of Viacom Media Networks (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), and Tyler Perry Studios today unveiled a new joint venture to launch BET+, a premier subscription video-on-demand service focused on the African American audience. Available to consumers this fall, BET+ will feature more than 1,000 hours of premium content including exclusive new original programming and fan-favorite series, movies, and specials from BET Networks, world-renowned creator Tyler Perry, and a host of leading African American content creators.

BET+, the new online streaming service, will launch with more than 1,000 hours of premium content including beloved hit movies and TV shows, new exclusive originals, and recent seasons of current shows from top black creators and talent.

“African Americans are the leading consumers of streaming services, with higher SVOD adoption rates than other consumers, which is why we’re so excited to launch a premium product for this underserved audience. BET+ is a natural extension of BET’s linear network, which has been the leading home of black culture for decades. Our curated catalog and original programming will keep the BET+ content offering fresh, fueling subscriber growth, viewership and retention,” said Scott Mills, President of BET Networks. “Tyler Perry is the perfect partner for BET+. The combination of new, original shows and his giant library of popular movies, series and stage plays that Tyler brings to our joint venture creates an amazing product for his large and passionate fan base.”

“In our industry, the way people consume content is constantly evolving. I’ve paid attention to my audience and what works for them and, for that reason, I’m very excited not only about the idea of partnering with BET to create new and exciting content, but also about the idea of giving people a personalized experience through the ability to curate the content they love to consume. On a personal level, this will also be the first time I’ll be working in areas like unscripted and variety television, which will afford me the opportunity to work in fresh, creative ways with new voices and to discover new talent,” said Tyler Perry.

BET+ will offer consumers a comprehensive collection of premier African American-focused dramas, sitcoms, films and specials in the streaming universe. Itwill be the official home of Tyler Perry’s collected works across film, television and the stage. The service will feature Tyler Perry’s box office-topping theatrical films, including films from the “Madea” series; original series “House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns” and a selection of Perry’s stage plays.

In addition, the first BET+ original — “First Wives Club,” a new 10 episode scripted drama from acclaimed “Girls Trip” screenwriter Tracy Oliver — will debut on the service in the fall. The modern television remake of the classic 1996 revenge comedy starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton now stars an all-star African American cast including Jill Scott (“Why Did I Get Married”), Ryan Michelle Bathe(“This is Us,” “Empire”) and Michelle Buteau (“Isn’t It Romantic”). “First Wives Club” kicks off BET+’s slate of exclusive original programming that includes the premiere of a new series from blockbuster hit-maker Will Packer(“Ride Along,” “Think Like a Man”) and new original series from Tyler Perry and more.

The service will also feature a deep library of beloved series, films, and documentaries from BET Networks and the Viacom portfolio — including “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” “The New Edition Story,” “The Quad,” “College Hill,” “Comic View,” “Hell Date,” and more — most of which have not previously been available on streaming platforms.

BET+ will be available at launch on Android devices such as Samsung Galaxy, iOS devices such as the Apple iPad and iPhone, as well as other streaming devices.

BET’s new and current-window programming will continue to be available on BET’s linear network, including the newly-announced Tyler Perry original drama, “The Oval,” which will debut on BET as the first series under Perry’s multi-year content partnership with the network. With over 75 hours of new original content slated to premiere on BET over the next year, Perry’s line-up will also include another drama series, two comedy series, and a live holiday-themed production. BET fans will have additional access points to BET content on BET.com and the BET Now app for TV Everywhere users.

In addition, BET’s recently launched channel on Pluto TV, the leading free streaming television service in the U.S., will continue to feature hundreds of hours of classic films and box office hits from the best of black Hollywood.

For more information on BET+ visit bet.com/betplus.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation’s leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in nearly 85 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER (formerly CENTRIC), a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American woman; BET Music Networks – BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET Networks around the globe.

ABOUT TYLER PERRY STUDIOS
Tyler Perry Studios is a state-of-the art film and television production facility founded in 2006 by actor, producer, filmmaker, playwright and philanthropist Tyler Perry. Located in Atlanta, Georgia on the historic grounds of the former Fort McPherson army base, the new 330-acre campus is one of the largest production studios in the country. It boasts a variety of shooting locations including 40 buildings on the national register of historic places, 11 purpose-built sound stages, 200 acres of green space and an expansive backlot.

ABOUT VIACOM
Viacom creates entertainment experiences that drive conversation and culture around the world. Through television, film, digital media, live events, merchandise and solutions, our brands connect with diverse, young and young at heart audiences in more than 180 countries.

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, BrightRoll announced the availability of Yahoo Audience Ads on the BrightRoll Demand Side Platform (DSP). Advertisers running programmatic campaigns with BrightRoll will now have access to exclusive Yahoo audience data to target consumers across all addressable video supply, on and off Yahoo owned and operated (O&O) inventory.

Yahoo’s deep insights into consumer behavior and interest data from more than one billion users globally, as well as Yahoo Search and Mail data, translates into unique targeting capabilities. Audience and demographic targeting segments from Yahoo Audience Ads help advertisers efficiently reach precise audiences and avoid wasted ad spend. This data, combined with Yahoo and BrightRoll’s industry leading reach, enable advertisers to get their message in front of the audiences they care about most without compromising scale.

“Video is a core focus for Yahoo, and since the acquisition, we’ve been focused on accelerating innovation to bring even greater value to advertisers,” said Tod Sacerdoti, BrightRoll founder and CEO. “We recognized an early opportunity to integrate Yahoo’s unique data assets into the BrightRoll DSP, and this truly is a game changer. Only a handful of companies in the world have the ability to reach audiences at this scale with this level of consumer insight, however, no other company makes their data available for targeting outside their walled garden of O&O properties.”

Together, Yahoo and BrightRoll are driving higher ROI for advertisers by delivering more reach, superior targeting, and exclusive access to engaging video inventory across thousands of sites and mobile applications. Benefits to advertisers include:

Superior demographic and audience targeting capabilities: Exclusive consumer and registration data on over one billion unique users across all major demo and interest categories, available via the BrightRoll DSP.
Industry-leading scale in digital video: BrightRoll’s DSP reaches 99 percent of US online video viewers and gives advertisers billions of opportunities per day to put their message in front of their target customers.
More opportunities to reach precise audiences: Access to more than 60 billion monthly impressions across devices enables advertisers to reach consumers with the right message at the right time.
Social lift: Monitors the impact of video campaigns based on social media conversations so advertisers can identify trends and take action to amplify their message in real-time.
Validate your audience: Yahoo audience data paired with BrightRoll’s always-on integrations with comScore and Nielsen help advertisers ensure their message is seen by the right target audience in real-time.
Drive higher ROI: Get your message in front of more of your in-target audiences and access real-time performance insights via the BrightRoll DSP.

About BrightRoll
BrightRoll builds software that automates and improves digital video advertising globally. The company offers the industry’s leading programmatic video solutions, including a demand side platform and marketplace. These solutions help advertisers, publishers and partners grow their business and connect with consumers on web, mobile and TV. A division of Yahoo, BrightRoll powers digital video advertising for 87 of the top 100 Ad Age advertisers, 41 of the top 50 publishers, and more than 100 technology partners. For more on BrightRoll visit brightroll.com.

NEW YORK – CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS.A, CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), two of the world’s leading entertainment companies, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger, creating a combined company with more than $28 billion in revenue.

The combined company, ViacomCBS Inc., will be a leading global, multiplatform, premium content company, with the assets, capabilities and scale to be one of the most important content producers and providers in the world. The combined company will be a scale player globally, with leadership positions in markets across the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Asia. This includes the largest television business in the U.S., with the highest share of broadcast and cable viewing across all key audience demographics, and strength in every key category, including News, Sports, General Entertainment, Pop Culture, Comedy, Music and Kids – making it a first-choice partner to distributors and advertisers. In addition, the combined company will possess a portfolio of fast-growing direct-to-consumer platforms, including both subscription and ad-supported offerings. It will also include a major Hollywood film studio, Paramount Pictures, which has been a producer and global distributor of filmed entertainment for more than a century and continues to be a global box office driver. Taken together, these distinct strengths will accelerate CBS and Viacom’s ability to deliver an array of compelling content to important and diverse audiences across both traditional and emerging platforms around the world.

Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer, Viacom, will become President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. Bakish said: “Today marks an important day for CBS and Viacom, as we unite our complementary assets and capabilities and become one of only a few companies with the breadth and depth of content and reach to shape the future of our industry. Our unique ability to produce premium and popular content for global audiences at scale – for our own platforms and for our partners around the world – will enable us to maximize our business for today, while positioning us to lead for years to come. As we look to the future, I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities ahead for the combined company and all of our stakeholders – including consumers, the creative community, commercial partners, employees and, of course, our shareholders.”

Joe Ianniello, President and Acting Chief Executive Officer, CBS, will become Chairman and CEO of CBS. Ianniello, who will oversee all CBS-branded assets in his new role, said: “This merger brings an exciting new set of opportunities to both companies. At CBS, we have outstanding momentum right now – creatively and operationally – and Viacom’s portfolio will help accelerate that progress. I look forward to all we will do together as we build on our ongoing success. And personally, I am pleased to remain focused on CBS’s top priority – continuing our transformation into a global, multiplatform, premium content company.”

Shari Redstone, Vice Chair of the Boards of Directors, CBS and Viacom, said: “I am really excited to see these two great companies come together so that they can realize the incredible power of their combined assets. My father once said ‘content is king,’ and never has that been more true than today. Through CBS and Viacom’s shared passion for premium content and innovation, we will establish a world-class, multiplatform media organization that is well-positioned for growth in a rapidly transforming industry. Led by a talented leadership team that is excited by the future, ViacomCBS’s success will be underpinned by a commitment to strong values and a culture that empowers our exceptional people at all levels of the organization.”

Strategic Rationale
Premium content at scale. The combined company will possess a portfolio of powerful consumer brands, including CBS, Showtime, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central and Paramount Network, as well as one of the largest libraries of iconic intellectual property, spanning every key genre and addressing consumers of all ages and demographics. This library comprises 140,000+ TV episodes and 3,600+ film titles, and reunites fan-favorite franchises such as Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. The combined company will also have more than 750 series currently ordered to or in production. In addition, it will include a major Hollywood film studio, Paramount Pictures, which creates and distributes feature-length entertainment around the world. The combined company will also be one of the largest content spenders, with more than $13 billion spent in the last 12 months.

Global leadership positions. The combined company will be a broadcast and cable leader in key markets around the world, reaching more than 4.3 billion cumulative TV subscribers. In the U.S., the combined company’s portfolio of broadcast, premium and cable networks will have the highest share of viewing on television among key audiences, including Kids, African Americans and Hispanic viewers. In addition, the combined company will operate strong broadcast networks in the UK, Argentina and Australia, as well as pay-TV networks across more than 180 countries. It will also have significant global production capabilities across five continents – creating content in 45 languages.

Powerful, three-part strategy for growth. In a quickly evolving media landscape, the combined company will benefit from its distinct competitive position as one of the most important global content providers – for its own platforms as well as for third parties. This will enable the combined company to accelerate the growth of its direct-to-consumer strategy, enhance distribution and advertising opportunities and create a leading producer and licensor of premium content to third-party platforms globally.

1.
Accelerate direct-to-consumer strategy. Together, the combined company will be positioned to accelerate and expand its direct-to-consumer strategy through its proven and diverse portfolio of both subscription and ad-supported offerings. These include CBS All Access and Showtime, which deliver premium, branded content live and on demand to millions of subscribers; Pluto TV, the leading free streaming TV service in the U.S.; and niche products such as CBSN, ET Live and Noggin. It also has an opportunity to expand globally by leveraging its existing strength in both subscription and ad-supported offerings, combined library, content production capabilities and international infrastructure.

2.
Enhance distribution and advertising opportunities. The breadth and depth of the combined company’s reach across both traditional and new platforms – including 22% of U.S. TV viewership – will drive important new distribution and advertising opportunities. For distributors, this includes forming more expansive and multifaceted relationships, and applying the benefit of retransmission consent across a combined portfolio. For advertisers and agencies, the combined company will provide industry-leading reach through a variety of formats, including a portfolio of differentiated advanced advertising and marketing solutions, such as CBS Interactive, Viacom Vantage and Viacom Velocity, which will be applied against significant, expanded inventory across the portfolio.

3.
Create a leading producer and licensor of premium content to third-party platforms globally. As one of the biggest premium content providers in the world, the combined company is positioned to deliver content to a diverse global customer base that includes MVPDs, broadcast and cable networks, subscription and ad-supported streaming services, mobile providers and social platforms. Notably, in addition to content licensing, CBS and Viacom are developing must-watch programming for a broad range of third-party networks and platforms to feed significant demand for original, premium content.

Significant value for all shareholders. The combined company will have an attractive growth outlook and increased financial scale with substantial free cash flow, which will enable significant and sustained investment in programming and innovation, as well as support the combined company’s commitment to maintaining a modest dividend payment. The transaction will be EPS accretive and is expected to deliver an estimated $500 million in annualized run-rate synergies within 12-24 months following closing, with additional strategic benefits. With one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry, the combined company will benefit from a solid investment grade rating.

Leadership, Governance and Transaction Terms
In addition to Bakish and Ianniello, the leadership team of the combined company will include Christina Spade as EVP and Chief Financial Officer; and Christa D’Alimonte as EVP, General Counsel and Secretary.

The Board of Directors will consist of 13 members: six independent members from CBS, four independent members from Viacom, the President and CEO of ViacomCBS and two National Amusements, Inc. (NAI) designees. Shari Redstone will be appointed Chair.

The merger agreement was approved by the Boards of Directors of both CBS and Viacom by unanimous vote of those present, upon the unanimous recommendations of the Special Committees of the CBS and Viacom Boards of Directors, respectively. Existing CBS shareholders will own approximately 61% of the combined company and existing Viacom shareholders will own approximately 39% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis. Under the terms of the merger agreement, each Viacom Class A voting share and Viacom Class B non-voting share will convert into 0.59625 of a Class A voting share and Class B non-voting share of CBS, respectively.

NAI, which holds approximately 78.9% and 79.8% of the Class A voting shares of CBS and Viacom, respectively, has agreed to deliver consents sufficient to assure approval of the transaction. More than two-thirds of the CBS directors unaffiliated with NAI (and all of those unaffiliated directors who voted on the transaction) have approved the transaction, as required in order to permit NAI to consent to the transaction under the terms of the 2018 settlement agreement entered into among CBS, NAI and certain other parties thereto.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close by the 2019 calendar year end.

The Special Committee of CBS’s Board of Directors is being advised by Centerview Partners LLC and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC as its financial advisors and by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as its legal counsel. The Special Committee of Viacom’s Board of Directors is being advised by LionTree Advisors LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC as its financial advisors and by Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP as its legal counsel. Viacom is being advised by Shearman & Sterling LLP. NAI is being advised by Evercore as its financial advisor and by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP as its legal counsel.

About CBS
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world’s largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand –”the Eye” – one of the most-recognized in business. The Company’s operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, local TV, film and interactive. CBS’ businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Network 10 Australia, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Interactive, CBS All Access, the Company’s direct-to-consumer digital streaming subscription service, CBS Sports Network, CBS Films, Showtime Networks, Pop, Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations and CBS Experiences. For more information, go to http://www.cbscorporation.com.

About Viacom
Viacom creates entertainment experiences that drive conversation and culture around the world. Through television, film, digital media, live events, merchandise and solutions, its brands connect with diverse, young and young at heart audiences in more than 180 countries.

NEW YORK, N.Y. – CBS Corporation today announced the launch of dynamic ad insertion capabilities for the CBS Television Network’s on-demand programming. The dynamic ads will be delivered through Canoe, an advertising technology company that enables national television networks and other content providers to explore further monetization of their content beyond the traditional three-day window. The availability of dynamic ad insertion enables CBS to offer advertisers increased audience reach and the flexibility to easily change advertisements at any time within its on-demand programming.

As the most-watched network on-demand[1], CBS’s introduction of dynamic ad insertion allows advertisers more opportunities to reach key demographics as time shifting through VOD, as well as streaming and DVR, continues to grow. This increase in multiplatform audiences has brought new viewers to the CBS Television Network and built on its standing as the #1 network in the business. The addition of dynamic ad insertion will further expand the Network’s ability to monetize beyond the live +3 and live +7 day windows.

“With the launch of dynamic ad insertion we are unlocking new and valuable on-demand inventory for our advertisers with added reach and flexibility,” said Marc DeBevoise, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Entertainment, Sports and News, CBS Interactive. “The rollout of dynamic ad insertion for our VOD programming is another key step in our multiplatform distribution and monetization strategy as we continue to see meaningful lift in online, mobile and on-demand viewership.”

“As the on-demand platform and the viewing it delivers continues to evolve and grow, we’re pleased to offer our clients even greater scheduling flexibility and reach through dynamic ad insertion,” said Jo Ann Ross, President, CBS Network Sales. “Our advertisers recognize the value of delayed viewing both in terms of sheer volume and the quality of the audience it delivers. Having the ability to switch creative copy in a significant portion of this footprint makes VOD an even more attractive option for clients moving forward.”

About CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world’s largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand – “the Eye” – one of the most recognized in business. The Company’s operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, radio, local TV, film, outdoor advertising, and interactive and socially responsible media. CBS’s businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network, TVGN (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Lionsgate), Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations, CBS Radio, CBS Outdoor, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group (CBS Studios International and CBS Television Distribution), CBS Interactive, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Films and CBS EcoMedia.

This news is courtesy of www.cbscorporation.com

CBS News and CBS Interactive today launched CBSN, the first digital streaming news network that will allow Internet-connected consumers to watch live, anchored news coverage on their connected TV and other devices. At launch, the network is available 24/7 and makes all of the resources of CBS News available directly on digital platforms with live, anchored coverage 15 hours each weekday.

“CBSN is an important example of how CBS is able to leverage the unique strengths, talent and competitive advantages of its businesses to create exciting, highly competitive new services that meet evolving audience preferences for content consumption,” said Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation. “There’s a tremendous opportunity on these platforms for a true round-the-clock newscast. We’re confident this service will appeal to both traditional news consumers and a whole new set of viewers.”

CBSN will be available on CBSNews.com and its mobile website, key connected TV devices including Amazon Fire TV, Roku players and Roku TV™, and others, as well as the newly launched CBS News app for Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Phone 8/8.1 available through the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store. CBSN will also be available on the CBS News apps for Android and other leading platforms before the end of the year.

The network features a 60-minute format delivering live, updated news content from 9:00 AM – midnight ET every weekday at launch, and it takes advantage of the interactivity of digital platforms through a unique video player and on-screen interface. It gives viewers the full flexibility within each hour to control what they watch and when they watch it via DVR-like functionality that allows them to watch previous segments and jump back into live programming seamlessly and across devices.

Features of the network will include:

· Live, anchored coverage from 9:00 AM – midnight ET every weekday;

· Simulcasts of CBS News special reports for breaking news;

· Additional content from a range of CBS sources including CBS News, CBS affiliate stations, CNET, CBSSports.com, Entertainment Tonight and more;

· Accessibility across key connected TV devices including Amazon Fire TV, Roku players, Roku TV™ and others, as well as additional core CBS News digital platforms including CBSNews.com, its mobile website and the newly launched CBS News app for Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Phone 8/8.1 available through the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store. CBSN will also be available on the CBS News apps for Android and other leading platforms before the end of the year.

· Personal choice and control through DVR-like functionality that enable viewers to watch the segments they’re interested in or tune into the live programming seamlessly;

· The ability to share content from the experience via social media accounts with compatible devices;

· The opportunity for advertisers to reach engaged news consumers with custom ad integrations.

CBS News, a pioneer in broadcast journalism since the earliest days of radio and television, is utilizing its award-winning newsgathering and reporting to redefine it for the digital age. CBSN offers original, up-to-the-minute coverage of national and global stories with dynamic on-demand video content, including video from CBS News’ extensive archives to add context and perspective. Viewers will have immediate access to breaking news reports, feature stories and interviews from among the most experienced teams in video journalism.

“CBSN gives audiences a new window on our original reporting – we’ll make it possible to see CBS News anytime, anywhere,” said David Rhodes, President, CBS News. “We are making an important investment in quality news coverage on any device.”

“CBSN demonstrates our continued advancement in the digital space, as we extend to new platforms and a wider audience,” said Jim Lanzone, President and CEO, CBS Interactive. “We are developing original content exclusively for online, connected platforms in a true interactive format that viewers can control, allowing them to lean back or lean in to the segments and stories that interest them.”

CBSN will be an ad-supported network across all platforms. Inaugural sponsors include Microsoft and Amazon. Other advertisers will also run in the service on all devices.

The live, linear stream will be led by both veteran and new CBS News correspondents.

Jeff Glor is the anchor of the Sunday edition of the CBS EVENING NEWS and Emmy award-winning correspondent for the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY. Since joining CBS News in 2007, Glor has traveled extensively to report on domestic and international stories.
Elaine Quijano is a CBS News Correspondent reporting for all platforms, including CBS THIS MORNING and the CBS EVENING NEWS, since 2010.
Michelle Miller is an award-winning CBS News Correspondent reporting for all broadcasts and platforms since 2004. Her work regularly appears on the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY, CBS THIS MORNING and CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLES OSGOOD.
Don Dahler is a CBS News Correspondent and an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared on a range of programs and platforms since 2013.
Vladimir Duthiers is a CBS News Correspondent. He joined CBS News in August 2014 from CNN, where he was an international correspondent based in Lagos, Nigeria.

CBS Local Media has entered into an agreement to acquire Eventful, Inc., a leading digital media company in the events discovery, communication and personalization business, it was announced today by Anton Guitano, Chief Operating Officer, CBS Local Media. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Eventful connects consumers with information on millions of concerts, movies listings and local events by using its proprietary algorithms to aggregate, and deliver an ever-growing volume of content from across the United States and around the world. Serving its users via multiple platforms, including online, mobile and email, Eventful creates fan interest profiles and delivers highly personalized recommendations on behalf of artists, publishers and marketers to each of their more than 21 million registered users.

The combination of CBS Local Media and Eventful will:

· Provide users with more engaging content, whether they’re interested in music, entertainment, sports or where to go in their hometown;

· Create new opportunities for marketers to reach consumers through a combination of digital, broadcast and live event platforms;

· Enable Eventful’s growing publisher network of licensees to access CBS Local Media’s award-winning news, information and best of content;

· Empower fans to influence programming and events via its patented crowdsourcing service, Demand it! ®;

· Assist more than 500,000 musicians, comedians, filmmakers and others who have already used Demand it! ® to expand their relationships with fans.

“By offering audiences comprehensive local information all in one place, Eventful has amassed an engaged community that is passionate about finding experiences that match their lifestyle and personal tastes,” said Guitano. “This strategy reflects that of CBS Local Media, making this union a terrific complement to our growing digital business. Broadcast and online audiences will now have more insight into more events. Simultaneously, we are thrilled to offer our clients more options to reach their target customer.”

“The large volume of content available to consumers has created an environment where they are looking for credible brands to aid in the discovery process,” said Ezra Kucharz, President, CBS Local Digital Media. “Eventful’s talented and veteran team has created a best-in-class product that users have grown to trust. In combination with CBS Local Media’s assets and under the division’s leadership, we look forward to satisfying the increasing demand for customized event information regardless of how someone chooses to access it.”

“We are excited to join the CBS Local Media team, which shares our vision for delighting local audiences with highly personalized content,” said Jordan Glazier, CEO of Eventful. “I’m proud of the service that our team has built, and we look forward to working together to further innovate and expand our offerings to a substantially larger community.”

About CBS Local Media
Combining the assets of CBS’s owned television and radio stations, CBS Local Media brings together the most trusted brands in media offering visitors a truly “local” experience. Two dozen major market specific portals, music and lifestyle websites, apps and local commerce platforms take an active role in reaching more than 50 million unique monthly consumers with extensive coverage of news, traffic, weather, sports and entertainment headlines, as well as CBS Local Offers, Best of Guides, and business directories.

Live audio streams and a library of on-demand video from all CBS local market stations are available allowing consumers to experience award-winning original content whether at home, the office or on the go.

MIAMI, April 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Celebriffy published this new monetizing social media platform to provide real freedom and greater monetization control to content creators suffering from demonetizing, low payouts, payment interruption, antifreedom platform rules, and fan relationship limitations pressed by existing social media content publishing platforms. Frustration is killing great content for everyone. The existing power structure has stripped many talented performance artists of their opportunity to share art and build fan networks of value.

Celebriffy , The Newest Monetizing Platform
Celebriffy , The Newest Monetizing Platform
Celebriffy is Building the Best Monetization Platform for professionals and individuals with special skills who want to profit and share their knowledge with others through social media. “I have worked with the Celebriffy visionaries – recording artist and entrepreneur Noelia, Music Producer and Aviation Entrepreneur Jorge Reynoso along with Canadian Businessman and Software Designer Omar Al Atroshi – since they first conceived of this engaging platform that priorities the content creators, and focusses on those with skills to share, avoiding the entertainment aspects of other platforms” said Harvey Kesner, co-founder and counsel. “We want to open social media monetization opportunities for the many who have skills or knowledge they wish to share on social media to earn extra income.”

Celebriffy is the Newest and Hottest Social Media Platform for content creators and professionals to monetize

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Celebriffy believes that ‘content is king’ and creators deserve the lion’s share of revenue generated from their art. From a sane perspective, why should the platforms earn the hundreds of Billions of dollars generated and only pay the tiniest percentage for the content that drives them? Celebriffy reverses the pay and power ratio between platform revenues and talent revenues. The internet should be a medium to provide real freedom of sharing content, allowing groups to gather around shared interest. Celebriffy honors the content makers and creatives that give joy, education, and value to the world by empowering earnings to justify continued art creation and sharing.

The Celebriffy platform gives full freedom and control of content, allowing maximum artistic expression, and its fan interaction features allow for massive live and recorded broadcast with full interaction as well as one-on-one private contact, immediately, upon using the app. All the features of the app are designed to allow talent to build and maintain the strongest fan base, with total independent freedom of choice, down to monetizing control over each individual fan relationship, in unprecedented ways.

The Celebriffy App is free. Your Content is not! Get paid like a Rockstar!

Trending: Get early access to the Celebriffy app here and join the content monetization revolution!

ABOUT CELEBRIFFY

Celebriffy is a powerful content publishing and monetization platform with a user-friendly app, empowering content creators to full control of content value, fan engagement and freedom of expression.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Lori Ripstein
lori@celebrify.app

COMPANY CONTACT:

Raphael Gonzalez
raphael@celebrify.app

STAMFORD, NEW YORK and SYRACUSE, May 26, 2015 – Charter Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHTR) (together with its subsidiaries “Charter”) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Charter to merge with Time Warner Cable. The deal values Time Warner Cable at $78.7 billion. Charter will provide $100.00 in cash and shares of a new public parent company (“New Charter”) equivalent to 0.5409 shares of CHTR for each Time Warner Cable share outstanding. The deal values each Time Warner Cable share at approximately $195.71 based on Charter’s market closing price on May 20, or approximately $200 based on Charter’s 60-trading day volume weighted average price. In addition, Charter will provide an election option for each Time Warner Cable stockholder, other than Liberty Broadband Corporation (“Liberty Broadband”) or Liberty Interactive Corporation, who will receive all stock, to receive $115.00 of cash and New Charter shares equivalent to 0.4562 shares of CHTR for each Time Warner Cable share they own.

In addition, Charter and Advance/Newhouse Partnership (a parent of Bright House Networks, LLC) today announced that the two companies have amended the agreement which the two parties signed and announced on March 31, 2015, whereby Charter will acquire Bright House Networks (“Bright House”) for $10.4 billion. That agreement, as amended, provides for Charter and Advance/Newhouse to form a new partnership (the “Partnership”) of which New Charter will own between approximately 86% and 87% and of which Advance/Newhouse will own between approximately 13% and 14%, depending on the Time Warner Cable shareholders’ cash election option described above. The consideration to be paid to Advance/Newhouse by Charter will include common and convertible preferred units in the Partnership, in addition to $2 billion in cash. The common and convertible preferred partnership units will each be exchangeable into shares of New Charter. The Charter-Advance/Newhouse transaction is expected to close contemporaneously with the Charter-Time Warner Cable transaction.

Charter also announced today that Liberty Broadband Corporation (“Liberty Broadband”) has agreed to purchase, upon closing of the Time Warner Cable transaction, $4.3 billion of newly issued shares of New Charter at a price equivalent to $176.95 per Charter share, which represents Charter’s closing price as of May 20, 2015. As previously-announced, Liberty Broadband will also purchase, upon closing of the Charter-Advance/Newhouse transaction, $700 million of newly issued Charter shares at a price equivalent to $173.00 per Charter share.

Following the close of both the Charter-Time Warner Cable and the Charter-Advance/Newhouse transactions, and depending on the outcome of the cash election feature offered in the Charter-Time Warner Cable transaction, Time Warner Cable shareholders, excluding Liberty Broadband and its affiliates, are expected to own between approximately 40% and 44%1 of New Charter, and Advance/Newhouse is expected to own between approximately 13% and 14% of New Charter. Liberty Broadband is expected to own between approximately 19% and 20% of New Charter.

The combination of Charter, Time Warner Cable and Bright House will create a leading broadband services and technology company serving 23.9 million customers in 41 states. The announced transactions will drive investment into the combined entity’s advanced broadband network, allow for wider deployment of new competitive facilities based WiFi networks in public places, and the footprint expansion of optical networks to serve the large marketplace of small and medium sized businesses. This will result in faster broadband speeds, better video products, including more high definition channels, more affordable phone service and more competition, for consumers and businesses. The scale of the new entity will also result in greater product innovation, bringing new and advanced services to consumers and businesses, including Charter’s Spectrum Guide and World Box and other product innovations. And Charter’s commitment to superior products and outstanding customer service, and its strategy of investing in insourcing and returning offshore jobs to America, will not only benefit the combined companies’ customers, but will also enhance opportunities for employees of the new company.

“The teams at Charter, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks are filled with the innovators of our industry. Representatives of each of these companies have invented some of the most revolutionary communications products ever created; innovations like video on demand, VOIP phone service, remote storage DVR, cable TV through an app, downloadable security and the first backward-compatible, cloud-based user interface. That spirit of innovation will live on, and it will create real benefits and great long-term value for the customers, shareholders and employees of all three companies,” said Tom Rutledge, President and CEO of Charter Communications. “With our larger reach, we will be able to accelerate the deployment of faster Internet speeds, state-of-the-art video experiences, and fully–featured voice products, at highly competitive prices. In addition, we will drive greater competition through further deployment of new competitive facilities-based WiFi networks in public places, and the expansion of the facilities footprint of optical networks to serve the large, small and medium sized business services marketplace. New Charter will capitalize on technology to create and maintain a more effective and efficient service model. Put simply, the scale of New Charter, along with the combined talents we can bring to bear, position us to deliver a communications future that will unleash the full power of the two-way, interactive cable network.”

“With today’s announcement, we have delivered on our commitment to maximizing shareholder value,” said Robert D. Marcus, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable. “This agreement recognizes the unique value of Time Warner Cable, and brings together three great companies that share a common philosophy of strong operations, great products, robust network investment and putting customers first. This combination will only accelerate the great operating momentum we’ve seen over the last year and provide enormous opportunities for our 55,000 dedicated employees. We remain wholly committed to bringing the very best experience to our residential and business customers coast to coast.”

“Today’s announcement is good news for customers and potential customers, as well as our employees, since we will be in a stronger position to deliver competitive services, invest in advanced technology, and develop innovative products that will compete with global and national brands,” said Steve Miron, Chief Executive Officer of Bright House Networks. “In addition, I am very pleased that Tom Rutledge will be the CEO of the new company. Tom recognizes the importance of placing a high priority focus on customer care drawing from the expertise of all three companies, and I believe this will be a strong pillar of the new company’s culture.”

New Charter will be led by Tom Rutledge, who will serve as President and CEO. Additionally, Mr. Rutledge will be offered a new five-year employment agreement. At the close of the transactions, New Charter’s Board of Directors will consist of 13 directors including Mr. Rutledge, who will be offered the position of Chairman. The remaining 12 directors will include seven independent directors nominated by the independent directors serving on Charter’s Board of Directors, two directors designated by Advance/Newhouse, and three directors designated by Liberty Broadband. Charter’s current Chairman since 2009, Eric Zinterhofer, will continue to serve on New Charter’s Board.

Pursuant to the agreement between Charter and Advance/Newhouse, Charter and Advance/Newhouse will form the Partnership utilizing an existing subsidiary of Charter Communications Holding Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Charter. New Charter, which will include Time Warner Cable, will contribute substantially all of its assets into the Partnership, and Advance/Newhouse will contribute all of Bright House’s assets into the Partnership. In exchange for its contribution, Advance/Newhouse will receive $5.9 billion of exchangeable common partnership units, and $2.5 billion of convertible preferred partnership units which will pay a 6% coupon. The common and convertible preferred partnership units will each be exchangeable into New Charter Class A common stock, with 34.3 million common units priced at $173.00 (the “Reference Price”) per share, as previously announced. The 10.3 million preferred partnership units will be convertible at $242.19, a 40% premium to the Reference Price. Advance/Newhouse will also receive $2 billion in cash and will receive governance rights reflecting its economic ownership in the partnership through a new class of shares at New Charter.

Upon closing of the Charter-Advance/Newhouse transaction, a new shareholder’s agreement (the “Shareholder’s Agreement”) with Advance/Newhouse and Liberty Broadband will become effective. Under the new agreement, Advance/Newhouse and Liberty Broadband will be granted preemptive rights, allowing each to maintain their pro rata ownership in New Charter. The Shareholder’s Agreement also provides for voting caps and required participation in buybacks at specified acquisition caps, and stipulates transfer restrictions among other shareholder governance matters. In connection with the Charter-Advance/Newhouse transaction as amended, Advance/Newhouse has agreed to grant Liberty Broadband a voting proxy on its shares, capped at 7%, for the five years following the close of the transaction, such that Liberty Broadband would have total voting power of approximately 25% at closing. The proxy excludes votes on certain matters.

The Charter-Time Warner Cable transaction is subject to approval by both Charter and Time Warner Cable shareholders, regulatory review, and other customary conditions. The Charter-Advance/Newhouse transaction is subject to several conditions, including the completion of the Time Warner Cable acquisition (subject to certain exceptions if Time Warner Cable enters into another sale transaction) and a separate vote on the Liberty transactions, and regulatory approval. The three companies expect to close the announced transactions by the end of 2015.

Goldman Sachs and LionTree Advisors are serving as lead financial advisors to Charter in connection with the Time Warner Cable transaction. Guggenheim Securities is also a financial advisor to Charter. BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse are also financial advisors to Charter, and together with Goldman Sachs and UBS Investment Bank, are leading the financing for the transaction. The law firms Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is counsel to Charter and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is representing Charter as financing counsel.

Goldman Sachs and LionTree Advisors are serving as financial advisors to Charter in connection with the Bright House transaction. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as counsel to Charter and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is advising Charter on financing.

Morgan Stanley, Allen & Company, Citigroup and Centerview Partners are financial advisors to Time Warner Cable and its Board of Directors, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP are legal advisors.

UBS Investment Bank is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Advance/Newhouse Partnership and Bright House Networks LLC, and Sabin, Bermant & Gould LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP are acting as legal advisors.

Those participating via telephone should dial 866-919-0894 FREE no later than 10 minutes prior to the call. International participants should dial 706-679-9379. The conference ID code for the call is 54712821. A replay of the call will be available at 855-859-2056 FREE or 404-537-3406 beginning two hours after the completion of the call through the end of business on June 26, 2015. The conference ID code for the replay is 54712821.

1 Legacy Time Warner Cable shareholder stake in New Charter excludes Liberty Broadband Corporation’s current share ownership in Time Warner Cable.

About Charter
Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter Spectrum TV® video entertainment programming, Charter Spectrum Internet® access, and Charter Spectrum Voice®. Spectrum Business similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, video and music entertainment services, and wireless backhaul. Charter’s advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media® brand. More information about Charter can be found at charter.com.

About Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is among the largest providers of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States, connecting 15 million customers to entertainment, information and each other. Time Warner Cable Business Class offers data, video and voice services to businesses of all sizes, cell tower backhaul services to wireless carriers and enterprise-class, cloud-enabled hosting, managed applications and services. Time Warner Cable Media, the advertising sales arm of Time Warner Cable, offers national, regional and local companies innovative advertising solutions. More information about the services of Time Warner Cable is available at www.twc.com, www.twcbc.com and www.twcmedia.com.

About Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is the sixth largest owner and operator of cable systems in the U.S. and the second largest in Florida, with technologically advanced systems located in five states including Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and California and two of the top 20 DMAs. Bright House Networks serves approximately 2.5 million customers who subscribe to one or more of its video, high-speed data, home security and automation and voice services. Bright House Networks Business Solutions offers a strong portfolio of video, voice, data, and cloud-based solutions to the small and medium business segments. In addition, Bright House Networks Enterprise Solutions provides advanced, fiber-based telecommunication services to key industry verticals in the mid-market and carrier segments, including cloud-based hosted voice, managed security, and cell backhaul to wireless carriers. The company is Cisco® Master Service Provider-certified under the Cisco Cloud and Managed Service Program, the first cable operator in the United States to achieve this designation. Bright House Networks also owns and operates exclusive, award-winning, local news and sports channels in its Florida markets. For more information about Bright House Networks, or our products and services, visit brighthouse.com.

Comcast has announced that it has signed an agreement with Warner Bros. to start selling the studio’s titles through the Xfinity On Demand digital store. Beginning today, Xfinity TV customers will be able to purchase Warner Bros. movies and TV shows to own and access anytime, anywhere, on any device, often several weeks ahead of DVD release.

Comcast Becomes Nation’s Top Seller of ‘Despicable Me 2’ Days After Launching Digital Store
“We are thrilled to add the Warner Bros.’ hit films and television shows to our rapidly expanding offering of titles available for purchase,” said Michael Schreiber, Senior Vice President of Content Acquisition at Comcast. “Our Xfinity On Demand platform provides customers with the most current content, where and when they want it, and the incredible success of our digital store and cloud-based digital locker will only continue to grow as we expand the platform.”

Gravity, one of the top-grossing movies of 2013, earned 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Actress, Best Director and Best Picture and will be among the first titles for purchase, beginning February 11. Additional Warner Bros. titles that will become available for purchase include: 42, Argo, The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, Prisoners, We’re the Millers, The Conjuring, The Following, Getaway, The Hangover Part III, and Veronica Mars.

“Comcast is an excellent partner and its Xfinity TV digital storefront is a terrific outlet for Warner Bros.’ great slate of films and TV shows,” said Jim Wuthrich, president of the Americas, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. “We’re very pleased to see Comcast move into digital sales and we look forward to helping them further expand their digital store.”

In November 2013, Comcast became the first pay-television provider in the country to sell Digital HD content for download and streaming. The company’s Xfinity TV customers quickly embraced the new feature and, according to Universal Pictures, helped make Comcast the nation’s top digital seller of Despicable Me 2 for the week ending December 3.

Comcast customers have the ability to purchase movies and television shows – often weeks before they are available to rent or purchase on Blu-ray and DVD – and store them, seamlessly, in the cloud. Their content can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime, on their TV, PC or mobile devices, without the hassle of managing discs or remembering passwords. Purchased titles are added to the customer’s On Demand menu which is easily accessible on the TV, online at XfinityTV.com or via the Xfinity On Demand Purchases App.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.comcast.com

Comcast Corporation announced this morning that its merger agreement with Time Warner Cable and its transactions agreement with Charter Communications, Inc. have been terminated.

The following is a statement from Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts:

“Today, we move on. Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities, but we structured this deal so that if the government didn’t agree, we could walk away.

Comcast NBCUniversal is a unique company with strong momentum. Throughout this entire process, our employees have kept their eye on the ball and we have had fantastic operating results. I want to thank them and the employees of Time Warner Cable for their tireless efforts.

I couldn’t be more proud of this company and I am truly excited for what’s next.”

About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts.

URBANK, Calif. – This summer, DC Entertainment launches a bold new direction for the DC Universe (DCU) that is even more inclusive and accessible to a wider group of readers as the publisher continues to evolve comic storytelling for its next generation of fans. Award-winning, critically acclaimed writers are headlining the June 2015 slate of DC Comics’ new periodicals and graphic novels, including Gene Luen Yang, Bryan Hitch, Garth Ennis and Ming Doyle.

Beginning June 3rd, the DC Comics line of comic books will consist of 24 brand-new series that will begin at issue number one, as well as 25 on-going, bestselling fan favorite series that will continue without a break in the issue numbering. The total number of periodicals in the DCU will be 49, with additional new titles debuting throughout the year.

“This heralds in a new era for the DC Universe which will allow us to publish something for everyone, be more expansive and modern in our approach and tell stories that better reflect the society around us,” said DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Dan DiDio. “Whether you’ve been a DC fan your whole life, or whether you are new to comics – there will be a book for you beginning in June.”

DC Comics will be keenly focused on going back-to-basics with its legendary characters, like BATMAN, SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN, while also reinventing key characters, such as BLACK CANARY, BIZARRO, CYBORG and STARFIRE, with a new contemporary tonality to ensure a diverse offering of titles. Top writers and artists, as well as emerging fresh voices, are on board to help create an expansive lineup of comics that appeals to a broad audience of fans.

Depicting some of these iconic characters in a more contemporary light include National Book Award finalist Gene Luen Yang who will join artist John Romita Jr. in the ongoing adventures of SUPERMAN. Comic superstar artist Bryan Hitch will write and draw new tales of the world’s greatest heroes in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. The pitch perfect team of Garth Ennis and John McCrea returns to DC Comics for a limited series called SECTION EIGHT featuring characters from their popular Hitman comic. VERTIGO creator Ming Doyle will be lending her talents to DC Comics, penning CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER along with newcomer artist Riley Rossmo.

“More than ever before, DC Comics fans are being exposed to our rich portfolio of characters through multiple sources, including an unprecedented number of highly successful TV shows, video games and upcoming major motion pictures,” said Co-Publisher Jim Lee. “We are looking to extend that experience within publishing to ensure there is a comic book for everyone. For example, fans of the ARROW television show may want more stories about BLACK CANARY. Now they can find modern, fresh takes on the character in the pages of her standalone series both in stores and digitally.”

DC ENTERTAINMENT

Breakout star, Brenden Fletcher, co-writer behind the all new, highly successful BATGIRL book will also be writing the new BLACK CANARY series launching in June. Fan favorites Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti will be the creative team on new titles STARFIRE and HARLEY QUINN/POWER GIRL and will continue to helm the perennially bestselling HARLEY QUINN.

“Beyond character and creators, the June slate will showcase different styles and approaches to storytelling as we add offbeat, irreverently funny titles such as BIZARRO, BAT-MITE and PREZ,” said Lee. “Truly there will be something for everybody as we simultaneously celebrate our rich legacy while embracing new voices and concepts.”

A first look at upcoming storylines will be the focus of DC Entertainment’s Free Comic Book Day issue – DC COMICS: DIVERGENCE – available Saturday, May 2, featuring three 8-page previews for the June releases of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s BATMAN, as well as Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s launch of the Darkseid War within JUSTICE LEAGUE featuring the biggest villains in the DCU – Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor, and Gene Luen Yang’s DC Comics debut with celebrated artist John Romita, Jr on SUPERMAN. More than half-a million free issues of the DC Entertainment sampler will be given away at comic book retailers globally.

“In this new era of storytelling, story will trump continuity as we continue to empower creators to tell the best stories in the industry,” said DiDio.

To learn more about the June DC Universe slate, visit http://www.dccomics.com/.

About DC Entertainment:
DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the world’s largest English-language publisher of comics.

Unique digital football business Dugout and News Corp today revealed plans for the landmark acquisition by Dugout of News Corp’s mobile and online platform ballball, which delivers near-live highlights of the world’s leading football leagues and other great content to the fastest growing football markets in South-East Asia.

The move highlights Dugout’s focus on expanding its global presence and providing football fans around the world with access to the best content from the biggest football clubs and players in the world.

Dugout represents the first time the world’s biggest clubs have joined forces to create a business – with partners including AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid CF, Inter Milan, Roma, Napoli, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid and more.

ballball.com was launched by News Corp in August 2013 and is now one of the leading football video platforms in South-East Asia. The platform distributes an unprecedented collection of short-form highlights from European and other top football leagues to the region – generating 800 million video views during the 2017-18 football season.

The agreement to acquire ballball will see Dugout showcase the mobile and online platform’s unique aggregation of football content in two key territories – Vietnam and Indonesia – through a ballball section on the Dugout platform, with plans to expand into other countries in the region. From today, the best of Dugout’s content will also be showcased on ballball.com.
The acquisition will lead to the creation of a new Dugout entity – Dugout SE Asia – which will be headquartered in Singapore and will lead the expansion of Dugout in the region.

While parent company Dugout will be the majority shareholder of Dugout SE Asia, News Corp will also have a stake in the new business. This strategic partnership will include senior News Corp executive Simon Greenberg sitting on the board of Dugout SE Asia.

Elliot Richardson, Founder and Chairman of Dugout, said: “We are delighted to have agreed the purchase of ballball, which has been hugely successful in bringing great football content from the world’s best leagues to fans in South-East Asia. We’re now looking forward to complementing that platform with Dugout’s unique ingredient: embedded partnerships and access to the best players and clubs in the world.”

“Our aim with Dugout was to make it the digital football destination of choice by aligning clubs/players with brands and fans. We have already created over 15,000 hours of exclusive video content with our partners, and with access to incredible archive and new content themes, this will unlock more stories for fans to view of the clubs and players they love. The purchase of ballball will show the continued momentum behind the business and the chance to work with News Corp as a partner is so exciting. We know that South-East Asia is a hugely important territory for football clubs and the brands we work with, so we look forward to giving football fans in the region a great experience.”

Simon Greenberg, News Corp’s Global Head of Rights and future Dugout SE Asia board member, said: “We are very excited that News Corp is forging this new partnership with Dugout, a unique business that brings with it incredible connections across the world of football. In today’s rapidly changing media environment, it’s essential to work with strong and innovative partners like Dugout that recognise the value of premium content.”

“With football the fastest growing sport in the world – and Asia the fastest growing region – we launched ballball on mobile, the fastest growing platform, in 2013 and we are very proud of all that’s been achieved since. The team has built an unparalleled digital expertise and reputation to make it the go-to mobile destination for football highlights in the region. Dugout recognises the value of that work and together we can use this foundation to create a very compelling mobile offering for the many millions of football fans in SE Asia.”

All 77 clubs (and a growing number of players) on Dugout have a dedicated profile to upload content and interact with fans, meaning that Dugout users get a totally personalised experience based on the clubs and players they follow. The business launched in late 2016 and has already gathered over 67 million unique users and 912 million video views to date. Dugout has a social footprint of 2.1 billion and over 12,500 videos have been posted on the platform by clubs, players and brands.

Dugout has recently announced a number of other strategic partnerships to support the business’ objective of expanding its global presence. For example, in December Dugout launched a partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS) – boosting the brand’s global profile and tapping into the growing popularity of football in North America.

This approach reflects Dugout’s core belief in “localisation of content” – giving partners and brands detailed analytics that enable them to better understand audience behaviour and tastes in specific markets, in order to boost fan engagement.

The company has also signed deals with innovative tech companies like VEWD, SPOTX, Rakuten/Viber and Amazon to reach more users and provide brands advertising on the platform with better engagement, cutting-edge user consumer targeting and detailed analytics.

About ballball
ballball.com was launched by News Corp in August 2013 and is now one of the leading football video platforms in South-East Asia. It distributes short form highlights from Europe and other top football leagues in Indonesia and Vietnam and in the 2017-18 season ballball generated 800 million video views for this content, representing 966% growth FY15-FY17.
ballball is the 4th largest football destination on Facebook in both Indonesia and Vietnam (combined population 340 million+) and has developed partnerships and distribution with a number of regional blue-chip partners from the digital media and telco sectors to further maximise its reach.
ballball is based in Singapore and has a staff of 5, as well as freelancers and in-market translation teams. The rights content agreements are held by ballball.com’s parent company NWS Digital Asia Pte Ltd, which remains a News Corp owned subsidiary.

About Dugout
Dugout represents the first time the world’s biggest clubs have joined forces to support a business. Since launching in December 2016, 77 clubs, one National Football Federation and two Leagues have all signed partnerships with the platform.
Each club and player has a dedicated Dugout profile to upload content and interact with fans and Dugout users get a totally personalised experience based on the clubs and players they follow.
Dugout works with its partners to create high-quality, original content, both using unrivalled social reach and on platform which includes videos from clubs that are exclusive to Dugout, lifestyle and personal updates from players, and original video series featuring ball skills and tricks from players that can’t be seen anywhere else.
For details on b2b offering, please go to http://www.dugoutworldwide.com

About News Corp
News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content to consumers throughout the world. The company comprises businesses across a range of media, including: news and information services, book publishing, digital real estate services, and cable network programming and pay-TV distribution in Australia. Headquartered in New York, the activities of News Corp are conducted primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. More information: http://www.newscorp.com.

Brussels, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

I. Modernisation of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive
Why is the Audiovisual Media Services Directive being revised?

The media landscape has shifted dramatically in less than a decade. Instead of sitting in front of the family TV, millions of Europeans, especially young people, watch content online, on demand and on different mobile devices.
Children are watching less traditional TV: the average daily viewing time for young Europeans was 2 hours in 2014 i.e. about half as much as the average viewer (source).

Global internet video share in consumer internet traffic is expected to increase from 64% in 2014 to 80% by 2019 (source).

Audiovisual media also increasingly target markets across national borders. At the end of 2013, more than 5,000 TV channels (not counting local channels and windows) were established in the EU. Of these, almost 2,000 targeted foreign markets (either EU or extra-EU). This share had increased from 28% in 2009 to 38% in 2013 (source). As far as video-on-demand services are concerned, 31% of the video-on-demand services available in a Member State are established in another EU country (source). This underpins the continued added value of the EU action in this area.

Taking these new developments into account, as well as a thorough evaluation (REFIT) of the current Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), the Commission today presented updated rules to find a better balance of the rules which apply to traditional broadcasters, video-on-demand providers and video-sharing platforms, especially when it comes to protecting children. It proposes to have more common rules at EU level to provide clarity and legal certainty to consumers and businesses across borders.

Which type of audiovisual media services are covered by the new Directive?

The existing rules already cover traditional TV and video on-demand services. The new proposal foresees a limited extension of its scope to video-sharing platforms which tag and organise the content, for example YouTube.

Member States should ensure that video-sharing platforms put in place measures to:
i. protect minors from harmful content (which may impair the physical, mental or moral development); access to which would have to be restricted; and
ii. protect all citizens from incitement to hatred.
Implementation of the new regime would be encouraged via co-regulation: the proposed rules provide basic requirements and partners who share responsibility contribute to fulfilling objectives.

What does the Directive consider to be a video-sharing platform?

In the proposal, a video-sharing platform is defined as a commercial service addressed to the public which:
stores a large amount of programmes or user-generated videos, for which the video-sharing platform provider does not have editorial responsibility;
where the content is organised in a way determined by the provider of the service, in particular by hosting, displaying, tagging and sequencing;
where the principal purpose of the service (or a dissociable section thereof) is devoted to providing programmes and user-generated videos to the general public, in order to inform, entertain or educate;
is made available by electronic communications networks.

As a general rule, social media, such as Facebook or other services, do not have as a principal purpose the provision of programmes or user-generated videos to the public. Of course, this may evolve with time and if a particular social media provider meets all the characteristics of a video-sharing platform, they will be covered as such.

While newspaper websites remain outside the Directive, standalone parts of newpaper websites which feature audiovisual programme or user-generated videos will be considered as video-sharing platforms for the purpose of the AVMSD. However, any occasional use of videos in websites, blogs, newspapers will be outside the scope of the Directive.

As with any Directive, the AVMSD will be implemented in national law. On the basis of the criteria set by the Directive, national audiovisual regulators will determine the players which are covered. The Commission’s monitoring of the implementation of the Directive will ensure a consistent approach.

What is the country of origin principle? How will it be improved?

The aim of the country of origin principle is to protect media service providers established in one Member State from any restriction imposed by other EU Member States receiving their services. Audiovisual providers do not need to comply with 28 different rules, only with those of the country where they are established.

The Commission proposes to confirm and facilitate the country of origin principle in three ways:
it will be easier to establish the country whose rules apply to each provider, thanks to a database which will contain an up-to-date list of providers under Member States’ jurisdiction;
this information will be accessible to all Member States and regulators; and
the mechanisms foreseen in cases of exceptions to the country of origin will be improved.

What is proposed for advertising?

Today’s proposal aims to strike the right balance between strong consumer protection, more specifically the protection of minors, and a more flexible system for TV broadcasters, taking into account new market realities.

The proposed rules strengthen provisions to protect minors from inappropriate audiovisual commercial communications of foods high in fat, salt/sodium, sugars by, where necessary, encouraging codes of conduct at EU level.

Tobacco advertising remains forbidden in all types of media. For alcohol advertising, the Commission wants also to encourage further development of self- or co-regulation, also at EU level if necessary, to effectively limit the exposure of minors to such ads. Member States can apply stricter rules and can, for example, ban alcohol advertisements or adopt other measures.

The overall limit of 20% of broadcasting time is maintained between 7 am and 11 pm, but instead of the current 12 minutes per hour, broadcasters can choose more freely when to show ads throughout the day.

The transmission of TV films, cinematographic works and news programmes can be interrupted only once every 20 minutes

Broadcasters and on-demand providers will also have greater flexibility to use product placement and sponsorship, while keeping viewers informed at the beginning and/or end of a programme. Product placement will however remain forbidden in programmes with a significant children’s audience.
These different measures are expected to have a positive economic impact for media services providers – mainly TV broadcasters – and increase their capacity to invest in audiovisual content. This is important for the competitiveness of the EU audiovisual industry.

How will the protection of children from harmful and illegal content be strengthened?

Children watch less and less TV and more and more on-demand and online videos. However, the current AVMSD protects them more on TV and less in the online world. This inconsistency will now be fixed. Proposed rules:
­require that programmes that may impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors (harmful content) are only made available in such a way as to ensure that minors will not normally hear or see them. This is regardless of whether such programmes are broadcast by TV broadcasters or provided by on-demand providers. Different rules apply for video-sharing platforms, where the Commission wants to support a co-regulatory approach: the Commission will invite all video-sharing platforms to work within the Alliance to better protect minors online, with an aim to come up with a code of conduct for the industry, while national audiovisual regulators will have the power to enforce the rules.

­Require that the most harmful content, such as gratuitous violence and pornography, shall be subject to the strictest measures providing a high degree of control (such as age verification or pin codes).

­Encourage EU co-regulation on content descriptors (words or symbols warning of bad language, sex, violence, drugs, discrimination) which provide sufficient information to viewers about the possible harmful nature of the content. The Commission wants the industry to develop common content descriptors because age ratings without additional explanations on this rating do not always give sufficient information to parents. This will empower parents to make decisions for their children or for children to make decisions for themselves.

How is European culture strengthened by the new Directive?

While European TV broadcasters invest around 20% of their revenues in original content, this figure represents less than 1% for on-demand providers (source). The proposal therefore will aim at encouraging new investment in European works.

Under proposed rules, TV broadcasters will continue to be obliged to broadcast at least 50% share of European works (including national content) in viewing time. Video-on-demand services – which already have to promote European works under current rules – are subject to more specific obligations: they need to ensure at least 20% share of European content in their catalogues and should give a good visibility (prominence) to European content in their offers.

Current rules already foresee that promotion of European works can also be carried out, amongst others, through financial contributions to the production and rights acquisition of European works. Member States have the option to require on-demand audiovisual media services under their jurisdiction to contribute in this way. The new rules give the possibility for Member States to impose financial contributions (direct investments or levies payable to a fund) upon on-demand services, including to those established in a different Member State but targeted at their national audiences. This would be a voluntary measure for Member States, not an obligation at EU level.

The reason for this clarification is that current rules can lead to “forum shopping” practices (i.e. on-demand services establishing themselves in Member States with light or no financial obligations). This in turn can create competition distortions. Financial contributions will only be able to be imposed on the revenues generated in the imposing country. Clarifying that Member States can impose financial contributions is considered as a justified and balanced way to limit “forum shopping” practices without undermining the country of origin principle.

The proposed rules also include a mandatory exemption for companies with a low turnover and low audiences as well as small and micro enterprises. It could also be inappropriate to impose such requirements in cases where – given the nature or theme of the on-demand audiovisual media services– they would be impracticable or unjustified.

Overall, strengthening the promotion of European works for on-demand services will lead to a broader and more diverse offer for Europeans. This will have a positive impact on cultural diversity and bring more opportunities for European creators.

Why is a quota needed at EU level? Won’t it be an extra-burden for businesses?

Quotas already exist in more than half of EU Member States (see impact assessment, Annex XIII). This is required either as a standalone obligation (e.g. Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia) or in combination with other joint or alternative obligations (e.g. France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain). The required shares in the catalogues vary considerably between Member States (10-60%). This is why minimum harmonisation at EU level is needed, so that all Europeans can have access to at least some European audiovisual content.
It should not be an extra-burden for businesses: on average, in the EU, European films already account for 27% of all films available in video-on-demand catalogues (according to a 2015 study by the European Audiovisual Observatory).

More specifically:
– Share of EU films in 75 video-on-demand (VoD) catalogues: 27%
– Share of EU films in 16 subscription VoD catalogues: 30%
– Share of EU films in Netflix: 21%
– Share of EU films in iTunes: 21%

The proposed rules also include a mandatory exemption for companies with a low turnover and low audiences as well as small and micro enterprises. It could also be inappropriate to impose such requirements in cases where – given the nature or theme of the on-demand audiovisual media services– they would be impracticable or unjustified.

How can video-on-demand services give adequate prominence to European works?

There is a wide range of tools to ensure visibility of European works, e.g. indicating the country where a film or series comes from; providing possibilities for searching for European works; placing information and materials promoting European works, including in the home/front page; using trailers or visuals.

How will the Directive increase the independence of regulatory authorities for audiovisual media services?

The proposal includes a requirement for Member States to have independent regulatory authorities for audiovisual media services. They will have to fulfil the criteria of independence listed in the Directive. The regulator :
should be legally distinct and functionally independent of any other public or private body.
should not seek or take instructions from any other body in relation to the exercise of the tasks.
should exercise its powers impartially and transparently and in accordance with the objectives of the AVMSD in particular media pluralism, cultural diversity, consumer protection, internal market and the promotion of fair competition.
should have its competences and powers clearly defined in law.
should have adequate enforcement powers to carry out their functions effectively.

Also, the head of a national regulatory authority or the members of the collegiate body may be dismissed only if they no longer fulfil the conditions required for the performance of their duties.

The Commission will monitor the application of these principles in the Member States, and could take action if they are not respected.

What is the role of the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA)?

The proposal reinforces the role of the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) by giving it more tasks when advising and assisting the Commission in the consistent implementation of the Directive in all Member States.

ERGA will be given specific tasks intended to approach Member States’ positions. For instance, upon the Commission’s request, ERGA will issue opinions in the context of the country of origin derogation mechanisms. Moreover, ERGA is tasked with supporting the adoption of codes of conduct at EU level.

What are the next steps?

The current AVMSD will continue to apply until the revised Directive enters into force. The Commission is calling the European Parliament and the Council of the EU (representing Member States) to adopt the text as soon as possible. The Commission proposes that Member States have one year to transpose the Directive into their national legislation.

II. Platforms
What are online platforms and why are they important?
Online platforms cover a wide range of activities including online advertising platforms, marketplaces, search engines, social media and creative content outlets, application distribution platforms, communications services, payment systems, and collaborative economy platforms.
They share key characteristics including the use of information and communication technologies to facilitate interactions (including commercial transactions) between users, collection and use of data about these interactions, and network effects which make the use of the platforms with most users most valuable to other users.

Some examples of online platforms are: eBay, Amazon Marketplace, Google and Bing Search, Facebook and YouTube, Google Play and App Store, Facebook Messenger, Google’s AdSense, Zalando marketplace, BlaBla Car and Uber.

Online platforms are strong drivers of innovation and play an important role in Europe’s digital society and economy. They increase consumer choice, improve efficiency and competitiveness of industry and can enhance civil participation in society.

Why is an EU policy approach to platforms necessary?

The platform economy presents major innovation opportunities for European industry, SMEs and startups to develop new business models, products and services. Creating the right environment is essential to retain, grow and foster the emergence of new online platforms in Europe. A coherent EU approach is needed to avoid fragmentation and obstacles in the Digital Single Market. Different national rules can otherwise create uncertainty for economic operators, make scaling-up more difficult for startups and limit the availability of digital services. In this respect, the Commission will in early June adopt a European agenda for the collaborative economy, including guidance on how EU law applies specifically to collaborative economy platforms and recommendations to Member States on how to ensure a balanced development of this market.

The Commission aims to ensure a balanced regulatory framework which allows consumers and businesses in the EU to benefit from the development and scaling-up of online platforms and which also protects the legitimate interests of users and fundamental values.

In order to assess the scope for further action the Commission has undertaken a comprehensive assessment which included a public consultation, engagement with stakeholders in workshops and studies.The stakeholder consultation process flagged a number of concerns related to online platforms. For example, respondents expressed concern about:
the lack of level-playing field in certain sectors;
the lack of transparency;
certain business-to-business practices; and
the tackling of illegal content online.

The Commission will only consider targeted policy measures (regulatory, self- or co-regulatory) on the basis of:
(i) clearly identified problems relating to a specific type or activity of online platforms, and
(ii) upon in-depth evaluation of the sufficiency and adequacy of the existing regulatory framework.

How do the Commission’s existing policies support platforms?

The Digital Single Market strategy, the Single Market strategy and the Capital Markets Union, as well as investment through the research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 and through the Investment Plan for Europe will help EU-born platforms to emerge and thrive. Initiatives such as StartUpEurope can also help create the right environement for new tech players.

Further action is needed to sustain this growth, to address barriers caused by different national approaches, and to ensure that the rules which already apply to platforms are correctly applied.

Does the Commission want to regulate platforms?

Today’s Communication on platforms does not propose a new general law on online platforms, nor does it suggest to change the liability regime set by the e-Commerce Directive.

The aim is to make sure that platforms can be created, scale up and grow in the European Union. To reach this goal we need a functioning Digital Single Market where online platforms (both startups and established market operators) are not hampered by heavy regulation.
Online platforms are already subject to EU legislation such as consumer and data protection rules, and competition law. New initiatives will only be taken to tackle any specific problems identified and only if it is established that better enforcement of existing rules is not sufficient to address these.

In our approach to online platforms, we will be guided by the following principles:
a level-playing field for comparable digital services
responsible behaviour of online platforms to protect core values,
transparency and fairness for maintaining user trust and safeguarding innovation,
open and non-discriminatory markets in a data-driven economy.

What does the Commission propose to do?

In line with the principles set forth in the Communication on Online Platforms, the next steps related are:
A level-playing field for comparable digital services
A review of of EU telecoms legislation, and of the e-Privacy Directive are expected by the end of the 2016. As part of its review of EU telecoms rules the Commission is looking at partial deregulation of traditional communication services, where they face competition from platforms and other digital players, and at the merits of applying certain communications-specific rules to all comparable services to better protect users. In the new e-Privacy Directive the Commission will consider, for example, extending data protection obligations currently applicable only to telecoms companies to platforms.

Ensuring that online platforms behave responsibly
In the third quarter of 2016, the Commission will propose a copyright reform package aiming to achieve a fairer allocation of value generated by the online distribution of copyright-protected content by online platforms providing access to such content.
In relation to the liability regime of online intermediaries established by the e-Commerce Directive, the Commission will assess:
o the need for guidance on the liability of online platforms when putting in place voluntary measures to fight illegal content online [starting in the second half of 2016], and
o the need for a formal notice-and-action procedures [after taking due account of the updated audiovisual media and copyright frameworks].

In addition to revised audiovisual media rules, the Commission will further encourage coordinated EU-wide self-regulatory efforts by online platforms in tackling illegal content online. The Commission is currently discussing with IT companies on a code of conduct on combatting hate speech online.
Fostering trust, transparency and ensuring fairness
In view of informing and empowering citizens and consumers:
o The Commission will further promote interoperability actions, including through issuing principles and guidance on secure electronic identifications (eID) interoperability at the latest by 2017.
o The Commission will encourage industry to step up voluntary efforts, which it will help in framing, to prevent trust-diminishing practices (in particular, but not limited to, tackling fake or misleading online reviews) and monitor the implementation of the self-regulatory principles agreed on comparison websites and apps.
o The Commission will continue the ongoing evaluation (REFIT) of key pieces of EU market and consumer law and their application to online platforms and collaborative economy.
In view of safeguarding a fair and innovation-friendly business environment, the Commission will launch a targeted fact-finding exercise of business-to-business practices in the online platforms environment. By spring 2017 the Commission will determine if additional EU action is necessary.

Keeping markets open and non-discriminatory to foster a data-driven economy

The free-flow-of-data initiative (due for the end of 2016) will consider options for effective approaches, including technical standards, to facilitate switching and portability of data among different online platform and cloud computing services, both for business and private users. In this context, the Commission will also examine the potential barriers to a single EU data market that may arise from legal uncertainties regarding the ownership and usability of — or access to — data, including issues related to application programming interfaces.

What about the liability regime in the e-Commerce Directive?

The e-Commerce Directive foresees that internet intermediary service providers should not be liable for the content that they hold and transmit passively. At the same time when illegal content is identified, intermediaries should take effective action to remove it, whether it be information that is illegal (e.g. terrorism/child abuse) or information that infringes the property rights of others (e.g. copyright).

Today’s Communication on platforms does not propose any changes to the liability regime in the e-Commerce Directive. The Commission will not oblige online platforms to generally monitor content. As a complement, the Commission will, however, look into the possibility to tackle illegal content also by voluntary and self-regulatory action.

However, the Commission’s stakeholder consultation indicated the need to explore potential problems for platforms when putting in place voluntary measures to fight illegal content online and further review the need for a clarification of the notice-and-action procedures. The Commission will therefore undertake further analysis in the coming year to explore whether EU action is warranted in these areas.

How will you address people’s concerns about how platforms use their data?

Access to data spurs efficiency and innovation. However, many people are concerned about data collection and want to know what data is collected and how it is shared and used. The Commission believes platforms need to respond to these concerns and comply with existing data protection rules. The Commission also believes that improved enforcement of current rules as well as better compliance will increase trust.

The Commission will also promote interoperability actions and encourage platforms to recognise electronic identifications (eID), in particular those identified under the Regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS), to improve consumer and data protection.

How will you address issues relating to potential unfair practices in business-to-business relations?

The results of the public consultation on platforms highlighted a number of concerns from suppliers about allegedly “unfair” practices e.g. platforms imposing unfair terms and conditions, in particular for access to important data bases; platforms refusing access to markets or essential business data necessary for suppliers; platforms promoting their own service to the disadvantage of third-party supplier.

Beyond the application of competition policy which addresses competition between market players, it is vital that more evidence is obtained on the prevalence of such “unfair” trading practices. This is all the more important in light of the fact that some Member States are already in the process of introducing or considering the introduction of platform-specific measures to address some of these unfair trading practices, risking fragmentation of the Digital Single Market. In order to assess the extent of any potential problems we will, therefore, further engage with public authorities and stakeholders to find out more about such practices in the online platform world and will decide if further action to address fairness in business-to-business relations is necessary in 2017.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. and ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 26, 2014 – DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) and DISH Network L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), have joined forces to offer an addressable advertising platform of unprecedented scale and reach for political campaigns. The strategic relationship will allow participating statewide political campaigns to target their TV ads at the household level within 20+ million DIRECTV and DISH homes.

The DIRECTV-DISH arrangement will focus on political TV advertisements only, while the companies’ other media sales efforts will continue to operate independently.

“The DIRECTV/DISH addressable advertising platform utilizes highly sophisticated and targeted technology that will allow political campaigns to specifically reach swing voters with TV ads. Campaigns can focus their message to a precise set of potential voters and eliminate the spending waste,” said Keith Kazerman, senior vice president of ad sales, DIRECTV. “The platform not only uniquely monetizes big data, which has become critical to every political campaign, but it does it at scale. It’s the perfect complement to local DMA cable buys and a fiscally compelling alternative to local broadcast.”

“Individually, DISH and DIRECTV have pioneered household-addressable advertising across a national footprint for more than two years,” said Warren Schlichting, senior vice president of DISH media sales. “As campaigns utilize more and more data, household-addressable advertising introduces a powerful tool to deliver a tailored message to a precise and measurable audience. Together, DISH and DIRECTV reach nearly one out of every five U.S. television households and usher TV into the modern political age.”

DIRECTV and DISH utilize the same technology to deliver addressable advertising at the household level to a combined audience of more than 20 million households.

Using the same methodology of direct mail, addressable advertising allows advertisers to reach their desired audience with accuracy and combines the emotional impact of TV with nationwide reach and scale.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.dish.com

BURBANK, Calif. and NEW YORK, New York – The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (“21CF”) (NASDAQ: TFCFA, TFCF), in connection with Disney’s acquisition of 21CF (the “Acquisition”), announced today that the per share value of the Merger Consideration (as defined below) has been calculated in accordance with the Merger Agreement (as defined below) to be $51.572626 (the “Per Share Value”. See footnote1). The Acquisition will become effective at 12:02 a.m. Eastern Time tomorrow, March 20, 2019.

At the effective time of the Acquisition, each share of 21CF common stock will be exchanged for $51.572626 in cash (the “Cash Consideration”) or 0.4517 shares of common stock of TWDC Holdco 613 Corp., the holding company that will own both Disney and 21CF following the Acquisition (“New Disney”) (the “Stock Consideration”, and together with the Cash Consideration, the ”Merger Consideration”), subject to election, proration and adjustment procedures set forth in the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger(the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of June 20, 2018, by and among 21CF, Disney, New Disney, and certain of Disney’s other subsidiaries. The number of shares of New Disney common stock comprising the Stock Consideration was determined by dividing the Per Share Value by $114.1801, which was the volume weighted average trading price of a share of Disney common stock on the New York Stock Exchange over the fifteen consecutive trading day period ending on (and including) March 15, 2019.

“This is an extraordinary and historic moment for us—one that will create significant long-term value for our company and our shareholders,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “Combining Disney’s and 21st Century Fox’s wealth of creative content and proven talent creates the preeminent global entertainment company, well positioned to lead in an incredibly dynamic and transformative era.”

The acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s iconic collection of businesses and franchises will allow Disney to provide more appealing high-quality content and entertainment options to meet growing consumer demand; increase its international footprint; and expand its direct-to-consumer offerings, which include ESPN+ for sports fans, the highly-anticipated Disney+ streaming video-on-demand service launching in late 2019; and Disney and 21st Century Fox’s combined ownership stake in Hulu.

The acquisition includes 21st Century Fox’s renowned film production businesses, including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Family and Fox Animation; Fox’s television creative units, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21; FX Networks; National Geographic Partners; Fox Networks Group International; Star India; and Fox’s interests in Hulu, Tata Sky and Endemol Shine Group. Disney and 21st Century Fox entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice last year under which Disney will divest 21st Century Fox’s Regional Sports Networks.

Earlier today, 21st Century Fox completed the spin-off of a portfolio of 21st Century Fox’s news, sports and broadcast businesses, including the FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, FOX Broadcasting Company, FOX Sports, FOX Television Stations Group, and sports cable networks FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes and Big Ten Network, and certain other assets and liabilities, into Fox Corporation.

Disney is also acquiring approximately $19.8 billion of cash and assuming approximately $19.2 billion of debt of 21st Century Fox in the acquisition. The acquisition price implies a total equity value of approximately $71 billion and a total transaction value of approximately $71 billion.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Disney earnings per share before the impact of purchase accounting for the second fiscal year after the close of the transaction, and to yield at least $2 billion in cost synergies by 2021 from operating efficiencies realized through the combination of businesses.

1On March 19, 2019, 21CF distributed to holders of shares of 21CF common stock (other than holders that are subsidiaries of 21CF) all of the issued and outstanding common stock of Fox Corporation (“FOX”) on a pro rata basis (the “Distribution”). As a result of the Distribution, 0.263183 of each share of 21CF common stock outstanding immediately prior to the Distribution was exchanged for 1/3 of one share of FOX common stock of the same class, and holders continued to hold the remaining 0.736817 of each share of 21CF common stock. The 0.736817 of each share of 21CF common stock remaining outstanding following the Distribution will be exchanged for the amount of consideration in the Acquisition that a whole share of 21CF common stock would have been exchanged for before giving effect to the Distribution. To accomplish this, the consideration that holders will receive in the Acquisition is automatically adjusted pursuant to the Merger Agreement to take the Distribution into account by multiplying the value of such consideration ($38.00) by the Distribution Adjustment Multiple (1.357190).

About Disney

Disney, together with its subsidiaries, is a diversified worldwide entertainment company with operations in four business segments: Media Networks; Parks, Experiences and Products; Studio Entertainment; and Direct-to-Consumer and International. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $59.4 billion in its Fiscal Year 2018. For more information about Disney, please visit www.thewaltdisneycompany.com.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Gannett Co. Inc., Belo Corp. and Sander Media LLC to divest their interests in KMOV‑TV, a CBS affiliate in St. Louis, in order to proceed with Gannett’s acquisition of Belo, and Sander’s related acquisition of six Belo television stations that Gannett cannot hold under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules. The department said that, without the required divestiture, Gannett would have gained a dominant position in broadcast television spot advertising in the St. Louis area, resulting in higher prices advertisers.

In addition to acquiring the six stations from Belo, Sander will enter into several agreements with Gannett in order to both finance purchasing the stations and facilitate operating the stations. KMOV-TV is one of the six stations Sander would acquire from Belo and would be subject to agreements between Sander and Gannett. These agreements, however, do not include any joint negotiation of retransmission rights in St. Louis. The Gannett-Belo acquisition is valued at approximately $2.2 billion.

The department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition and related agreements between Gannett and Sander, including an option for Gannett to assign or acquire the Belo stations sold to Sander, a financing guarantee and a long-term shared services agreement. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive concerns alleged in the lawsuit.

“Gannett’s KSDK‑TV and Belo’s KMOV‑TV compete head-to-head in the sale of broadcast television spot advertising in the St. Louis area, and this rivalry constrains advertising rates,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The full divestiture required by the department will ensure that KMOV-TV will remain a vigorous competitor in St. Louis.”

The department’s complaint alleges that the proposed acquisition would lessen competition in broadcast television spot advertising in the St. Louis Designated Market Area (DMA). Even though the two stations would maintain separate sales forces, the various agreements between Gannett and Sander, KMOV‑TV’s new owner, would align the incentives of the two stations. To remedy this harm, the proposed settlement requires Gannett, Belo and Sander to divest all assets primarily used in the operation of KMOV‑TV to an independent purchaser to be approved by the United States. That purchaser will not be permitted to have any agreements with Gannett concerning KMOV-TV that could limit competition with KSDK-TV, including options to acquire or assign, financing agreements and shared services or joint sales agreements.

Gannett, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in McLean, Va., owns and operates 23 broadcast television stations nationwide, 12 of which are in the top 25 markets, as well as numerous newspapers. Gannett’s KSDK‑TV is the NBC affiliate in St. Louis.

Belo, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Dallas, owns and operates 20 broadcast television stations nationwide, nine of which are in the top 25 markets. Belo’s KMOV‑TV is the CBS affiliate in St. Louis.

Sander, a Delaware limited liability company with headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz., has no current business activity other than preparing to acquire six Belo stations, including KMOV‑TV in St. Louis, as part of the transactions between Gannett, Belo and Sander.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60‑day comment period to Scott A. Scheele, Chief, Telecommunications and Media Enforcement Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 7000, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60‑day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may approve the proposed settlement upon finding that it is in the public interest.

This Press Release is courtesy of USDOJ

The school year has just began and book retailers have report a significant increase in the demand for text books. Barnes and Noble, as well as Amazon have all reported significant increase in the demand for educational content materials.

ORLANDO, Fla., July 1, 2021 — Starting today, an expanded number of central Florida viewers will get a taste of the future as eight Orlando TV stations band together to launch NEXTGEN TV. Delivering more expansive audio and video options, as well as other innovative new capabilities, NEXTGEN TV enables TV stations to better personalize their broadcasts with information and interactive features, making the content more relevant and engaging for viewers.

“With NEXTGEN TV, viewers are immersed in stunning video with brilliant color, sharper images, and deeper contrast, making them feel like they’re part of the action,” explained Mike McClain, senior vice president and general manager of WOFL-TV, WRBW-TV, and WOGX-TV. “Offering a whole new dimension to broadcast TV viewing, the Dolby Audio System for NEXTGEN TV offers movie-theater quality sound, consistent volume across channels, and Voice + enhanced dialogue so viewers can hear every voice clearly.”

Orlando has a lot to be excited about, as NEXTGEN TV will change the way viewers experience live broadcast television.

NEXTGEN TV is a feature built into select new TV models manufactured by LG Electronics, Samsung, and Sony, and now widely available to consumers. While features available on NEXTGEN TV will vary by device and by broadcaster as commercial service becomes available in local markets, it is designed to be upgradable, enabling a viewer’s television set to advance with the latest technology.

NEXTGEN TV delivers:

Stunning 4K, High Dynamic Range (HDR) video
Movie theater-quality sound
Voice + dialogue enhancement
Consistent volume across channels
Enhanced internet content on demand
“Viewers in Orlando have a lot to be excited about, as NEXTGEN TV is going to change the way they experience live broadcast television, and it will only get better as more features are added down the road by their local stations,” said John Soapes, president and general manager of WESH-TV. “NEXTGEN TV ensures the future of television, where content and the experience of watching culminates, leaving viewers informed, entertained, and inspired.”

Orlando, which is the nation’s 17th largest television market, joins Tampa, Tallahassee, and Pensacola, and nearly 30 other early-adopter cities across the country where NEXTGEN TV service is already available. The eight local stations launching the new digital TV broadcast technology are Fox Television owned-and-operated WRBW-TV (MyNetwork, Channel 65) and WOFL-TV (FOX, Channel 35), Cox Media Group’s WFTV-TV (ABC, Channel, 9) and WRDQ-TV (Independent, Channel, 27), Graham Media Group’s WKMG-TV (CBS, Channel 6), Hearst Television’s WESH-TV (NBC, Channel 2) and WKCF-TV (CW, Channel 18), and University of Central Florida’s WUCF-TV (PBS, Channel 24).

“NEXTGEN TV merges over-the-air TV with the internet, changing the way viewers watch live broadcast television and revolutionizing their interactions with their home screens,” added Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, the broadcaster business group that is coordinating NEXTGEN TV station launches. “Because NEXTGEN TV can also be enhanced with internet content, viewers across central Florida will be able to get the most out of live news, live events, and live sports.”

The participating stations have worked together to ensure current programming remains available to all viewers, regardless of whether their television service is provided over-the air or by a cable or satellite company. Antenna viewers can simply rescan their TV sets to ensure full service. Rescan instructions are available at: fcc.gov/rescan. Cable and satellite subscribers do not need to take any action. Because NEXTGEN TV has no impact on a household’s internet bandwidth—competition for bandwidth in the home is eliminated, viewers will benefit from the enhanced viewing experience alongside whatever streaming platform they use.

Orlando viewers can learn more about NEXTGEN TV by visiting www.watchnextgentv.com, which offers a guide to cities carrying the service, as well as links to available NEXTGEN TV models.

About Pearl TV:
Pearl TV is a business organization of U.S. broadcast companies with a shared interest in exploring forward-looking broadcasting opportunities, including innovative ways of promoting local broadcast TV content and developing digital media and wireless platforms for the broadcast industry. Pearl’s membership, comprising more than 750 TV stations, includes nine of the largest broadcast companies in America: Cox Media Group, Graham Media Group, Gray Television, Hearst Television Inc., Meredith Local Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, the E.W. Scripps Company, and TEGNA, Inc.

About WOFL/WRBW/WOGX:
WOFL/WRBW/WOGX are part of the FOX Television Stations, which owns and operates 29 full power broadcast television stations in the U.S. These include stations located in nine of the top ten largest designated market areas (DMAs), and duopolies in 11 DMAs, including the three largest DMAs (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago). Of these stations, 17 are affiliated with the FOX Network. In addition to distributing sports, entertainment and syndicated content, our television stations collectively produce nearly 1,000 hours of local news every week. These stations leverage viewer, distributor and advertiser demand for the FOX Network’s national content.

SOURCE Pearl TV

CONTACT: Havas Formula for Pearl TV, pearltv@havasformula.com

NEW YORK and BURBANK — Emmy®-winning talk show host, producer and social media powerhouse Ellen DeGeneres is continuing her expansion into the original digital content business in a significant way with the announcement of the creation of the Ellen Digital Network and the unveiling of its first-ever programming slate today at the 2016 Digital Content NewFronts. An Ellen Digital Ventures initiative launched in partnership with the Warner Bros. Television Group, the Ellen Digital Network will build upon the success of Ellen’s digital destination ellentube and The Ellen DeGeneres Show website EllenTV.com, as well as her official YouTube channel, wildly popular social media following and popular game Heads Up! to create a robust, premium cross-platform advertising and integration opportunity for brands to associate with the compelling and engaging original content Ellen produces and distributes, in a positive, high-quality environment.

The Ellen Digital Network will curate all aspects of the Ellen brand combined with original programming and user-generated content. The Ellen Digital Network has signed a content development deal with social media superstar Tyler Oakley, with Ellen and Tyler set to collaborate on a range of original digital projects with an aim toward developing projects for television as well.

In addition to the content partnership with Oakley, the inaugural Ellen Digital Network programming slate will feature an original Damn, Daniel series for Snapchat; Ellen’s Pet Dish, an animated series featuring Ellen’s pets from Warner Bros.’ digital production studio Blue Ribbon Content; the return of 4-year-old viral sensation Brielle; new episodes of Dance Challenge; #MadeByYou, featuring the best user-generated content from ellentube; and popular Ellen Show game Epic or Fail; and more.

Ellen DeGeneres said: “I’m so excited for the Ellen Digital Network. I’ll get to showcase amazing talents like Tyler Oakley and tWitch. Plus, I’ll finally prove to the world that my pets can speak in human voices.”

Content Slate

Damn, Daniel Boyz: Ellen teams up with Damn, Daniel creators Joshua Holz and Daniel Lara for an all-new original series featuring the Internet phenomenon debuting on Snapchat later this year.

Ellen’s Pet Dish: From Warner Bros.’ digital production unit Blue Ribbon Content, Ellen’s Pet Dish is an all-new animated series that will take viewers behind the scenes at Ellen’s home. What do Ellen and Portia’s beloved pets do all day while Ellen and Portia are away? They watch TV of course! Ellen’s Pet Dish chronicles their animated adventures, sassy small talk and comedic commentary on clips from The Ellen DeGeneres Show. There might even be some pet guest stars stopping by…

She’s Brielle-iant: This original series for ellentube features 4-year-old whiz kid and The Ellen DeGeneres Show favorite Brielle Milla showcasing her smarts on topics ranging from science’s periodic table to the human body, world countries, experiments and more. The first She’s Brielle-iant episode generated more than 18 million views.

tWitch & Allison’s Dance Challenge: Young dancers go head-to-head for the opportunity of a lifetime in this dance-competition series hosted and judged by famed choreographers Stephen “tWitch” Boss (The Ellen DeGeneres Show DJ) and his wife, Allison Holker of Dancing with the Stars. The first original series for ellentube, tWitch & Allison’s Dance Challenge features six incredible kid dancers vying for a chance to perform on an episode of Ellen. The series has generated more than four million video views to date.

#MadeByYou: From sleepy pets to mess-making toddlers and more, Ellen loves sharing the best videos sent in by her TV show viewers and online fans. Ellen’s team curates the best of these clips to create weekly episodes of #MadeByYou which debut on ellentube. In addition to the user-generated content, compilations also feature best-of moments from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, selected by Ellen and her production team. Episodes currently have more than 32 million views.

Epic or Fail: Ellen’s favorite game to play on her show has become a new series for ellentube, hosted by beloved shorts-wearing Ellen Show staffer Andy Zenor. The program showcases user-generated videos and allows viewers to play along in real time, guessing whether the results of the stunts in the videos will be an epic success or a massive fail.
Reach of the Ellen Digital Network

The Ellen Digital Network will harness the power of Ellen’s massive audience online and in social media, where she consistently ranks as the top TV personality, and continues to grow at a record-setting pace. Ellen ranks as the #1 creator of digital content online, with more than 1.1 billion total cross-platform views according to Tubular’s November 2015 survey.

On YouTube, TheEllenShow channel averages more than 300 million views per month from its nearly 16 million subscribers; it has generated more than 8.5 billion video views overall
On Twitter, @TheEllenShow boasts more than 59 million followers, ranking as the #1 most-followed TV personality (and #7 on all of Twitter)
Ellen ranks as the #1 TV host on Facebook, with more than 24 million “likes” for the show’s official page at www.facebook.com/ellentv and more than one billion video views to date
On Instagram, @TheEllenShow ranks as the #1 TV show, with more than 28 million followers
On Snapchat, Ellen averages a million views per day
On Vine, Vine.co/Ellen has 3.5 million followers and nearly 340 million views to date.
In social gaming, Ellen’s Heads Up! app ranked as the #1 paid game app of 2014 and 2015 in Apple’s App Store and has more than 24 million downloads to date; follow-up game Heads Up! Kids launched last week and hit #1 this past weekend
Video destination ellentube.com and official talk show website EllenTV.com generate more than 105 million page views monthly

About Ellen Digital Ventures
Ellen Digital Ventures (EDV) is a business initiative created by Ellen DeGeneres and the Warner Bros. Television Group that extends Ellen’s award-winning television franchise into a robust digital business, leveraging her vast social and gaming audiences. ellentube is an EDV venture, focused on the growing shortform video space, delivering fresh entertainment daily to mobile users globally. Psych! is the first free-to-play game to launch from EDV, following on the success of Heads Up!, which was the #1 Paid App of 2015 in Apple’s App Store. Founded in 2014, EDV is headed by digital industry veteran Jill Braff, who serves as General Manager and works in conjunction with Ellen show executive producers Mary Connelly, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner and Kevin A. Leman II.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. & BURBANK, Calif.–In the weeks immediately following the announcement of their groundbreaking, multi-year distribution deal, DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) today announced the availability of WATCH ABC, WATCH ABC Family, WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH Disney XD and WatchESPN, enabling DISH’s 14 million video subscribers to access live and on-demand news, entertainment and sports programming on computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and connected devices. Access to WATCH Disney Junior as well as authenticated services from SEC ESPN Network and Longhorn Network will launch later this year.

DISH customers can now conveniently watch live programming from ABC Family, Disney Channel and Disney XD as well as live network streams of ABC, which are currently available in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Fresno, Philadelphia and Raleigh-Durham. Additionally, live events and programming from ESPN networks – including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes – are now accessible. ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater will also be available on WatchESPN when those channels are in season. Video subscribers will need to log in with their DISH online IDs and passwords to access all services.

In addition to live streaming, DISH video subscribers can watch the most current episodes of ABC and ABC Family original series the day after they air online at ABC.com and ABCFamily.com or on smartphones and tablets via the WATCH ABC and WATCH ABC Family apps, which are available free to download in the App Store, Google Play Store, Amazon Appstore and Windows Store. WATCH ABC is also accessible on Apple TV.

DISH customers can access live and popular on-demand programming from Disney Channel and Disney XD online at WATCHDisneyChannel.com and WATCHDisneyXD.com. The WATCH Disney Channel and WATCH Disney XD apps are free to download in the App Store and Amazon Appstore. The networks are also accessible on Apple TV and Roku.

For WatchESPN, DISH video subscribers can visit WatchESPN.com on their computers for live access to ESPN networks. Customers with a supported smartphone or tablet can also download the free WatchESPN app by visiting the App Store, Google Play Store, Amazon Appstore or Windows Store. The app features access to live content and on-demand video clips. WatchESPN live programming and on-demand clips are also available on Xbox 360, Xbox One, Apple TV and Roku.

About DISH
DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), through its subsidiary DISH Network L.L.C., provides approximately 14.057 million satellite TV customers, as of Dec. 31, 2013, with the highest quality programming and technology with the most choices at the best value. Subscribers enjoy a high definition line-up with more than 200 national HD channels, the most international channels, and award-winning HD and DVR technology. DISH Network Corporation is a Fortune 200 company. Visit www.dish.com.

About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $45 billion in its Fiscal Year 2013.

This news is courtesy of www.dish.com

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration today announced that seven aerial photo and video production companies have asked for regulatory exemptions that would allow the film and television industry to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) with FAA approval for the first time.

If the exemption requests are granted, there could be tangible economic benefits as the agency begins to address the demand for commercial UAS operations. However, all the associated safety issues must be carefully considered to make sure any hazards are appropriately mitigated. The petitioner must still obtain operational approval from the FAA.

The Motion Picture Association of America facilitated the exemption requests on behalf of their membership. The firms that filed the petitions are all independent aerial cinematography professionals who collectively developed the exemption requests as a requirement to satisfy the safety and public interest concerns of the FAA, MPAA and the public at large.

The FAA has been working for several months to implement the provisions of Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and move forward with UAS integration before proposing a small UAS rule. Companies from three industries besides film production have approached the FAA and are also considering filing exemption requests. These industries include precision agriculture, power line and pipeline inspection, and oil and gas flare stack inspection.

The firms are asking the agency to grant exemptions from regulations that address general flight rules, pilot certificate requirements, manuals, maintenance and equipment mandates. They are also asking for relief from airworthiness certification requirements as allowed under Section 333. Under that section of the law, certain airworthiness requirements can be waived to let specific UAS fly safely in narrowly-defined, controlled, low-risk situations.

To receive the exemptions, the firms must show that their UAS operations will not adversely affect safety, or provide at least an equal level of safety to the rules from which they seek the exemption. They would also need to show why granting the exemption would be in the public interest.

Currently, Certificates of Waiver or Authorization are available to public entities that want to fly a UAS in civil airspace. Common uses today include law enforcement, firefighting, border patrol, disaster relief, search and rescue, military training, and other government operational missions. Commercial operations are authorized on a case-by-case basis. A commercial flight requires a certified aircraft, a licensed pilot and operating approval. The exemption process under Section 333 provides an additional avenue for commercial UAS operations.

This news is courtesy of www.faa.gov