With two mega-media mergers on the table- WarnerMedia with Discovery and Amazon’s takeover of MGM- FTC scrutiny was a given. Today our resident entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake, breaks down what we know about Federal approval for both deals.

Amazon.com’s proposed $8.5B deal seems to have raised some hackles with the FTC, reportedly having received a second request to review the merger. Typically, this will vastly extend the deadline faced before a ruling is made. In June, we saw Amazon strike back, asking that the FTC Chair, Lina Khan, be removed on an antitrust basis, citing conflict due to research she has conducted as well as previous advocacy stances. It’s worth noting that the FTC already has an investigation against Amazon open as an overall part of its current Big Tech probe.

In sunnier news, AT&T seems to have a smoother road ahead. Their megamerger with Discovery, as well as the selling of a 30% stake in the pay TV business to the private equity firm TPG, seems set to close faster than originally thought. The regulatory review process for the Discovery merger is set to take about a year, with no problematic aspects yet reached in the process and the deal described as ‘straightforward’. Current hopes are that the deadline suggested for security clearance will prove conservative enough to see the matter resolved faster. On top of some pure speculation about AT&T’s future partnership with DirecTV, things seem to be looking up for the group finally

While the Amazon merger seems doomed to languish under the FTC probe a little longer, should both deals go through it will undoubtedly create some new key players in the media and entertainment landscape. It will be intriguing to see how these new tech-media companies influence the industry as a whole going forward. As always, we will be there to help you understand it all.

‘Tis the season for carriage deals. Today our resident expert entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake, takes a look at the newly announced carriage deal between ViacomCBS and Charter, following hot on the heels of Universal’s multiple content deals this month.

Cable giant Charter Communications has now unveiled a multi-year distribution agreement for ViacomCBS’ full suite of networks, including broadcast, news, sports, and entertainment networks. Despite this announcement, the financial details and precise terms have been kept under wraps. That said, we do know that it also covers licensing for ViacomCBS’ streaming services, including Noggin, BET+, Pluto TV, and, of course, Paramount +, allowing for future distribution to Charter’s Spectrum customers. Addressable media and advanced advertising are also included under the deal.

As with Universal, the going hype seems to be offering these brands’ extensive brand portfolio to a wider audience, in turn pulling in new people with a wider choice of content to enjoy. Charter has placed further emphasis on flexibility and adaptation, hoping to keep up with the broadening digital TV trends as well as stay competitive and attractive to advertisers. With the content consumption landscape changing as fast as it is, diversifying their options is probably a smart idea, as is the added flexibility this agreement should bring both entities in the business arena.

It’s certainly an abrupt volte-face to the previous renewal cycle, which predates the reunification of Viacom and CBS in late 2019. Then, we saw quite tense rhetoric from Charter and Viacom, despite their eventual agreement. It has become a feature of ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish’s tenure, however, to see frayed distribution relationships repaired across the board. CBS, before the merger, last had a far less contentious renewal with Charter in 2018.

While we have yet to receive full details on the deal, this will be one to watch as we go ahead into the new cycle. 

On the back of a reduced travel market and near-nil festival attendance for the previous year, the British Film Institute (BFI) has announced it will be channeling funds into a new one-year, ring-fenced fund to promote new non-English indie films. This represents a collaboration with industry stalwarts, including the Film Distributors Association and the UK Cinema Association. It will be administered under the existing BFI Audience Fund. Here’s what BLAKE & WANG P.A Entertainment Lawyer Los Angeles has found out for interested indie producers.

Brandon Blake– Entertainment lawyer

This one-year ring-fenced fund has open applications now, so if the project interests you, you will need to move. Applicants must show that they meet the Audience Fund’s existing objectives of widening audience choices and promoting diversity. And, of course, meeting the language criteria.

The Audience Fund has, on average, helped bring six non-English titles to life a year since it first began working in 2017. It’s no small list, either. Minari and Parasite both were birthed with BFI support, alongside Shoplifters, A Fantastic Woman, And Then We Danced, and the much-anticipated Night of the Kings.

Why now? In their own words, “In a year where international travel is limited, we’re bringing the world to audiences.” The one-year fund recognizes the hardships faced by smaller foreign-language titles, especially with distribution and the exhibition environment, during the tumult of 2020. The funding hopes to balance some of this setback and help ensure these indie projects can rebuild competitively in the sector over the next year.

If you’re an independent producer in this niche, now is the time to act to apply to the fund, so don’t hesitate. Overall, this is a worthy addition to the funding field for the industry, and BLAKE & WANG P.A will be watching with interest to see what projects it brings to life.

We saw the Cannes online market hit this week, to a rather muted trading window. For the first time in many years, several key companies were missing from the project market. All the same, it’s hardly unexpected given the turbulence of the last 18 months, and there were some interesting picks up for grabs, too. BLAKE & WANG P.A Entertainment Lawyer Los Angeles reveal some of the Cannes ins-and-outs you should know in advance of the festival kicking off next week.

The survival thriller Suddenly was a hot commodity, despite being only the sophomore directorial outing for Thomas Bidegain. Add Dead for a Dollar, Pussy Island, and Daddio to your list of hot commodities to watch, as they’re sure to be winners.

The first deal of the market went to Andreas Wiseman, with the action-comedy Muscle going to German major Leonine. A juicy pre-sale in high seven figures makes this one of the biggest for Cannes in a long while, as well as one of Leonine’s most lucrative snags. It looks like a win-win all around on that one.

Overall, it’s not a bad bit of pre-festival build-up, given the current economic climate. The Cannes Film Festival itself will kick off on July 6th. This year also brings us another interesting Cannes milestone- with 5 of the 9 spots going to women, this will be a majority-female jury despite Spike Lee sitting as president. The women in question are, of course, noted French singer Mylène Farmer, French-Senegalese actor/director Mati Diop, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, and Jessica Hausner. We’ve also seen the Cannes Classics section unveiled, including the 2001 hit, Mulholland Drive. All in all, it’s an interesting setup for the Festival itself. How will things fare for the rest of the festival? That, of course, remains to be seen- but BLAKE & WANG P.A Entertainment lawyer will keep you in the loop, of course!

Nielsen’s new monthly measurement, The Gauge, has revealed surprising- and slightly startling- data on how Americans consume their media. What does this mean for studios and advertisers, however? BLAKE & WANG P.A best entertainment lawyers in Los Angeles one of the best entertainment law firms Los Angeles  dives into the details. 

Brandon Blake– Entertainment Lawyer

For May, we see Americans consume 25% of their TV through broadcast services, 26% through streaming, and a rather startling 39% through cable. It’s no surprise that the TV landscape has been forever altered by 2020’s unprecedented events. This data, however, doesn’t quite reflect what we would have anticipated. In a world where more and more people are shifting back to their pre-pandemic habits, we’re definitely seeing a continued interest in streaming services, and people are still sampling their many options. It’s not unrealistic to say that, as TV production ramps up in turn, we’ll also see what content enters the space to give individual services traction with viewers. 

Currently, the strong favorites- Netflix and YouTube at 6%, Hulu at 3%, Amazon Prime Video at 2%, and Disney+ at 1%- are no surprise to anyone. Future patterns, however, could well change significantly.

We’re also seeing a continual branching of service. Almost every streaming channel has migrated to offering both premium and ad-supported content, regardless of which option came first. Marketers have long been complaining that Nielsen did not keep its methodology up-to-date for the streaming era, lacking visibility into how the market was divided between linear TV and streaming. Likewise, networks have complained that there was undercounting of their viewership. Hence, of course, the introduction of The Gauge to start with.

On top of this, we have the new direct-to-consumer models being so wholeheartedly embraced by Disney, NBCUniversal, and WarnerMedia. In a world where your revenue depends on ads, you need metrics to make your best decisions. When that data isn’t there, it’s an issue.

Now we have the figures. The question is, what will we do with them? BLAKE & WANG P.A top entertainment law firms Los Angeles will be watching for studio and advertiser response with interest. 

This week we see the new, discounted ad-supported tier for HBO Max, the streaming service associated with WarnerMedia, launch with some success. This comes alongside the sudden merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia, as parent AT&T spins them off in a deal expected to finish by the middle of next year. BLAKE & WANG P.A entertainment lawyer Los Angeles has the information you need.

The move to offer an ad-subsidized tier, something of the opposite journey to services like CBS All Access and Hulu, is an interesting one. However, if one looks further back in the history of cable TV, it’s a very similar move to what we saw work well there- MTV, AMC, and Bravo all have similar stories to tell. In fact, mining both advertiser income and paid subscriptions is very much a hallmark of paid TV, something streamers used to shy away from. For streamers, it works out with less share due to distributors, too, given the direct-to-consume model, so it’s not surprising we’re seeing such growth.

Brandon Blake– The Entertainment Lawyer

The move to offer an ad-subsidized tier, something of the opposite journey to services like CBS All Access and Hulu, is an interesting one. However, if one looks further back in the history of cable TV, it’s a very similar move to what we saw work well there- MTV, AMC, and Bravo all have similar stories to tell. In fact, mining both advertiser income and paid subscriptions is very much a hallmark of paid TV, something streamers used to shy away from. For streamers, it works out with less share due to distributors, too, given the direct-to-consume model, so it’s not surprising we’re seeing such growth.

Is it a competitive tier, however? While Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ have all enjoyed their growth without the need for ad-supported tiers, AVOD has blossomed over the last 24 months. This has been considerably helped by the roll-out of smart TVS and connect-TVs. 

Over 35 brands are slated to go live with HBO Max over the first 4 weeks of its run, and the company press release promises that both subscribers and viewers will win with the new arrangement. In fact, WarnerMedia ad sales chief JP Colaco promises the new tier is an “innovative, best in class streaming ad experience”. Ads, driven by personalization, will not be intrusive or annoying. Of course, they would promise all of this. How will it work out in practice? BLAKE & WANG P.A entertainment attorney Los Angeles will be watching further developments for the AVOD tier with interest.

Brandon Blake– Managing Partner at Blake & Wang P.A.

BLAKE & WANG P.A entertainment lawyer Los Angeles has been reporting with interest on the many negotiations between the theatrical industry and content creators over the past few months. After all, there’s little point in green lighting screens to reopen if there’s no enticing offerings to bring in the viewers past reopening weekend. What will content deals for the international exhibition industry look like? Let’s look at what we know.

Cineworld has recently reached an arrangement with 3 major studios for both the US and UK markets. Discussions with Sony and Paramount are still underway, and it’s our understanding that other major exhibition groups also have talks underway with this ‘Big 5’ of the content production industry. 

There’s still some lingering questions if this will truly be the end of the 15-month interruption to business as normal, or if there are still chances of this being another false start. Already we know that France has decided on a cap of 400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants before local authorities are compelled to roll back or slow economic reopening. Yet France has also seen 20 M people receive at least 1 dose of a vaccine. We’ve also had encouraging news this week that many of the major vaccine manufacturers have seen results against evolving strains of the virus, suggesting the chances of a full lock down returning are far less than ever before. 

For now, cinemas can open with a slate of much-anticipated movies, including some Oscar winners and nominees. France estimates numbers as high as 400 among films that were postponed in 2020, and was able to put 14 new-to-market releases on the table. We’ve already seen a surprising willingness to return to exclusive theatrical windows from US studios, albeit at a curtailed 45-day window, before options to push to streaming, so we’ll likely see similar arrangements cut for the international market. In the meantime, BLAKE & WANG P.A wishes the reopening cinemas the best. 

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