Latest in Corporate Affairs

Investors in media stocks can be forgiven for believing they have been living in End Times. For the past few years, the tech sector dominated the headlines, and was also where the biggest returns lay (unless, of course, you happened to have bet the farm on Uber or Lyft). The widely used acronym FAANG (Facebook, Apple…

Screenwriter and director Paul Haggis, who is due to stand trial for allegedly raping publicist Haleigh Breest, will also face charges of violating a New York City law aimed at preventing “gender-motivated violence.” That was the determination of the First Department of New York’s Appellate Division in a ruling…

Five months before launching highly anticipated streaming service Peacock, Comcast has reportedly been conducting exclusive negotiations to acquire Xumo, a notable startup player in ad-supported streaming. The Wall Street Journal reported the talks Thursday evening, but it cautioned the discussions could still fall…

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings will see his total compensation rise 10% to just shy of $34.7 million in 2020, the company disclosed Monday in an SEC filing. The streaming giant annually provides a look ahead at its executive compensation just before the end of December. In 2018, Hastings earned a total of $31.5 million…

UPDATED with stock movement, Wall Street reaction. Resolving a closely tracked negotiation, Comcast and Starz said Monday they have entered into a long-term carriage deal, more than a week before the December 31 expiration date for the previous contract. Along with the pay-TV agreement, a content deal was also…

Sports betting giant DraftKings will go public as part of a $3.3 billion, three-way merger with SBTech and Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp., a firm founded by Hollywood veterans Harry Sloan and Jeff Sagansky. With legal restrictions around sports wagering beginning to ease across the country, DraftKings has been a…

With new channels joining the programming lineup and new features being rolled out, Dish Network’s Sling TV is raising prices. The internet-delivered bundle’s “Orange” and “Blue” tiers now cost $30 a month, up from $25. It now costs $45 to subscribe to a combination of Orange and Blue, up from $40. Sling, which got…

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is getting a big salary bump with his expanded role as CEO of Alphabet. According to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Pichai will receive a $2 million salary, plus a $240 million stock package that’s set to take effect in 2020. The stock will be granted over three years and…

The Michael Jackson estate and The Walt Disney Company have settled a copyright lawsuit over the ABC-TV special The Last Days Of Michael Jackson. The Jackson estate’s main lawyer confirmed the settlement. “The dispute with Disney has been amicably resolved,” said attorney Howard Weitzman. Disney has not commented. The…

As Apple looks to draw more viewers to its TV offerings — both original programming on Apple TV+ and third-party app gateway Apple TV — it has been having discussions with a wide range of potential partners. A Wall Street Journal report Thursday identified two disparate entities: MGM and the Pac-12 conference, with…

TiVo, known as the pioneer of delayed viewing of television, has merged with entertainment tech firm Xperi in a $3 billion, all-stock deal. The combined company will be “one of the industry’s largest intellectual property licensing platforms,” reaching hundreds of businesses and tens of millions of consumers…

EXCLUSIVE: Mobile streaming service Ficto has formed several new content partnerships and fleshed out its content offering of more than 50 shows as it prepares to go live in the first quarter of 2020. Led by CEO and co-founder Mike Esola, a former agent at UTA and WME, Ficto was first announced about a year ago. The…