CBS and Viacom reach merger deal

[Nutso]

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/13/cbs-and ... -deal.html

CBS and Viacom have agreed to merge, ending years of on-and-off talks.

The new company will be called ViacomCBS, and Viacom’s CEO, Bob Bakish, will be the CEO of the combined company. Joe Ianiello, who was serving as CBS CEO since last year, will be the chairman of CBS and will be in charge of CBS assets after the merger.

Existing CBS shareholders will own about 61% of the combined company, with Viacom shareholders owning the remaining 39%. Each Viacom shareholder will receive .59625 shares of CBS shares. CBS shares rose 1.5%. Viacom shares rose 1.77%.

The combination reunites the two media companies controlled by Sumner Redstone’s National Amusements. Viacom spun off CBS in 2006. Redstone’s daughter, Shari, is the vice chairman of the board at both CBS and Viacom and has long desired putting the companies back together to gain scale in a media environment where competitors including Disney, Comcast and AT&T have bulked up through a series of megadeals.

The end of the laughable Star Trek ownership debacle.

[Teaos]

I wonder how much Star Trek is valued at? If someone wanted to buy it off them. Its not done well the last 20 years, but royalties of the old shows must still pull in a bit.

[Nutso]

I wonder how much Star Trek is valued at? If someone wanted to buy it off them. Its not done well the last 20 years, but royalties of the old shows must still pull in a bit.

I cannot find an exact number, but from this article written in July 2016,

In the latest quarter, content licensing and distribution revenue rose 16%, driven mainly by the Star Trek licensing. Meanwhile, affiliate and subscription fees decreased 2.5% and advertising revenue declined 2.6%

For context, https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowi ... 8058dc1e77

License! Global, the trade publication for the licensing industry, lists CBS Consumer Products as No. 88 on its list of Top Global Licensors 2016, valuing the entire CBS portfolio at $300 million. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the $6 billion value of Warner Bros. properties, and a very far cry from the industry leader, licensing juggernaut Walt Disney DIS +0%’s estimated $52.5b. But a 16% increase in CBS’s overall content and licensing revenue last quarter was attributed almost entirely to Star Trek, pushing CBS’s overall earning beyond analyst expectations.

[Graham Kennedy]

There are folks online saying that this might lead to some sort of Trek rebirth.

It occurred to me today that we haven't had a good Trek TV series since DS9 finished, twenty years ago. Trek TV has been on a downwards trajectory ever since then, really. And next year there will be as many bad seasons (albeit some shorter) as good seasons of Trek. That's a depressing thought.

[Teaos]

But the way TV is being treated not it is very trendy. I can't see them taking the risk on a standard trek show, they will always want some sort of stupid hook.

[Graham Kennedy]

But the way TV is being treated not it is very trendy. I can't see them taking the risk on a standard trek show, they will always want some sort of stupid hook.

Yeah, that's pretty universal now in movies and TV. Everything has to be a sequel, remake, reboot, book/comic/game/pamphlet adaption...

[AlexMcpherson79]

~~ book/comic/game/pamphlet adaption...

Coming to a cinema near you next year!

*cue tense background music*

It seemed like a normal day, but this family had no idea what was lurking in their back garden... until one day, Karen and Kyle looked out on their kids playing football and saw it...

*Family run into the house and hide* It seemed like there was nothing to do, but at that moment... *a pamphlet comes through their letter box* they realised there was one man who could save them...

*big print all-caps bad-font title of the movie comes on the screen* "The GARDENER"

No Matter how big or small the culprit, the GARDENER never stops, never fails, to do the impossible, and-

*incongruous image given the 'horror film' music* remove those ugly shrubs.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

~~ book/comic/game/pamphlet adaption...

Coming to a cinema near you next year!

*cue tense background music*

It seemed like a normal day, but this family had no idea what was lurking in their back garden... until one day, Karen and Kyle looked out on their kids playing football and saw it...

*Family run into the house and hide* It seemed like there was nothing to do, but at that moment... *a pamphlet comes through their letter box* they realised there was one man who could save them...

*big print all-caps bad-font title of the movie comes on the screen* "The GARDENER"

No Matter how big or small the culprit, the GARDENER never stops, never fails, to do the impossible, and-

*incongruous image given the 'horror film' music* remove those ugly shrubs.

I'd rather watch that than a lot of other movies.

Anyway, this is... big, right? It seems big.