In this April 14, 2016 file photo, Ken Burns attends the 2016 Room To Grow Benefit, to support babies born into poverty, at Tribeca Three Sixty in New York. (Photo by Christopher Smith/Invision/AP)
Hillel Italie, National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --
Brothers and fellow filmmakers Ken and Ric Burns have received an honorary prize from the New-York Historical Society.
The Burns siblings' many credits together and separately include documentaries on the Civil War, baseball and New York. The brothers were presented with the society's History Makers Award at a gala benefit Monday night in Manhattan.
Society executive committee chair Roger Hertog praised the filmmakers as "candle lighters" and "whistle blowers" who showed how understanding history was vital to the present.
Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is a featured commentator for Ken Burns' "Jazz" and performed a brief duet with pianist Dan Nimmer.
Previous winners include "Hamilton" playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, Henry Kissinger and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who on Monday night was debating Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.
The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.
The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.
DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.
"While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.
The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.
The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.
DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More
