Creative editorial house PS260 has launched We Know The future, a creative content studio which offers in-house production capabilities and advertising solutions across any channel that uses a screen. These offerings will be available in New York and Los Angles. JJ Lask, PS260’s co-founder, partner and editor, is leading the new content studio from the company’s L.A. office, with support from all PS260 editors and staff across both offices.
Currently, PS260’s We Know The Future partners with various creatives, from writers and directors to social media influencers, to support its content production with plans to build out the team in the next year. The first project from We Know The Future is titled American Counselor, which launched during the first week of July on PS260’s YouTube channel timed to the Fourth of July holiday. Subsequent episodes will post each week throughout the summer.
PS260 and We Know The Future edited and produced American Counselor, respectively, and worked with director of the 14-episode digital series, Brendan Gibbons. The series personifies both the liberal and conservative sides of the U.S. as a husband and wife going through marriage counseling. Actors include Annie Sertich (2 Broke Girls, The Office), Ptolemy Slocum (Westworld, The Sopranos), and Marc Evans Jackson (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Jumanji), who plays the American Counselor.
In addition to American Counselor, Lask is working on a show directed at fathers, called That Dad Show, that will live on Facebook this fall, and will be produced by the new content studio.
PS260 believes that having a stake in the conception and creation of content like American Counselor is a natural merger and progression of PS260’s unique editorial and storytelling talents.
“The launch of PS260’s content studio is a response to a new advertising landscape,” Lask said. “PS260’s advantage is our visual storytelling talent. We are now leveraging that talent to develop, create and produce longer format episodic content combined with advertising solutions distributed across all the leading social channels. We’re so excited to kick off We Know The Future’s first project with director and friend Brendan Gibbons, and look forward to seeing how the expansion of our capabilities will better serve our current and potential clients.”
DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit
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