In this Feb. 4, 2019 file photo, an Oscar statue appears at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
The film academy has finally revealed the Oscar categories that will be presented during the commercial breaks of this year's broadcast.
A spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday that the awards for cinematography, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, and live-action short will be presented off-air.
The winning speeches will air later in the broadcast and will also be live-streamed on Oscar.com and the film academy's social accounts.
The plan to hand out certain awards during commercials to achieve a three-hour runtime was announced in August. In future years, four to six rotating categories could be cut from the broadcast.
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
