Maria Bakalova, from left, Andra Day and Regina King are interviewed and Marlee Matlin walks the red carpet at the Oscars on Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark Terrill, Pool)
NEW YORK (AP) --
The Academy Awards television audience on ABC plunged to 9.85 million viewers, less than half of Oscars' previous low and continuing the startling trend of viewer tune out for awards shows.
The Nielsen company's preliminary estimate released Monday shows that the audience to watch "Nomadland" win best picture was 58% below last year's tally of 23.6 million, the prior low-water mark.
Producers tried a hostless event Sunday night with a small audience of nominees and guests who weren't wearing masks. But in a year where movie theaters were mostly closed due to the pandemic, people were either unfamiliar with or unexcited about movies they primarily streamed at home.
Both the Golden Globes (6.9 million viewers) and Grammy Awards (9.2 million) had record low audiences earlier this year.
The Walt Disney Co. logo appears on a screen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Aug. 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Disney's Hulu + Live TV and sports streaming service Fubo are combining in a deal that will also see the settlement of a lawsuit against the creation of Venu Sports.
Fubo and Hulu + Live TV both allow customers to stream live broadcast and cable networks on their connected TVs, mobile phones, tablets, and other internet-connected devices.
The combined company, which Disney will have a 70% stake in, will operate under Fubo's publicly traded company name and be led by Fubo's existing management team. Fubo and Hulu + Live TV have a combined 6.2 million North American subscribers.
Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will still be available to consumers as separate offerings once the transaction closes.
"This combination enables us to deliver on our promise to provide consumers with greater choice and flexibility," Fubo CEO David Gandler said in a statement. "Additionally, this agreement allows us to scale effectively, strengthens Fubo's balance sheet and positions us for positive cash flow."
Disney has committed to a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026. There's also a $130 million termination fee payable to Fubo under certain circumstances.
Disney said it will also enter into a new deal with Fubo that will allow Fubo to create a new sports and broadcast service that features Disney's sports and broadcast networks including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS and ESPN+.
The companies said that Fubo has settled all litigation with Disney and ESPN related to Venu Sports, the sports streaming platform that was planned by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Fubo has also settled all litigation with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.
In August a federal judge granted Fubo's motion for a preliminary injunction against... Read More