Paul Verhoeven, president of the Jury of the 67th International Berlin Film Festival, gestures as he poses for media during a photo call at the 2017 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
BERLIN (AP) --
The curtain is going up on the annual Berlin International Film Festival, with a French film about jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt kicking off the first of the year's major European movie fests.
"Django," from first-time director Etienne Comar, is the first of 18 movies competing for the festival's top Golden Bear award.
This year's diverse program includes Oren Moverman's drama "The Dinner," starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney; a documentary on artist Joseph Beuys by German director Andres Veiel; and British director Sally Potter's "The Party."
A seven-member jury led by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven will announce the winners of the Golden Bear and other honors Feb. 18.
Verhoeven said Thursday he hoped to see diverse and "hopefully controversial" movies, "where we as a jury would really have heated arguments."
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
