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    David Geffen donates $100 million to Lincoln Center

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    This Nov. 5, 2012 file image released by Starpix shows producer Jeffrey Katzenberg at the premiere of "Inventing David Geffen," at The Paris Theater in New York. (AP Photo/Starpix, Amanda Schwab, File)
    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Entertainment industry executive David Geffen has donated $100 million to New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

    The performing arts building — long known as Avery Fisher Hall — will be renamed David Geffen Hall in September, Lincoln Center Chair Katherine Farley announced Wednesday.

    "As a native New Yorker, I recognize that Lincoln Center is a beacon to artists and musicians around the world," Geffen, a music and movie mogul, and longtime philanthropist, said in the statement. "To be involved with such a beloved and iconic institution is deeply satisfying."

    Lincoln Center announced in November that it would take Fisher's name off its concert hall and resell the naming rights to help finance a $500 million renovation.

    The renovation scheduled to start in 2019 was announced after the Fisher family agreed to accept $15 million to drop the name from the hall where the New York Philharmonic plays.

    One precedent close at hand is the former New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, renamed the David H. Koch Theater in 2008 after the oil-and-gas billionaire pledged $100 million.

    Avery Fisher Hall was named for Fisher, a violinist and high-fidelity pioneer who founded the Fisher Radio Company, after he financed an earlier renovation in 1973.

    He died in 1994. Under the agreement reached with his three children, the renovated concert hall will feature prominent tributes to Fisher and the family will stay involved.

    Tags:David GeffenLincoln Center



    DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    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

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