Director Jacques Audiard holds the Palme d’Or award for the film Dheepan as he poses for photographers during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 68th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 24, 2015. (AP Photo)
PARIS (AP) --
France's president says his country's strong showing at this year's Cannes film festival is no accident — suggesting it's partly thanks to government subsidies.
France has had long dry spells without prizes at Cannes. This year, unusually, five French films were selected for competition. The jury, led by American directors Joel and Ethan Coen, handed three prizes to French winners, including the top prize for Jacques Audiard's migrant drama "Dheepan."
Hollande said the prizes demonstrate "the effectiveness and originality" of French film financing "which I absolutely want to preserve and defend on a European level."
France argues that subsidies offer viewers more diversity than Hollywood blockbusters. French resistance to limits on film subsidies affected talks toward a major U.S.-EU trade deal.
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
