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    NBCUniversal making $200 million investment in BuzzFeed

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments941 Views
    This Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, file photo, the NBC Universal logo hangs on a building in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
    NEW YORK (AP) --

    NBCUniversal, following a potentially younger viewing audience wherever it goes, has placed a $200 million bet on the fast-growing BuzzFeed.

    The announcement from the division of cable giant Comcast Corp. on Tuesday comes not even a week after it made an identical investment in Vox Media, which runs the food blog Eater, SB Nation and Re/code.

    Traditional broadcasters have scrambled to pick up viewers, especially millennials, as habits are reshaped by new technology that allows people to watch what they want, when the want to watch it.

    Netflix, the front-runner in on-demand viewing, added 3.3 million worldwide subscribers during its last quarter, ending the period with 65.6 million customers. About 900,000 of the additional subscribers were signed up in the U.S., where Netflix now has 42.3 million customers.

    HBO and Showtime are now offering streaming services for a stand-alone monthly charge, free of a traditional cable package.

    Cable and satellite services have created stripped down packages seeking to lure millennials and others who want more control over what they pay for.

    NBCUniversal said that it wants to begin collaborating on editorial content with its new partners. The deal could allow BuzzFeed to expand its reach.

    BuzzFeed has more than 200 million monthly unique visitors and has 1.5 billion monthly video views, NBCUniversal said Tuesday.

    Tags:BuzzfeedNBCUniversal



    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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