Joe Flint

Gerald M. “Jerry” Levin, a television executive who rose to the top of Time Warner and orchestrated its ill-fated merger with America Online, which defined his legacy, died at the age of 84 in Long Beach (CA). Levin played a key role in the creation of HBO, helped spearhead the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Media, and led the subsequent acquisition of Ted Turner’s media holdings—including CNN—to create the largest news and entertainment company in the world.

ESPN, Fox, and Warner are teaming up to create a supersize sports-streaming service that will offer content from all major leagues, a deal that will reshape the sports and media landscape. The as-yet-unnamed service will be offered directly to consumers, who would be able to stream a host of channels that are heavy in live sports, including ESPN, TNT, Fox, FS1 and ABC, the companies said in a statement. Each of the companies will have one-third ownership of the new service, which is expected to launch in the fall.

The labor agreement that writers struck with studios and streaming platforms will likely accelerate the end to “peak TV," a decade that included an explosion of programming for viewers and job opportunities for talent in Hollywood. Streamers will have to find a way to pay increased talent costs—from the writers’ settlement, along with an earlier deal with directors and whatever is finalized with actors—without adding to their overall production costs. That will likely mean that companies will make fewer new shows and cancel even more that are on the bubble.

The four major broadcast networks have filed a suit in federal court to shut down Locast, a nonprofit streaming service funded in part by AT&T and founded by a Dish Network lobbyist that offers their feeds to subscribers for no charge. CBS, Disney's ABC, Comcast’s NBCUniversal, and Fox argue that Locast is retransmitting the signals of their local TV stations without permission, in violation of copyright law.

Expect to hear official announcement on May 3 of Sinclair Broadcast Group's deal to acquire 21 regional sports networks from Walt Disney for $10 billion. The price tag for the regional sports networks is less than some industry observers initially anticipated.

Apparently, Nexstar Media Group has reached an agreement in principle to buy Tribune Media Co. for about $4.1 billion. The acquisition would add Tribune Media’s 42 stations in major markets to Nexstar’s portfolio of about 175 TV stations in cities including San Francisco, Phoenix and Tampa. It would catapult Nexstar past rival Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns more than 170 stations, mostly in midsize and smaller markets.

Fox News and its parent company 21st Century Fox said they have reached settlements with 18 former employees of the news channel who had filed lawsuits that included allegations of racial and gender discrimination.

Potential deals between 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney (or Comcast), Viamcom and CBS, and AT&T and Time Warner have producers wondering just who the TV programming honchos will be. New ownership or management could lead to changes in programming strategy, determining which shows get renewed or canceled, where they fall on the schedule, and what kind of resources and marketing budget they get. The uncertainty adds to the other challenges facing the industry including competition for talent and viewers from deep-pocketed streaming services.

Apparently CBS has made an offer to acquire Viacom and the bid is contingent on its management team being at the helm of the merged entity. The all-stock offer is below Viacom’s current market valuation of $12.5 billion. In its offer, CBS proposed that Chief Executive Leslie Moonves and President Joe Ianniello would run the combined company for the foreseeable future, which could make Viacom CEO Bob Bakish an odd man out. Both CBS and Viacom are controlled by media mogul Sumner Redstone’s holding company National Amusements, which has a nearly 80% voting stake in each firm.

The boards of CBS and Viacom have formed special committees to evaluate a potential merger, a deal that would reunite the two big pieces of the Redstone family’s media empire. Shari Redstone, vice chairman of both companies, is pushing for a merger. She, along with her 94 year-old father, Sumner Redstone, controls CBS and Viacom, with a roughly 80% controlling stake in each company through their holding company National Amusements. Shari Redstone believes both companies need greater scale to better compete against bigger rivals.