Discovery’s $11.9 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks is now complete, and the company has rebranded itself as Discovery, Inc.
Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg spoke with chief exec David Zaslav on what this deal means for the company's position in entertainment.
Unlike Netflix, Amazon, and HBO, he said Discovery, Inc. will steer clear of scripted original content because that segment of the industry is increasingly crowded, competitive, and expensive.
“That marketplace is tightening. There’s more people bidding for the movies, more people bidding for series. The cost of content is going up,” said Zaslav.
Instead, Discovery, Inc. will focus on its strength: unscripted content that works better on all kinds of devices and around the world.
"We own all of our content globally," Zaslav told Cheddar. "But we'll resell that IP onto different devices. We might be selling it to Facebook, to Amazon, to Apple, to the mobile players."
That gives the company the flexibility to offer “skinny” direct-to-consumer packages.
“We’re the only company that could do it,” he said. “We’re also trying to really drive the marketplace ... We think the skinny bundle could really help the ecosystem here in the U.S.”
Through its acquisition, Discovery, Inc. now has 19 cable networks and reaches 20 percent of women watching prime time pay-TV, something that appeals to advertisers.
“Not only can we do one ad across all those channels...we have viewers that are passionate and engaged with our brands,” said Zaslav.
He added that some of the company’s channels bring in the “longest length of view for any cable network for women on TV.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/discovery-inc-ceo-david-zaslav-on-closing-scripps-deal).
Rory Harvey, General Motors' incoming North American president, joined Cheddar News to discuss GM's foray into the rapidly-changing electric vehicle market along with what lies ahead. "It's a very dynamic time in the automotive industry," he said. "If you look to the transformation across the EVs, it's happening and it's happening at a pace."
Ford Motor laid out some financial expectations and specific growth objectives for its electric vehicle line at an investors' event on Monday. John Lawler, chief financial officer of Ford Motor Co., joined Cheddar News to explain what lies ahead for the automaker.
Teenagers will officially be allowed to open a Venmo account with their parent's permission, the company said Monday, expanding the popular social payments app to an age demographic that is likely to embrace it almost immediately.
Stepping up a feud with Washington over technology and security, China's government on Sunday told users of computer equipment deemed sensitive to stop buying products from the biggest U.S. memory chipmaker, Micron Technology Inc.
Stocks are moving tentatively Monday, as Wall Street waits to see whether a pivotal meeting in the afternoon will help the U.S. government avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt.
