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).
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
