movies
Nexstar CEO Perry Sook Says Tegna Legal Battle Is “A Fight Worth Having”
Nexstar CEO Perry Sook began the company’s first quarter earnings call Thursday with a 5-minute update on the company’s efforts to fend off a legal challenge to its $6.2 billion merger with rival Tegna.
DirecTV and a collection of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to try to undo the merger, which was closed soon after the FCC approved it. The Department of Justice’s antitrust division has also signed off, but plaintiffs in the lawsuit say the deal will be a clear monopoly play. A District Court judge agreed with the monopoly claims, but Nexstar has appealed the decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
From any perspective, the merger would be a dramatic change for the media landscape, resulting in a combined entity with reach to 80% of U.S. households, more than twice the current federal limit. In approving the deal, the FCC granted a waiver, allowing Nexstar to exceed the ownership cap.
Given all of the movement, Sook wanted to update Wall Street analysts on the call about the state of affairs. “We believe we will prevail on the merits of this case,” he said. “We are confident in our arguments, expressed in detail in the FCC’s order approving the transaction, that a stronger, more financially resilient local broadcast industry is in the public’s best interest. We believe this is a fight worth having – for us, for the industry, and for the future of local journalism.
Sook reiterated the stance he and industry peers have taken recently about the cap, insisting that local TV stations should not be limited in a media and tech landscape dominated by global tech giants. “Despite consolidation within our industry, Nexstar still operates with a fraction of their ubiquitous reach and financial resources, prohibiting us and every other company in our industry from competing on a level playing field,” Sook said. The Tegna acquisition “represents an important step in solidifying our future and our ability to continue providing these valuable services to local communities across the United States.”
As far as next steps in the lawsuit, Sook noted that Nexstar is pushing forward in its appeal and has hired attorney Beth Wilkinson, an antitrust expert who has served as lead trial counsel for the NFL. She recently led the league’s successful defense in a recent case alleging its Sunday Ticket package violated laws designed to ensure competition. In an appearance at last month’s NAB Show, Sook acknowledged that the process will play out over several months. A separate legal challenge is before the D.C. Circuit Court.
CFO Lee Ann Gliha followed Sook on the call, explaining to analysts that Tegna’s results would be presented alongside Nexstar’s, with 13 days of Tegna results included, reflecting the timing of the deal’s close.
Results in the quarter exceeded analysts’ expectations, with total revenue hitting $1.4 billion and earnings per share at $5.09 on a diluted basis.
MORE to come …
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Hur Jin-ho’s historical thriller The Assassin(s) topped the Korean box office over the Chuseok holiday weekend pulling in more than 1.5 million admissions since its release on September 23.
Fresh from its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, the film has grossed $11.3M (KRW15.3BN) from 1,546,614 admissions over the first five days of release, according to data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The Chuseok holiday officially ran for three days from Thursday, September 24 to Saturday, September 27.
Starring Lee Min-ho (Gangnam 1970), Park Hae-il (Decision To Leave), and Yoo Hai-jin (A Taxi Driver), The Assassin(s) revolves around the attempted assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1974 that resulted in the death of the First Lady. A senior inspector (Yoo), veteran journalist (Park) and rookie reporter (Lee) set out to uncover exactly what happened and who was responsible, despite threats against their careers and their lives.
Coming in second over the holiday week (September 21-27) was Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub, a long-awaited sequel to a popular gambling franchise, which also opened on September 23 and took just over $6M from 813,842 admissions.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey took third place in the weekly chart, adding another $5M to it record-breaking tally from 565,696 admissions. Released on August 5, the film has grossed just over $98M from 11.7 million admissions in the Korean market, making it the biggest import of the year so far.
Warner Bros Korea’s The Intern, a remake of the 2015 hit Hollywood comedy, came in fourth with an additional $2.6M for a cumulative total of $5.5M since its September 16 release. The film stars Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee in the roles originally played by Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in the original film.
Looking at figures for the entire week, The Intern was followed by US horror hit Obsession with $1.6M for a cume of $6.7M since its September 2 release. But looking solely at the weekend, Lee Chang-dong’s Venice winner Possible Love debuted in fifth position. Also opening on September 23, the Netflix-backed film, which is Korea’s official submission for Best International Feature at the Oscars, grossed around $1M in its first five days.
Historical drama The King’s Warden continues to hold Korea’s box office crown for the year to date, with box office of $120M from 16.9 million admissions; followed by The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($69M from 9 million admissions), and two titles that debuted at this year’s Cannes film festival: Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony and Na Hong-jin’s Hope.
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Benjamin Satterley, the high-flying champion wrestler known variously to AEW and WWE fans as Pac, Bastard, Adrian Neville and Neville, has died. That, according to an announcement from All Elite Wrestling. He was 40.
Details surrounding his passing are unclear. Pac was featured at AEW’s All Out pay-per-view from Chicago on Saturday night. He challenged Andrade El Idolo for the AEW National Championship, but lost.
The statement from AEW reads in part, “A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Satterley began his wrestling career in 2004 and went on to perform for wrestling organizations all over the world, captivating fans with innovative high-flying moves and incredible in-ring ability. Pac signed with All Elite Wrestling in 2019 and held multiple AEW Championships and competed in some of the most memorable matches in AEW history. Our condolences go out to Satterley’s family, friends and fans.”
In the AEW, Satterley was the outfit’s All-Atlantic Champion and a two-time World Trios Champion.
He won the NXT Championship in the WWE’s developmental adjunct and later became a two-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
Satterley was known as “The Man that Gravity Forgot” for his signature finishing move, a spectacular corkscrew shooting star press off the top rope. You can see it in the video below.
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It was like 1998 all over again. Madonna won six Video Music Awards that year for Ray of Light.
Flash forward to tonight, and the pop icon won seven awards, including Artist of the Year, for Confessions II, the sequel to her 2005 album.
Also winning were Sabrina Carpenter for Best Editing and for her collab with the Material Girl on “Bring Your Love.” The duo appeared onstage together to accept.
Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia” and Best Director for “Opalite,” as well as a special “Artist Director” honor.
Full Winners List
VIDEO OF THE YEAR (presented in show)
Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia” – Republic Records
ARTIST OF THE YEAR (presented in show)
Madonna – Warner Records
BEST COLLABORATION (presented in show)
Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – “Bring Your Love” – Warner Records
BEST DANCE, presented by BACARDÍ® Rum (presented in show)
Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film” – Warner Records
BEST NEW ARTIST, presented by The General Insurance® (presented in show)
Sienna Spiro – Capitol Records
BEST POP (presented in show)
LISA – “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi” – Lloud Co. / RCA Records
SONG OF THE YEAR
BTS – “Swim” – BIGHIT MUSIC
BEST HIP-HOP
Cardi B ft. Kehlani – “Safe” – Atlantic Records
BEST R&B
Bruno Mars – “I Just Might” – Atlantic Records
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Olivia Rodrigo – “the cure” – Geffen Records
BEST LATIN
Bad Bunny – “NUEVAYoL” – Rimas Entertainment
BEST K-POP
BTS – “SWIM” – BIGHIT MUSIC
BEST COUNTRY
Ella Langley – “Choosin’ Texas” – Columbia Records
BEST DIRECTION
Taylor Swift – “Opalite” – Republic Records
BEST ART DIRECTION
PinkPantheress – “Stateside + Zara Larsson” – Warner Records UK / Atlantic Records
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film” – Warner Records
BEST EDITING
Sabrina Carpenter – “House Tour” – Island
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film” – Warner Records
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Ariana Grande – “hate that i made you love me” – Republic Records
SOCIAL CATEGORIES:
BEST GROUP
BTS
BEST LONG FORM VIDEO
Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film” – Warner Records
BEST ALBUM
Madonna – Confessions II – Warner Records
SONG OF SUMMER –
Ariana Grande – “hate that i made you love me” – Republic Records
SPECIAL AWARDS:
VIDEO VANGUARD – Nirvana
MTV VMA ARTIST DIRECTOR HONORS – Taylor Swift
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