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  Good afternoon from Los Angeles, and thanks to those of you who came to the podcast business summit this past week. My colleague Ashley Carman coordinated a great afternoon of programming in partnership with the folks at On Air Fest. Ashley wrote up the big takeaways in her newsletter. I’ve got a little update on Netflix’s podcast business, as well as some new details on two potential media mergers. If you don’t subscribe to this newsletter, fix that here. Five things you need to know
Who wants to buy a bunch of cable networks?Starz Entertainment Corp. is interested in acquiring A+E Global Media, the owner of its namesake cable channel as well as History. A+E, jointly owned by Hearst and Walt Disney Co., put itself on the market earlier this year and hired Wells Fargo to identify potential suitors. Starz, a premium cable network turned midsize streaming player, raised its hand, according to several people familiar with the matter. Starz is best known for shows such as Outlander and Power. It separated from Lionsgate earlier this year. The resulting company belongs to a pool of smaller entertainment entities looking for ways to convince Wall Street they have a bright future. A+E would give Starz more programming for its streaming business and cash flow to use on corporate initiatives. The talks haven’t progressed very far. A+E is holding out for a wealthier dance partner. Shares of Starz have dropped since the company was separated from Lionsgate. Its market capitalization sits at just $169 million, alongside debt of $609 million. A+E has cast a wide net in its evaluation of strategic options. The company owns a bunch of cable networks, which is a terrible business in 2025. The audience for History, its most-watched network, has dropped by more than 50% over the last decade. The good news for A+E is that it’s not a public company so it doesn’t get judged every day based on the future of cable. But that cloudy future will impact the market of potential suitors. More cable networks would fit into Versant, the cable TV business being spun out of Comcast. They would also fit into Discovery Global, the cable networks being split from Warner Bros. But Warner Bros. and Comcast have far bigger strategic concerns. (More on that in a moment.) And even if they didn’t, how badly do they want those A+E networks? Beyond other cable network owners seeking synergies and potentially private equity, there aren’t a lot of buyers. Warner Bros. suitors fight for positionThe bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery has narrowed to three parties: Paramount, Comcast and Netflix. Paramount is offering the simplest deal. It wants to buy the entire company. The Ellison family would be the largest (and controlling) shareholder. But Warner Bros. has spurned the Ellisons thus far, and it’s not clear if that’s just about price or also about strategy and personalities. The Ellisons’ takeover of Paramount has spooked Hollywood, which is worried about the combination of two major studios. It also appears that former Warner Bros. board member John Malone thinks Paramount is the wrong buyer. Comcast and Netflix are interested only in the streaming and studio business (aka Warner Bros. and HBO), which means the management would need to go ahead with splitting the company. Warner Bros. would spin off its cable networks into a new company called Discovery Global and then merge the studio and streaming business with Comcast or Netflix. A deal with Comcast would join Warner Bros. with a theme-park business and NBCUniversal, as well as lots of sports rights (including the NFL, NBA and Olympics). Warner Bros.′ HBO would give Comcast a better shot in streaming. Many executives are skeptical that the Trump administration would approve a sale to Comcast for political reasons. (This deal would also combine two major studios.) Netflix is really after just the studio and library. It doesn’t need HBO Max. Many analysts are skeptical of a deal with Netflix. “The strategic strength of such a combination is difficult to dispute,” Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson wrote. But “financially it would be more difficult” because Netflix “would have to pay a substantial premium.” Republican Congressman Darrell Issa wrote a note objecting to the Netflix deal, raising concerns about the streaming giant swallowing another major service. His note read like he’s been talking to the Ellisons. The deadline for bids is Nov. 20, and everyone is doing their best to control the public narrative. Ellison, who has been in aggressive pursuit, said he didn’t need to do a deal. Netflix’s co-CEOs have publicly downplayed their interest while working on a deal in private. Warner Bros. has tweaked CEO David Zaslav’s pay to ensure he gets paid no matter the outcome. Netflix targets more podcastsNetflix is getting in business with more podcasters. The streaming service is working on a TV deal with the hosts of The Rest Is Football, a popular podcast owned by the UK’s Goalhanger. The deal isn’t for the video rights to their show, but for a different project, according to people familiar with the talks. Netflix has also been pursuing the hit show Crime Junkies, one of the most popular podcasts in the US. Its audience is primarily in audio as its YouTube channel is a work in progress. Fox’s Tubi did a deal to manage distribution and advertising for Crime Junkies, but that doesn’t mean the show will be exclusive there. That arrangement was with Red Seat Ventures, and Tubi contributed some of the financing. Fox is now shopping the video rights to third parties. We covered how these deals fit into Netflix’s larger podcasting strategy last week. The best of Screentime (and other stuff)The masculinity crisis, revisitedMost of the hosts and guests on popular podcasts are guys. That’s according to a study from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications. About 64% of hosts are men. When it comes to guests, it’s an even larger share — 73%. Women account for a minority of guests in every genre and format. Many politicians, academics and even top podcasters like to talk about a crisis among young men. While it is true that the data about education and loneliness among young men is troubling, most of the research about the industries that we cover here indicates white men are still faring much better than just about everyone else. For example, women in the gaming industry earn 24% less than their male colleagues. A savvy reader flagged my comments on Hollywood and diversity last week. They were correct that my comments were too flippant. But Hollywood’s investment in diversity programs following movements such as #MeToo, #OscarsSoWhite and Black Lives Matter always struck me as reactionary and a little misguided. The industry saw promoting diversity as a box to check rather than a business imperative. That is why its regression in this area — fueled by a presidential administration hostile to the notion of diversity and inclusion — is unsurprising and disheartening. Hiring filmmakers of color isn’t something you do just because it’s moral. It’s something you do because you can make more money. The No. 1 movie in the world is…Now You See Me 3. It outdueled a remake of The Running Man, and the second weekend of Predator: Badlands (last week’s No. 1). It’s been a slow period for new blockbusters — hence this New York Times headline — but that is about to change with the new Wicked and Zootopia movies, followed next month by the next Avatar. Deals, deals, deals
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