Paramount is valuing Discovery Global at $0\/share; ESPN bids farewell to two longtime tennis analysts; and YES Network and Comcast reportedly reach a new long-term distribution agreement. Plus news on Jimmy Zasowski, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Ryan Smith and Sactown Sports 1140.<\/p>\n
Paramount valuing Discovery Global at $0\/share<\/p>\n
Paramount on Thursday said that it values Discovery Global, the upcoming spinoff company slated to hold global networks owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, at $0\/share. The company made the comments as part of a broader statement reaffirming its $30\/share hostile bid for the entirety of WBD, which it continues to maintain is \u201csuperior\u201d to the winning Netflix bid for the Warner Bros. studios, HBO and HBO Max. The Netflix bid would leave WBD shareholders with ownership in Discovery Global, a stub that Paramount valued<\/a> at $1\/share last month before Comcast\u2019s cable spinoff Versant launched on the Nasdaq.<\/p>\n In valuing shares of Discovery Global at $0.00, Paramount is assuming a forward EBITDA multiple of 3.8x, which would be in line with Versant\u2019s share price and enterprise value at market close on Wednesday. Paramount acknowledged that \u201cDiscovery Global could trade with up to ~$0.50 per share of embedded M&A option value,\u201d but also argued that there are reasons why Discovery \u201cshould trade at a discount to Versant,\u201d pointing to financial metrics and a \u201cless attractive portfolio.\u201d Paramount outlined Discovery\u2019s net debt of about $15 billion at 3.9x NTM leverage, compared to $2 billion in net debt at 1.3x NTM leverage for Versant.<\/p>\n Paramount also cited analysis arguing that Netflix stock consideration is equivalent to $4.17 per share, not the $4.50 outlined in the original transaction. PSKY\u2019s bid places Warner Bros. Discovery at an enterprise value of $108.4 billion and contains \u201can irrevocable personal guarantee\u201d from Larry Ellison to backstop proposed equity financing. The company initially made three unsolicited bids for WBD before the formal bidding process commenced in November. It remains unknown if Paramount would consider raising its bid ahead of an expected shareholder vote projected to occur later in the spring or early in the summer.<\/p>\n In an SEC filing Wednesday, WBD wrote<\/a> that \u201cPSKY has been aggressive in its engagement with WBD, has retained litigation counsel and has threatened litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n YES Network, Comcast reportedly reach new distribution agreement<\/p>\n YES Network and Comcast have reached a new \u201cfull distribution agreement\u201d that will keep live game broadcasts on expanded basic cable in the New York area, according to a report by Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports<\/a>. The two entities had been unable to reach a long-term accord over the last year, instead reaching a series of shorter pacts.<\/p>\n Fisher explained that Comcast was looking to put YES Network \u201con a more expensive and limited premium programming tier,\u201d which would align with distribution of other RSNs around the country. YES, however, is said to have noted that SportsNet New York (SNY) is partially owned by Comcast and has not faced \u201ca similar tiering push.\u201d Lauren Thomas of The Wall Street Journal<\/a> reported in April that SNY was \u201cexploring potential deals including an outright sale,\u201d and that the network had hired bankers to discover \u201cnew financial backers.\u201d<\/p>\n YES Network and Comcast avoided an outright blackout of programming in late March, reaching a deal to extend the deadline until the month\u2019s conclusion. The two companies announced that they had \u201creached an agreement for continued distribution of the YES Network\u201d a few days later.<\/p>\n YES Network first launched in 2002 with Yankees and Nets games, but Cablevision subscribers were unable to access the RSN for the first year. The Walt Disney Company sold an 80% stake in the channel in 2019 to Yankee Global Enterprises, Sinclair, Amazon and other investors as required by the U.S. Department of Justice before completing its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. This divestiture, however, was separate from Sinclair acquiring the 21 Fox-branded RSNs from Disney in a $9.6 billion agreement.<\/p>\n ESPN tennis analysts Gilbert, Shriver depart network<\/p>\n