AT&T Chief John Stankey, WarnerMedia Head Jason Kilar Address Discovery Merger in Staff Memo

BTS member Jungkook has made his first-ever solo appearance on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with ‘Stay Alive’, produced by Suga.Ahead of the release of this week’s Hot 100 charts, Billboard announced on Twitter that ‘Stay Alive’ is set to debut on the 95th spot of the upcoming Hot 100 chart. In its tweet, the company also noted that Jungkook is the fourth member of BTS to clinch a solo entry on the Hot 100.‘Stay Alive’ follows J-Hope (‘Chicken Noodle Soup’ in 2019), Suga (the Juice WRLD collaboration ‘Girl of My Dreams’ in 2021 and ‘Daechwita’ under the moniker Agust D in 2020), and V with ‘Christmas Tree’ earlier this year.Jung Kook's "Stay Alive" debuts at No. 95 on this week's #Hot100.He becomes the fourth member of @BTS_twt to earn a solo entry on the chart, joining #JHope, #Suga/#AgustD and #V.— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) February 22, 2022In a separate announcement, Billboard revealed that ‘Stay Alive’ also debuted in the Top 10 of the Global Excl.

The Blacklist has been renewed for another season!

Zendaya nearly suffered quite the spill while visiting Rome on Tuesday, though she took it all in stride, so to speak.The 25-year-old actress was heading into a restaurant dubbedEitch Borromini for lunch, when she slipped heading up the stairs.She was caught by a number of security guards who were trailing her and entered the restaurant unscathed, but she later took to her Instagram story to laugh it off. Near spill:Zendaya nearly suffered quite the spill while visiting Rome on Tuesday, though she took it all in stride, so to speak Lunch:Zendaya nearly suffered quite the spill while visiting Rome on Tuesday, though she took it all in stride, so to speak Caught:She was caught by a number of security guards who were trailing her and entered the restaurant unscathed, but she later took to her Instagram story to laugh it offThe Euphoria star was wearing an elegant black dress with a matching black cardigan and black pumps while staying safe amid COVID-19 with a black face mask.The actress entered the restaurant unharmed, and clearly her ego wasn't bruised either, taking to her Instagram story to poke fun at the incident.

Chris Aitken admits Daniel McManus’ outstanding performances for East Kilbride have him fearing the talented teen could return to parent club St Mirren before the end of the season.

Scott Allan intends to use a WBC International Silver Super Flyweight title as a springboard to the full WBC British title.

A brave Ayr chip shop owner made a citizen’s arrest against an armed gunman who was attempting to rob his shop.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIt pays to pull off a massive media merger.Discovery chief David Zaslav is certainly being handsomely rewarded for his role in pulling off the merger agreement between his company and WarnerMedia. A day before AT&T announced it was spinning off WarnerMedia and combining it with Discovery, Zaslav received 14.8 million stock options on Sunday as part of a contract extension, which the Wall Street Journal reports are worth $190 million.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAs soon as news broke May 16 about AT&T’s proposed deal to combine WarnerMedia with Discovery, the guessing game began about what the megadeal would mean for top executives at the company.The initial takeaways: It’s a good sign for CNN boss Jeff Zucker and a bad omen for Jason Kilar, who in his one year in the job as CEO of WarnerMedia might have ruffled too many feathers as he tried to refashion the company for the streaming wars.Discovery CEO David Zaslav is set to run the new combined entity, and Kilar was not party to the deal talks, suggesting that AT&T CEO John Stankey had lost confidence in the ex-Hulu chief ’s approach and strategy after hiring him last year.

HBO Max’s long-awaited, ad-supported tier will roll out in the first week of June, at $9.99 a month — $5 less than the ad-free version launched a year ago.

Whatever the future hold for Jason Kilar, the current WarnerMedia CEO wasn’t about to let what is surely his last Upfronts pass him by.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarnerMedia tried to put its best foot forward on Wednesday by focusing on the future of its own media assets, rather than questions about its looming spinoff from AT&T and merger with Discovery.Executives at the AT&T-owned media conglomerate put a spotlight on the company’s broad array of media outlets and talent during an upfront presentation to advertisers. The showcase, largely pre-taped, featured Leslie Odom Jr.

AT&T CEO John Stankey and CFO Pascal Desroches held a 45-minute WebX town hall for WarnerMedia employees this morning, offering additional information about the entertainment unit’s upcoming merger with Discovery.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAT&T chief John Stankey and Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches were asked tough questions about the implications of the pending merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery during an all-hands meeting of studio employees on Tuesday.Stankey tried to placate worried staffers by assuring them that he was going to advocate on their behalf and also urged them to “stay the course” during the months it will take for the deal to close. Media coverage has largely focused on AT&T’s decision to spin off WarnerMedia as an ignominious retreat by the telecom giant from the content business, one that added unsustainable debt to its balance sheet.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaDiscovery Plus will premiere “No Responders Left Behind,” a documentary about the fight waged by former “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, social activist John Feal and FDNY hero, Ray Pfeifer, to get health benefits and compensation for 9/11 first responders. The film will stream on Discovery Plus globally this September.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorDiscovery’s tie-up with WarnerMedia has stirred up a firestorm of chatter about the impact of the deal that took nearly everyone in Burbank and Hudson Yards by surprise over the weekend.After a day of digesting the news and reading tea leaves, industry insiders were focused on the timing of WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s departure and the size of his severance package after one year and two weeks on the job.Another surprise that emerged from the fine print on the deal was the changes it signaled for John Malone, the Liberty Media and former TCI baron who is a longtime investor as an individual in Discovery.

Jason Kilar expressed his “pride, passion and affection” for the WarnerMedia staff in a memo Monday and stressed “how important I believe it is in this moment for us to continue to keep our focus and to live up to our potential as a team.”

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe first swing in the talks that led to the union of Discovery and WarnerMedia was an email sent by David Zaslav to John Stankey on Feb. 13.That was around the time that the Discovery CEO and his AT&T counterpart had planned to meet for a golf date at the storied Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament in central California that is sponsored by the telecom giant, as they did last year.

Makan Delrahim, who as the Justice Department’s antitrust chief during Donald Trump’s administration challenged AT&T’s combination with Time Warner, has a different view of the planned spinoff of WarnerMedia.

On Friday, people left work, came home and sat down with their friends and/or family, and watched something on TV. But John Stankey, the CEO of AT&T, and David Zaslav, the Discovery CEO, were holed up in the latter’s house hammering out a multi-billion dollar deal that would forever change the face of Hollywood.

Discovery combine into a single media juggernaut was hatched during a series of meetings and calls in the Greenwich Village townhouse of Discovery chief David Zaslav.But it might never have come about were it not for Zaslav and AT&T chief John Stankey’s shared passion for golf. The two men were commiserating via text message about how, due to COVID restrictions, they weren’t going to be able to see each other in person at last winter’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said the company’s day-and-date movie release strategy has boosted the fortunes of HBO Max but also helped movie theaters eager for new titles during their emergence from Covid-19.