Viacom/CBS possibly to re-merge

[ITDUDE]

But who knows what judge may think. Maybe he’ll say Redstone is in charge and it’s in her power to change the rules. And maybe there is no proof that merging two companies will hurt CBS so CBS has no case to sue her. Who da hell knows how a single judge will decide this.

 

[Rahul]

CBS definitely fired the first shot here with that lawsuit. The Redstones had to react, immediately, otherwise they (the parent company) would have been immediately disempowered. CBS was subverting the merger right from the beginning, by undervaluing Viacom.

So far, the Redstones seem hell-bent on merging the companies, while CBS tries every dirty move to change the current power situation and avoid the merger.

I'm not a big fan of dual-class stock structure in any way - where the redstones have a majority in the A-stock, while the B-Stock was shelled out to the masses to gain capital without giving them much voting powers - but changing the nature of one's own stock structure purely to neutralize the majority party - that's the move Mark Zuckerberg pulled in "The Social Network" to betray his best friend.

This is some genuine Game of Thrones shit.
That I'm not rooting for anyone here, but solely against someone (Les Moonves) makes the similarity even more striking...

 

[BillJ]

That I'm not rooting for anyone here, but solely against someone (Les Moonves) makes the similarity even more striking...

I'm honestly not sure why? Moonves seems to be the one interested in protecting the value of CBS by not wanting to take on the dead weight that is Viacom. Cable TV is pretty much on life support at this point.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Just one more reason for Disney to buy Star Trek.

For what? And how would Star Trek fare under the Disney umbrella?

 

[roneill]

For what? And how would Star Trek fare under the Disney umbrella?

If Lucasfilm and Marvel are any indication, pretty well.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

If Lucasfilm and Marvel are any indication, pretty well.

But CBS isn't planing to give up the Star Trek franchise at all, especially considering that they just invested a lot into CBS AA having Star Trek: Discovery on that streaming service.

 

[BillJ]

If Lucasfilm and Marvel are any indication, pretty well.

If Disney acquired Star Trek, it would likely go into mothballs. Why compete against yourself?

 

[Mudd]

If Disney acquired Star Trek, it would likely go into mothballs. Why compete against yourself?

It's not competition for anything. It's one more potential franchise, one more product in the line.

What do you figure is the theatrical audience overlap for Marvel movies and Star Wars movies? Given that most of the audience is just young folks who want to see big blockbuster action movies when they open, I'll bet you that it's 90 percent or more.

Look at the number of brands Proctor and Gamble sell that "compete" with one another...except that they don't, really. They just push other products by smaller manufacturers off the prime supermarket shelf space.

Star Trek doesn't compete with Star Wars theatrically and never did - but it would be one more opportunity to dominate a summer weekend at the box office.

 

[ITDUDE]

It’s same as old DC vs Marvel argument. No they do not compete against each other, they compliment each other quiet nicely. Would Star Trek be better off at Disney? Of course they would be. Yeah, they would not be top priority (compared to Star Wars, MCU) but if they could show money consistently, well then it would be given plenty of opportunities to do so. It’s not like Viacom/Paramount saturated as with so many movies. We have 3 in last 10 years. How many does MCU have since 2008? 19 and counting. See the difference?

 

[ITDUDE]

Aaaand CBS lost
So looks like they won't be able to force Restone out, which means she can replace the board (including Moonves) with the people who will proceed with the merger.
Shit is getting real... (if it hasn't been already)

 

[Noname Given]

Aaaand CBS lost
So looks like they won't be able to force Restone out, which means she can replace the board (including Moonves) with the people who will proceed with the merger.
Shit is getting real... (if it hasn't been already)

Not entirely:

“The judge today found that the allegations in our lawsuit ‘are sufficient to state a colorable claim for breach of fiduciary duty against Ms. Redstone and NAI as CBS’s controlling stockholder,'” the still Moonves-run corporation declared Thursday. “We could not agree more,” CBS added. “While we are disappointed that the judge did not grant a TRO, the ruling clearly recognizes that we may bring further legal action to challenge any actions by NAI that we consider to be unlawful, and we will do so. We remain confident that we will prevail in the lawsuit previously filed by CBS and the members of its Special Committee.”

and

“The Redstones haven’t (in the judge’s view) done anything truly damaging to shareholders yet, so the judge is denying the restraining order,” Creutz wrote this morning. “But if they do something that appears truly damaging, the judge may well intervene. The judge indicated that he expects the matter will wind up back in court based on what happens at the meeting. “

 

[Rahul]

Aaaand CBS lost
So looks like they won't be able to force Restone out, which means she can replace the board (including Moonves) with the people who will proceed with the merger.
Shit is getting real... (if it hasn't been already)

I guess they are not goint to do that immediately. They will go forward exremely by the books now, to not even give the hint of a chance of further accusations of CBS of them "doing harm to the shareholders" having any merits.

But I guess Les Moonves will be out as soon as it's possible without needing to actually fire him. When his contract will get re-newed, or if he decides for another complete company/shareholder-overhaul to further his own agenda instead of the companies.

It simple doesn't leave too good an impression if you're the chef of a company, disagree with the companies owners over future course of action, and then go full-tillt and decide to expropriate said owners and then sue them over said expropriation and (completely rightfully) lose in court over that. That guy burned ALL the bridges... at once.

 

[johnjm22]

If Star Trek were to be sold (and I hope it is), the most logical buyer would be Amazon / Jeff Bezos, not Disney.

 

[ITDUDE]

If Star Trek were to be sold (and I hope it is), the most logical buyer would be Amazon / Jeff Bezos, not Disney.

Not the worst idea in the world.

 

[mdtauk]

Disney has ruined Star Wars, let's not be hasty in securing a future for Star Trek in a short sighted way... :P

 

[roneill]

Disney has ruined Star Wars, let's not be hasty in securing a future for Star Trek in a short sighted way... :P

Not really, it's just produced films you don't like. Which is different.

 

[mdtauk]

Not really, it's just produced films you don't like. Which is different.

That is essentially true. But I know I am not a lone voice in the wind. I don't think putting Star Trek into the same blockbuster movie factory/process that Disney employs would do the series good. Yea its an opinion, but also I think plurality in these movie franchise owners is also a good thing.

 

[Mudd]

Star Trek movies are already in a wannabe "blockbuster movie factory/process;" just not one that works.

Disney would be a definite step in the right direction.

Trek movies will only be made if they're judged to be potential blockbuster successes.

 

[eschaton]

Star Trek movies are already in a wannabe "blockbuster movie factory/process;" just not one that works.

Disney would be a definite step in the right direction.

Trek movies will only be made if they're judged to be potential blockbuster successes.

Unfortunately, you're right.

As I've said before, there are only a handful of Trek movies that don't fall on the "blockbuster action-adventure" to "failed blockbuster action/adventure" spectrum. All of these were "TOS movies" - like STIV's attempt at lighthearted comedy, and STVI's attempt to mix in a murder mystery and political intrigue. From First Contact on, however, it's been all action, all the time.

This is a shame, I'd love to see other kinds of Trek movies. But in general prestige TV has been swallowing up the demand for everything but big-budget action blockbusters, so it's not like it's a Trek issue alone in recent years.

 

[Mudd]

It's a different movie industry than it was in 2003, when the last oldTrek movie was released - and to some extent, that movie itself got caught in the sea change.

Any really novel, interesting Trek is going to come one of two ways - the first is a guy like Tarantino taking an interest, because he automatically propels the level of public interest in a project to a higher - and potentially more lucrative - level. The second is, of course, off-broadcast television. Sadly, CBS has no fucking idea how to do something new and good with Star Trek so that will have to wait for some future version.