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Paramount Meets Regulatory Clearances for Warner Bros. Acquisition

"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.PLAYING THIS WEEKEND:This weekend's most notable streaming content is the fifth and final season of Netflixmystery teen drama "Outer Banks." Meanwhile, Hulusubscribers can catch the first episode of the new season of comedy series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," while HBO Maxusers can stream psychological drama film "Mother Mary," starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.PARAMOUNT/WARNER BROS.:Last Friday, Paramount Skydancesaid it has satisfied all regulatory clearances required under the merger agreement to close its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The company said, "The eight-month review process has spanned 68 countries worldwide, including the European Union, UK, Australia, Canada, Brazil, China, COMESA, the U.S. Department of Justice and, most recently, Mexico, which announced its clearance today. These independent regulators from across the globe applied the law and market definitions that reflect how audiences consume entertainment and how media companies compete today - and have consistently found no basis to prevent the transaction from moving forward. Paramount and WBD could and would close today and begin delivering the benefits recognized by regulators around the world, theater owners and others across the industry but for the actions of just 12 state attorneys general." Paramount urges the 12 state attorney generals who brough litigation to "engage with us in good faith, as we have repeatedly sought to do, to resolve this litigation and clear the way to bring these two companies together."Meanwhile, Reuters' David Shepardson reported this week that Paramount has asked a U.S. judge to require states challenging the acquisition of Warner Bros. to post a $1.88B bond to address the costs caused by the delays. The company must pay $7M a day if the $110B merger does not close by September 30. Paramount noted trials with the states is scheduled for March and final legal briefs are in April, which would result in Paramount Skydance paying Warner Bros $1.3B in "ticking fees."Additionally, while a dozen state attorneys general argue the takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery would hurt movie theaters, chains controlling 60% of the U.S. market now argue the opposite, Brooks Barnes of The New York Times reported. Cinemarkis the latest movie theater owner to support CEO David Ellison's deal, pointing to Ellison's "firm" commitment for at least 30 movies in theaters each year, waiting at least 45 days before making them available on streaming, and 90 days before being put on subscription streaming services. AMC Entertainmentendorsed the transaction in April after similar assurances from Ellison. Regal similarly followed suit this month.PEACOCK PRICE:Effective August 18, the prices of Peacocksubscription plans have changed. A Peacock Select monthly subscription is now $8.99/month up from $7.99. A Peacock Premium monthly subscription is now $12.99/month up from $10.99. A Peacock Premium Plus monthly subscription is now $19.99/month up from $16.99. A Peacock Select annual subscription is now $89.99/year up from $79.99. A Peacock Premium annual subscription is now $129.99/year up from $109.99. A Peacock Premium Plus annual subscription is now $199.99/year up from $169.99. The company said, "These price changes allow Peacock to continue to create the best experience for its viewers, remain competitive in the marketplace, and deliver unique content across all genres. Current annual subscribers, or any users on active promotional offers, will continue at their current prices until those plans or offers expire. Subscriptions will then renew at the new price."DISNEY/FCC:Disney's ABC is suing the FCC, arguing that its efforts to challenge ABC's broadcast licenses and regulate The View are unconstitutional attempts to suppress speech, The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint reported. ABC's current fight with the FCC stems from a broader dispute that began with Brendan Carr's investigation into Disney's DEI practices, while ABC executives viewed the probe as connected to criticism from programs including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The View, Flint said. The FCC maintains the DEI review is focused on potential discrimination violations and is separate from programming, while ABC argues the investigations have become a means of pressuring the network over its speech.YOUTUBE/NETFLIX:YouTubeis offering millions of dollars to popular channels on its platform if they upload videos exclusively to the site for a period of time, Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. YouTube is hoping to halve Netflix's pursuit of its top stars. The company has not yet finalized any deals with creators but is close to an agreement with several partners, the sources added.STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the streaming space include Apple, Roku, Fox, Amazon, AMC Global Media, and Fubo.

Taboola Expands Partnership with NBC News

Taboola (TBLA) announced an expanded partnership with NBC News (CMCSA). This partnership will see its advertising platform Realize power global programmatic display advertising on NBC News digital properties, including NBCNews.com and TODAY.com. This partnership with NBC News is the first for Taboola that expands beyond native advertising, giving advertisers and agencies that choose the Realize advertising platform access to run performance-based campaigns on two websites.