Another Media Mega-Deal

►WarnerMedia-Discovery Mega-Merger: In a blockbuster deal announced Monday morning, AT&T will merge WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc. The deal will bring together TV channels like CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV, Food Network and Discovery Channel, the Warner Bros. film studio, and streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+. The companies said the merger would create a “global leader in entertainment” and “a stronger competitor in global streaming.” The story. --Discovery CEO David Zaslav will lead the combined venture, which is expected to close in 2022 subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. "Jason Kilar is still CEO of WarnerMedia," AT&T CEO John Stankey told reporters Monday, adding that Zaslav would make personnel decisions ahead of the deal close.

--Under the terms of the deal, WarnerMedia and Discovery will merge through a complex all-stock transaction called a Reverse Morris Trust that would see AT&T receive $43 billion in cash, debt securities, and WarnerMedia’s retention of certain debt, and AT&T’s shareholders would receive stock representing 71 percent of the new company. Wall Street observers said the Reverse Morris Trust had the handwriting of big Discovery shareholder and media mogul John Malone who has a reputation for complex, tax-efficient deals.

+Zaslav and Stankey held a Zoom press conference Monday morning, where they addressed the streaming strategy of a combined company, as well as the fate of CNN (and Kilar), among other topics.

--Zaslav also seemed aware of some of the criticism WarnerMedia has faced in recent months from high-profile Hollywood talent, many of whom felt blindsided by the decision to release Warner Bros. films on HBO Max the same day they were released in theaters.

The Discovery CEO said that his “number one priority” will be building “relationships with the creative community,” and that he planned to spend time in Los Angeles, New York, and anywhere else that the talent the company works with are based.

“I will be anywhere in the world the creatives are, to strive to create the best creative culture,” Zaslav said. “We want our company to be the place where people that want creativity, they want flexibility, they want stories, they will come to us.” The story.

+The backstory: Kim Masters writes about the chaos that the deal will inflict on the media landscape, including a potential for more deals (NBCUniversal-ViacomCBS, anyone?), schadenfreude within WarnerMedia, and John Malone's impact. The story.

Hey, It's Upfront Week!

►The pandemic forced the broadcast networks to evolve — will it last? Heading into the 2021-22 season, all five networks are plotting a return to business as usual following a year unlike any other — and one that included regime changes ABC and NBC. This season, the networks had a mix of pilots that were picked up before the pandemic that were competing for slots on the schedule with others that were greenlit this year.

--In perhaps the first signal that the networks are serious about shifting to a year-round development model, several of next season’s 25 new comedies and dramas were ordered well before crunch time in May. While the networks have spoken for years about the need for a change from the frantic three-month period that sees everyone compete for actors and directors at the same time, the pandemic may have been the push needed to make a lasting change. The story.

+A few more moves: CBS has canceled its legal drama All Rise and single-camera comedy The Unicorn... ​​​​CBS also finalized its renewals for the 2021-22 season, picking up a pair of comedies from mega-producer Chuck Lorre: B Positive and United States of Al...

►The upfront schedule: Obviously things are once again virtual this year, but expect a more polished experience and more certainty than a year ago, when production was at a standstill.

Monday: NBCUniversal, 9 AM PT/12 PM ET... Fox: 1 PM PT, 4 PM ET...

Tuesday: Discovery Inc. 7 AM PT/10 AM ET... Univision, 10:30 AM PT/1:30 PM ET... The Walt Disney Co., 1 PM PT/4 PM ET...

Wednesday: WarnerMedia, 8:30 AM PT/12:30 PM ET... ViacomCBS, 1 PM PT/4 PM ET...

Box Office 'Spiral'

►Box office: Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures’ Spiral: From the Book of Saw easily won an otherwise ho-hum weekend at the North American box office, grossing $8.7 million from 2,811 theaters.

--The pandemic continues to take a toll on moviegoing. While theaters have been reopening in earnest, roughly 45 percent of cinemas remain dark in North America. That stat is expected to improve over Memorial Day weekend, when the marquee will boast two Hollywood studio events pics, Cruella and A Quiet Place Part II, for the first time since the pandemic began.

--Wrath of Man, from Miramax and United Artists Releasing, placed No. 2 in its second weekend with $3.7 million from 3,007 locations for a 10-day domestic total of $14.6 million and global cume of $56 million. From Warner Bros. and Bron, Those Who Wish Me Dead came in No. 3 domestically with just $2.8 million from 3,198 theaters. Directed by Taylor Sheridan, the neo-Western action thriller stars Jolie as a fire jumper who fights to protect a young boy from ruthless killers. The story.

►WandaVision was the big winner at Sunday’s MTV Movie & TV Awards. The Disney+/Marvel Studios show won four awards during the ceremony, including best series and best performance in a TV show for Elizabeth Olsen, who called Marvel fans the “best.” The winners were announced in a ceremony that aired live from the Palladium in Los Angeles, with Leslie Jones serving as host. The full list of winners, and a recap.

►Saturday Night Live returned this week with a pandemic-related cold open, this time attempting to explain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest announcement regarding masks. More.

In other news...

--The most memorable moments from Clive Davis’ Grammy Museum benefit with Elton John and H.E.R.

--Former Hollywood Reporter editorial director Matthew Belloni has joined a venture capital-backed digital media startup as a founding partner. The still-unnamed digital media startup is co-founded by former Vanity Fair editor Jon Kelly, Vox Media and Luminary veteran Joe Purzycki, The Athletic alum Max Tcheya, and Conde Nast veteran Liz Gough, and counts TPG and 40 North Media among its investors. It has raised $7 million so far in Series A financing.

--Kobe Bryant was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday in what was a highly emotional moment, commemorating the legend’s contributions to the game and the deep reverence held among peers and fans.

--Matthew McConaughey is apparently taking some action as he considers running for Texas governor.

What else we're reading...

--"I'll take 'white supremacist hand gestures' for $1,000" [N.Y. Times]

--"NBCUniversal is acting as power broker between celebrities and advertisers" [WSJ]

--"The man who didn't invent Flamin' Hot Cheetos" [L.A. Times]

--"Inside Halston and Liza Minelli's real-life friendship" [Vanity Fair]

Today's birthdays: Jordan Knight, 51, Trent Reznor, 56, Sugar Ray Leonard, 65, Enya, 60, Nikki Reed, 33.