Getting Closer

David Zaslav and John Stankey's planned mega-merger of Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia has received U.S. antitrust clearance this morning.

Georg Szalai writes: This marks a major step for the mega-deal, which telecom giant AT&T recently said is expected to close in Q2. Discovery shareholder approval for the transaction is still outstanding, but widely expected as the company previously secured support for the deal from major shareholders John Malone and Newhouse. Story.

Meanwhile: "Disney seen reporting tepid growth at streamer Disney+," reads a Wall Street Journal earnings preview: "Analysts expect Disney+ to add seven million new customers to the service in the quarter, bringing its total to 125.4 million subscribers, according to a FactSet poll." [WSJ]

Elsewhere in TV...

► NFL, Tubi power Fox ad revenue. Fox saw $2.4 billion in ad revenue. But it swung to a net loss in the quarter due to a change in fair value from the company’s investment in the betting firm Flutter. More.

► HBO plans Facebook drama series. The premium cabler has landed a package based on the book An Ugly Truth from Anonymous Content and Wiip. Claire Foy will star as exec Sheryl Sandberg. Title: Doomsday Machine.

► Fox buys Gumby franchise. The Murdochs'-led firm nabbed the rights from the estate of Joseph Clokey, son of Gumby creator Art Clokey. Bonus: The news was unveiled in green Comic Sans font.

► Disney unveils Upfront plan. The studio is leaving the Upper West Side for the Lower East Side and will hold an in-person upfront presentation at Basketball City at Pier 36 in New York’s Lower East Side on May 17.
 
► HBO Max returns to South Side. The streamer has picked up a third season of the comedy, created by Bashir Salahuddin, Diallo Riddle and Sultan Salahuddin. Details.

► ABC eyes The Rookie as a franchise. The network set up a potential spinoff series starring Niecy Nash, with The Claws alum guest starring in a two-episode arc as a backdoor pilot.

► Hulu's Love, Victor run ends. The Love, Simon offshoot starring Michael Cimino will return for its third and final season on June 15.

► HBO plots more How to's. The season three pickup of How to With Jonathan Wilson comes about a month after its latest episode run concluded.

 *Worth watching: "Disney+ just ran its first test of livestreaming in the US," per TechCrunch. It was for the Oscars nominations, but wasn't a one-off experiment.

*Worth watching, part II: "BuzzFeed Studios plans big year after rocky public offering, with four new films." Story.
 

Review: Inventing Anna

From: Shonda Rhimes I Netflix I Feb. 11 Release

"The results are occasionally messy and often unwieldy — most of its nine episodes clock in at over an hour each — but they’re also savvy, sly and compulsively watchable." — THR's Angie Han.

 

Oscar Noms Aftermath

A few big takeaways, from Scott Feinberg's analysis:

1. It’s Netflix’s world and we’re all just living in it.

2. The precursor awards no longer mean much.

3. Subtitles are scaring fewer people with every passing year.

4. The Power of the Dog is not the only film that can win best picture.

5. The Academy/ABC badly need to figure out something other than the nominees to make the general public care about the Oscars. New Feinberg Forecast.

Meanwhile, in Berlin...

Being shopped: A Kafka biopic. Oscar-nominated Polish director Agnieszka Holland will helm Kafka, a biopic on legendary writer. The project will be presented at the Berlinale Co-production Market. More.

A new alliance. Komplizen Film, the production company behind Oscar-nominated Spencer and A Fantastic Woman, has joined The Creatives, the new alliance of boutique film companies set up earlier this year and backed by Fremantle. Story.

Sold: McCarthy, the upcoming biopic about infamous U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy from director Václav Marhoul and starring Michael Shannon, has sold multiple international deals ahead of the virtual European Film Market.

Review: Blacklight

Director: Mark Williams I N/A RT Score I Feb. 11 Release

"It mainly serves as a time-filler until the next, better Liam Neeson action movie comes along." — THR's Frank Scheck

Trailer watch: Pixar's Lightyear, A24's Alex Garland-directed horror pic Men.

What else we're reading...

— "Microsoft and Sony are buying up the video game world. The FTC could stop them." "Already, the industry appears to be moving in a direction that’s forcing even smaller fish to balloon in size." [Washington Post]

— "Zuckerberg is making Reels a top priority for Instagram and Facebook, but influencers want to see changes in the product." [Insider]

—  "When you marry NFTs and Emojis, you get a Yat." "Combinations of the basic symbols of the internet are now for sale, following the run on digital art and sports highlights." [Wall Street Journal]

— "Leslie Jones can save NBC from its lousy Olympics doverage." "It’s not enough to grudgingly let her tweet about the games, when so many people aren’t watching them. The network should hire her again." [Bloomberg]

— "HitPiece misrepresented musicians long before launching to lure fans and raise money." "Artists' names were exploited to secure funding and promote the music-themed NFT platform even prior to its beta launch." [Billboard]

Yes, I Did Say That

"I strongly believe I can help effectuate positive changes throughout the league ... I will be making a bid for the Denver Broncos." — Byron Allen, whose investor group is likely to bid $3B-$4B.

“I talk shit for a living — that’s why this is so baffling to me. If you’re taking vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault?" — Joe Rogan, on a  club stage Tuesday.

Today in 1997: On Feb. 9, 1997, an episode of The Simpsons premiered that would mock industry executives’ meddling, all the while making history as it ushered the show past The Flintstones for the most episodes of a primetime animated series, at 167. "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show."

Today's birthdays: Tom Hiddleston, 41, Fede Alvarez, 44, Jason Winston George, 50, Mia Farrow, 77, Carole King, 80.

R.I.P., Douglas Trumbull, visual effects maestro on 2001: A Space Odyssey, dies at 79. Full obit.