Page 3 - Walt Disney

Reliance gains 2% on forming $8.5 bn JV with Disney merging India media ops

As part of the transaction, the media undertaking of Viacom18, a RIL group company, will be merged into Star India Private, a Disney-owned firm

Disney, RIL sign binding pact to merge media operations in India: Report

Disney owns a minority stake in broadcast service provider, Tata Play Ltd., which Reliance may consider acquiring, according to local news reports

Disney leans on AI in latest class of startup investments: Report

Walt Disney Co. chose three companies working on artificial intelligence to be among the five picked for its annual business incubator program

New streaming deal among Fox, Warner, and Walt Disney faces scrutiny

Regulators will look at terms of the joint venture once it is finalized, according to two people familiar with the process

Walt Disney's stock soars on strong results ahead of face-off with Peltz

The entertainment giant issued an upbeat profit outlook for the year, giving Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger ammunition to deflect proxy challenges at its shareholder meeting this spring

Elon Musk backs lawsuit against Walt Disney over 'Mandalorian' firing

Carano's lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles claims Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd. violated California law in terminating her from the Star Wars spinoff in Feb 2021 due to her political views

Disney wants secrets kept confidential in lawsuit with DeSantis appointees

Disney wants to keep confidential any proprietary information or trade secrets that comes out of its state court fight with Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees over who controls the governing district at Walt Disney World. The entertainment giant asked a state court judge on Friday for a protective order allowing it to designate documents and depositions as confidential and requiring parties handling them to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The litigation is likely going to involve the disclosure of trade secrets, as well as technical, financial and personal information, which could result in significant harm if they are made public, Disney said in its request. The request was unopposed by the DeSantis appointees. Disney supporters had run the district, which provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, for more than five decades after the Legislature created it in 1967. But legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by DeSant

Known for his role as 'Rocky', actor Carl Weathers passes away at 76

Hollywood actor Carl Weathers, known for his role in 'Rocky' opposite Sylvester Stallone passed away at the age of 76, Deadline, a US-based media outlet reported

Disney-Desantis row: Company appeals dismissal of its free speech lawsuit

Disney on Thursday appealed a judge's dismissal of its free speech lawsuit over what it described as Governor Ron DeSantis' retaliatory takeover of Walt Disney World's governing district, as the Florida governor separately called any appeal "a mistake." "They were wrong and we were right," DeSantis said at a news conference in Jacksonville a day after the ruling. "They should move on." Disney filed a notice of appeal over Wednesday's ruling by a federal judge in Tallahassee, saying that it would set a dangerous precedent if left unchallenged by giving states the green light to weaponize their powers to punish opposing viewpoints. A separate lawsuit over who controls the district also is still pending in state court in Orlando. Disney had argued that legislation signed by DeSantis and passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature transferring control of the Disney World governing district from Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees was in retaliation for the company publicly ...

Federal judge dismisses Disney's free speech lawsuit against DeSantis

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Disney's free speech lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, leaving the company's remaining hopes of regaining control of the district that governs Walt Disney World to a separate state court challenge. US District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee said in his decision that Disney lacked standing in its First Amendment lawsuit against the Republican governor, the secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and DeSantis' appointees to the Disney World governing district. The separate lawsuit is still pending in state court in Orlando. Disney had argued that legislation signed by DeSantis and passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature that transferred control of the Disney World governing district from Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees was in retaliation for the company publicly opposing the state's so-called don't say gay law. That 2022 law banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in .

Walt Disney's India unit market valuation halves in Reliance merger talks

After weeks of negotiations following a non-binding pact with Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd. to merge their entertainment business

Walt Disney, Mahindra group officials join USISPF Board of Directors

Walt Disney and Mahindra group officials have joined the Board of Directors of US India Strategic and Partnership Forum, which the organisation said is testimony to the success story of American companies in India and a growing presence of Indian conglomerates in the US. The two officials are Dorothy Attwood, senior vice president of Global Legal, Policy and Compliance for The Walt Disney Company, and Amarjyoti (Amar) Barua, Executive Vice President (EVP) of Group Strategy at the Mahindra Group to the Board of Directors, the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) said in an announcement. Attwood, in her current role, is responsible for the company's international legal and government affairs functions around the world, outside of the US, and leads strategic public policy initiatives as well as ESG and Sustainability globally across all business segments. Attwood also leads the Privacy Legal Department and the Government Ethics and Compliance Group enterprise-wide. Barua

Reliance, Disney start antitrust diligence on India media merger: Report

Reliance has appointed Indian law firm Khaitan & Co and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, while Disney has roped in AZB & Partners, the people said

In public domain, early Mickey Mouse version will star in horror movies

The earliest iteration of Mickey Mouse is on a rampage, barely two days in the public domain. Slashed free of Disney's copyright as of Monday, the iconic character from "Steamboat Willie" is already the focus of two horror films. On Monday, just hours after the 1928 short entered the public domain, a trailer for "Mickey's Mouse Trap" dropped on YouTube. Another yet-to-be-titled film was announced Tuesday. "Steamboat Willie" featured early versions of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, it was the third cartoon featuring the duo they made but the first to be released. In it, a more menacing Mickey, bearing more resemblance to rat than mouse, captains a boat and makes musical instruments out of other animals. It's perhaps fitting, then, that the first projects announced are seemingly low-budget and campy slasher movies and not unprecedented. Winnie the Pooh sans red shirt entered the public domain in 2022; scarcely a year later, he was notching up a

Disney's Mickey Mouse enters public domain as 95-year-old copyright expires

Mickey Mouse's first screen release in the 1928 short film 'Steamboat Willie', featuring both him and Minnie Mouse, became available for public use from January 1

Disney, Reliance Industries close in on deal to merge India media ops

Plans for a step-down subsidiary of RIL's Viacom18 are being floated to absorb Star India through a stock swap

Elon Musk lashes out again at Bob Iger after Disney pulls ads from X

In a series of posts Thursday, Tesla's CEO appeared to refer to the box-office performance of some recent Disney films, saying Iger "drops more bombs than a B-52

After Elon Musk tirade, X faces prospect of more advertisers fleeing

Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery suspended advertising on X earlier this month following Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic post

CEO Linda Yaccarino's memo to X staff calls Musk 'candid and profound'

"Our principles do not have a price tag, nor will they be compromised - ever," Yaccarino wrote Thursday, a day after Musk told former advertisers including Walt Disney Co. to go "f--" themselves

Disney to keep TV stations, says CEO Bob Iger, in reversal from July

Back at the DealBook Summit, Iger said Disney regularly evaluates its holdings to see whether they still fit with the company's plans