The scion of billionaire Oracle Corp.-founder Larry Ellison entered the weekend on a high note after the Warner Bros. Discovery board overwhelmingly endorsed the entertainment giant’s merger with David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance Corp. The $110 billion deal is expected to formally close later this year.
The news comes not quite a year after the former Skydance Corp.’s successful merger with then-Paramount Global – a move that burnished David Ellison’s Hollywood credentials and also brought the influence of CBS News under his wing. With Warner Bros. Discovery likely to join the fold, CNN looks to be added to David Ellison’s chess board as he jockeys to make his mark on news media and entertainment.
Paramount Skydance’s hostile $31-per-share deal ultimately derailed the efforts of Netflix Inc. to combine with Warner Bros. The streaming pioneer seems to have found a potential consolation prize, however – as reported this week by us and other media outlets, the company seems to be first in line to acquire the troubled Radford Studios asset after former owners Hackman Capital defaulted on their mortgage earlier this year.
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At long last, we are on the cusp of seeing a D Line that properly charts its own path.
The first of its three expansions is due to open for business on May 8, adding three stations that run concurrent with Wilshire Boulevard through Central Los Angeles – among the busiest corridors in the city for motor traffic. The stations will be at Wilshire’s intersections with La Brea Avenue, Fairfax Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard.
This first leg adds nearly 4 miles to a train line that to this point has shared all but two (quick) stops with the A Line, which runs from downtown to North Hollywood. The westward expansion of the D Line will eventually bring it all the way to the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center – allegedly by fall 2027 – and give Century City professionals quick access to downtown at last. Hopefully with this expansion comes a newfound identity for the D Line.
Metro humorously debuted a new series of shirts to hype up the D Line, which sold out almost instantly. I definitely got mine.
