How the WME/IMG deal is playing in the national media: The N.Y. TIMES goes with the page one headline, “After A Merger, Agents To Stars And Stadiums.” Story lede: “Ari Emanuel has climbed – brashly, ruthlessly – into Hollywood’s power center with one position in mind: king. … A combined IMG and William Morris Endeavor would significantly alter the balance of power in Hollywood’s business landscape” (N.Y. TIMES, 12/18). An L.A. TIMES Business section cover story states the transaction “would intensify” WME’s competition with CAA “for supremacy in the talent agency business, demonstrating that the battle has moved beyond television and movies and into sports” (L.A. TIMES, 12/18). The WALL STREET JOURNAL strips the deal across its Marketplace section: “Shifting Hollywood economics are behind WME's quest for new revenue sources” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/18).
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER writes the deal “would create a massive entity with enough star power to redraw the business landscape in Hollywood” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 12/17). DEADLINE.com reports IMG “would function independently under the new structure, but its owners Forstmann Little would have no equity stake” (DEADLINE.com, 12/17).
