Media & Entertainment
Shearman & Sterling’s well-recognized Media & Entertainment practice, located in 20 offices worldwide, works with a diverse client base in the areas of TV and broadcasting, cable networks, digital media, publishing, film, music, gaming and Internet services.
Recognized as a Top Tier Media & Entertainment Firm
—Chambers USA, 2006-2011
—Legal 500, 2009-2011
The firm’s position as a leading Media & Entertainment practice is built on our attorneys’ significant industry experience combined with the firm’s global reach. This enables us to support clients in all of their business and legal needs in the areas of:
We understand the importance of building and maintaining long-term relationships as evidenced by our broad-reaching client base, including:
- Viacom
- Thomson Reuters
- Axel Springer
- The McGraw-Hill Companies
- NBC Universal
- Sony Corporation
- CBS Corporation
- China Mass Media Corp.
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- SINA Corporation
- Dada S.p.A.
- National Amusements, Inc.
- Warner Music Group
- New England Sports Ventures
- Publicis S.A.
- Vivendi
- IMAX Corporation
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In addition, Shearman & Sterling is widely recognized for its ties with investment banks. The Media & Entertainment group regularly works with investment banks and has strong relationships with industry investment bankers. We act as designated underwriters' counsel for major cable companies like Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and Cox Communications, and we also act as designated underwriters' counsel for The Interpublic Group of Companies, one of the world's largest providers of advertising and marketing services.
Our notable media & entertainment representative experience includes:
- Viacom | we have represented Sumner Redstone and Viacom in major public transactions that have transformed Viacom into one of the leading media and entertainment companies that it is today, including those involving Paramount, Blockbuster, Madison Square Garden, CBS and DreamWorks, Harmonix, its joint venture with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Lionsgate and prosecuting copyright infringement claims against YouTube and Google
- McGraw-Hill | sale of BusinessWeek to Bloomberg L.P. and as borrower under a $1.2 billion three-year credit facility arranged by JP Morgan and Banc of America Securities
- Thomson Reuters | represented longstanding client Thomson Corporation in numerous transactions, including its strategic realignment and divestiture of traditional media assets in Thomson Learning, NETg and Prometric, along with its $17.2 billion merger with Reuters to create Thomson Reuters
- Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corp | joint venture with British Sky Broadcasting SNA Limited to establish an Arabic news channel under the Sky News brand
- Axel Springer | $1.3 billion joint venture with Bertelsmann AG and Gruner + Jahr & Co. in order to combine their printing works in Germany and the United Kingdom
- Fenway Sports Management, portfolio company of New England Sports Ventures, LLC | sale of a minority interest in Liverpool Football Club to LeBron James, in connection with FSM's ownership and marketing agreement with James, his business partner Maverick Carter and James' marketing company, LRMR Marketing & Branding
- Executive compensation and employment-related matters | regularly advise media companies, such as Viacom, CBS, NBC Universal, Blockbuster, Interactive Data Corporation, Vivendi and Universal Music Group, on employment matters including negotiating employment contracts and related incentive arrangements
- Sony | as part of a consortium that acquired all of Nortel's remaining patents and patent applications in a $4.5 billion transaction
- IMAX Corporation | leveraged buyout and initial public offering
- Time Warner Inc./Time Warner Cable | act as designated underwriters’ counsel for Time Warner Inc. and Time Warner Cable
- Madison Square Garden (MSG) Spin-Off | JP Morgan in connection with a $375 million senior secured revolving credit facility in advance of MSG’s spin-off from Cablevision
- NBC Universal | acquisition of the Bravo Company cable television programming service, restructuring of Paxson Communications Corporation and its MSNBC joint venture with Microsoft, the sale of four television stations to Media General, and the proposed sale of a television station to The Washington Post Co.
- SINA Corporation | $1.37 billion acquisition of the Out-of-Home Advertising Networks assets of Focus Media Holding Limited
View recent news and experience
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