Disney to buy YouTube network Maker Studios for $500 million

(Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co has agreed to buy Maker Studios, one of YouTube's largest networks, for $500 million, a deal that makes Disney a major online video distributor and should help draw more teens into the Disney entertainment empire.
The price tag could rise to $950 million if Maker hits certain performance milestones, Disney said, confirming what a source told Reuters earlier on Monday.
Maker, founded in 2009, is one of the largest video production networks on Google Inc's YouTube. Its producers target the younger millennial generation, known for its high appetite for online video.
"This gives a presence online to reach the millennial group that is increasingly getting its video online," said Kevin Mayer, Disney executive vice president for corporate strategy. "And it gives us a lot of data to help promote our other businesses to them."
The deal will be "mildly dilutive" to earnings per share through fiscal 2017, Mayer said. Disney's fiscal year closes at the end of September.
Maker helps produce and distribute videos to more than 380 million subscribers worldwide across more than 55,000 channels. Its videos now collectively garner some 5.5 billion views every month, according to the source.
The company, whose backers include Time Warner Investments, Upfront Ventures and Greycroft Partners, is partners with PewDiePie, the online persona of 24 year-old video gamer Felix Kjellberg. Kjellberg has more than 25 million subscribers and is YouTube's single most-subscribed star.
"Short-form online video is growing at an astonishing pace and with Maker Studios, Disney will now be at the center of this dynamic industry," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.
The deal is expected to close in Disney's third fiscal quarter.
(Reporting By Ronald Grover and Malathi Nayak. Editing by Andre Grenon and David Gregorio)

Oprah Asks Lindsay Lohan: Have You Been Sober Since We Last Met? (VIDEO)

When Oprah and Lindsay Lohan previously discussed filming a docuseries on OWN, Lohan said she was ready to be honest and open. But on Part 3 of "Lindsay," viewers see Lohan refuse to let the production crew into her apartment to film.
Learning that Lindsay has caused chaos for the docuseries crew, Oprah goes to New York for a scheduled check-in on and confronts the actress about her behavior. "When you change a schedule, you know what happens. You're a professional woman," Oprah says in the above video. "And it's not just for you. You've got a whole team of people who are relying on you right now for this particular experience, for creating this documentary."
During the intense heart-to-heart, Oprah asks Lohan if filming this series is what she really wants.
"No, I want it," Lindsay says. "It's just weird to film things that are going on -- I’m just not used to it. And I'm learning how to deal with life in a different light than I have before, and in a different way that I have before. And at the end of the day, my main objective is to maintain my sobriety."
Oprah asks the question that until now, Lohan had not answered: "And have you been sober since we last met?"
"Yes, I have," Lohan answers.
"Hello, let's celebrate that!" Oprah says. "That's where you are right now, look at how great that is. Wow."
Breaking down into tears, Lohan tells Oprah that it feels good. "I feel good that I've maintained something that I've worked so hard for," she says.
"What about the Adderall?" Oprah asks.
"No, nothing," Lohan shakes her head.
When she's been tempted to drink, Lohan says she plays out scenario in her head, and it's a downward spiral she doesn't want to reenter. Oprah brings up a recent tabloid report that said Lohan was out late at night with an old boyfriend, but Lohan says it was completely untrue.
It's up to Lohan to prove the naysayers wrong, Oprah says, and gives her a warning. "The vultures are waiting to pick your bones," Oprah says. "And that shouldn't frighten you. That should liberate you. Because if I were you, I wouldn't let them have me."
"Lindsay" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on OWN.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/lindsay-lohan-oprah_n_5009358.html?1395667492&ncid=webmail13

Dancing with the Stars Double Elimination: Who Went Home?

Monday night's Dancing with the Stars kicked off with a selection of surprises.

Not only did contestants

learn right at the beginning that there was a double elimination to take place during the show, but the leader board's lowest scorer Billy Dee Williams – whose face expressed fear of being sent home – was saved almost immediately, and went on to dance a 15-point tango with Emma Slater that judge Len Goodman said "didn't have enough attack."

Before getting to the unfortunate two who were forced to bid adieu, here's a recap of how the night went overall:

Drew Carey and Cheryl Burke were the first couple declared safe, and continued to woo judges and the audience with a lovable 21-point jive that was critiqued for footwork and posture, but praised by critic Bruno Tonioli for getting the "crowd going beautifully."


The next couple saved was Danica McKellar and birthday boy Valentin Chmerkovskiy, who danced a 24-point samba that was praised overall by judges, with just a little transition critique from Tonioli.

Also seeing the light of another week is Olympic gold medalist Meryl Davis and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. The duo danced a high-intensity, 25-point swing routine that Tonioli raved was a "swinging acrobatic extravaganza." Fellow judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Goodman also enjoyed the number, but said there were a few mistakes.

Former Full House star Candace Cameron Bure and partner Mark Ballas, who will also continue in the competition, didn't get the same positive reaction from the judges this week as they did prior. Inaba critiqued the 21-point rumba for looking too much like a contemporary, while Goodman said, "I know you were trying to make it into a romance, but it didn't come off like that, unfortunately."

Paralympian Amy Purdy, also moving ahead in the contest, performed yet another jaw-dropping routine with partner Derek Hough. Despite missing an arm pass in the 24-point swing dance, both Goodman and Inaba praised the pair for a job "well done."

RELATED: Candace Cameron Bure's DWTS Blog: 'My Footwork Is Jumbled'

While each dance up to this point brought its own original flare, it was James Maslow's salsa with Peta Murgatroyd that brought on the sexy, and landed themselves a spot in next week's competition. The former Nickelodeon star bared his picture-perfect abs that got an especially big stamp of approval from Inaba, who put the young musician in the same category as legendary DWTS contestants, including Gilles Marini.

The couple ended up with 25 points for their routine that was overall praised, but slightly critiqued by Goodman for losing "a little quality of the dance" based on lack of hip action.

Next up was last week's top scorer Charlie White, who, once again, didn't fail to impress the critics with a 25-point tango, alongside partner Sharna Burgess. "You looked like Baryshnikov out there tonight," hailed Inaba.

Following White's dance, NeNe Leakes, Cody Simpson and Sean Avery were each forced to dance before learning their fate.

Leakes brought her usual upbeat self to the ballroom with partner Tony Dovolani, where the duo danced a 21-point jive that Tonioli critiqued for lacking sharpness, but praised for being "great entertainment."

Avery and Karina Smirnoff did a 21-point salsa that judges commended for being an improvement from last week's routine.

Tween heartthrob Simpson and partner Witney Carson tangoed their way onto the stage and landed 22 points for a number that Goodman wished had been "more compact and tight," and Inaba insulted for a height difference that seemingly caused Simpson to be "struggling."

Of the three pairs, it was Avery and Smirnoff who were sent packing.

"Sean was amazing," the veteran dance pro, who praised her partner's "determination and hard work," said after hearing the hard news. "I wish we had an opportunity to see more of his personality."

But they weren't the only ones sent away. Earlier in the telecast, swimming sensation Diana Nyad was eliminated with partner Henry Byalikov.

"For nine years I wanted to be on the show," Nyad told the crowd after learning her fate. "It's joy, it's freedom. I only wish this superlative, handsome young man – He's elegant and he's brilliant and I wish I could have given him a couple more weeks."