Wrap, The

ABC has effectively wrapped up its upfront ad sales for the 2014-15 season, an individual with knowledge of the negotiations said.

With all but a bit of clean-up left, the network is finishing its upfront season with an approximate 5 percent increase in the rate for CPM, or the cost of reaching 1,000 people since 2013. (That figure excludes sports programming, which undergoes a separate round of ad-sales negotiations.)

ABC did not release any dollar figures.

The network also made some so-called “C7” deals which measure how many viewers see ads up to seven days from their original airdate. The current industry standard calls for C3 deals, in which advertisers pay based on how many people see their ads over three days.

Networks have sought a larger window in recognition of the fact that more and more viewers watch shows on DVR.

Maker Studios will lay off about 10 percent of its staff of 380, according to individuals familiar with the large network of online video channels. Maker is making the staffing changes after its acquisition by the Walt Disney in a deal worth $500 million (and as much as $950 million).

Staffing changes are commonplace after a deal that size, especially for a company with as much overhead as Maker. Maker's nearly 400 staffers span production, advertising sales, technology, merchandising and other sectors.

“Maker's business is constantly evolving, and we routinely reassess our internal resources and make strategic adjustments, reducing staff in some areas while actively hiring in others,” Maker said. It shares many synergies with Disney, which can help the network's reach overseas and consumer products division while using Maker's beach head on YouTube to promote its own stars and movies.

John Oliver, host of “Last Week Tonight,” did what he himself had deemed impossible: Make the debate over net neutrality, and the possibility of losing the open Internet, actually seem interesting and important.

Oliver was riled up enough to spend nearly half his show discussing the Federal Communications Commission's impending regulatory white flag that would allow Internet provider behemoths like Comcast and Time Warner to charge companies -- and ultimately, consumers -- more money for service that isn't entirely awful.

It was an impressive display that made the players and consequences actually compelling, tying big names and classic themes (drug dealing, mobsters, dingos eating babies) to the tech controversy.

Oliver spread the blame and insults around quite liberally (once again taking advantage of the lack of language restrictions on cable), hitting FCC Chair (and former cable company lobbyist) Tom Wheeler, President Barack Obama (for nominating Wheeler as chairman and buddying up to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts), Comcast and its nauseating corporate spin (for being misleading), C-Span (for being so boring), and Internet commenters (for just generally being crazy).

On the heels of their announcement of a merger, AT&T and DirecTV found themselves hit with a class-action lawsuit filed by one of DirecTV's public shareholders.

Teresa Silvestri filed the suit on behalf of other shareholders, targeting DirecTV and its board of directors, AT&T, and its subsidiary, Steam Merger Sub.

The document details the merger deal, with AT&T acquiring each share of common stock of DirecTV for $28.50 per share in cash, and $66.50 per share in AT&T stock. However, she alleges that this breaches both companies “fiduciary duties of loyalty, good faith, due care and disclosure by … agreeing to sell DirecTV without first taking steps to ensure that [the public shareholders] would obtain adequate, fair and maximum consideration under the circumstances.”

The document further accuses the companies of “entering into the merger agreement without attempting to maximize shareholder value in order to obtain millions of dollars in benefits for themselves.” She seeks a jury trial in the case, asserting that without one, “the merger will be consummated, resulting in irreparable injury to [the public shareholders].”

Verance, a technology company that works with studios to prevent content theft, has identified six types of pirates, and suggested ways Hollywood can thwart their illicit activity.

Verance determined the types based on a consumer survey intended to figure out why so many people watch pirated copies of movies and TV shows. The types range from No Big Deals to Library Builders, with the former the biggest category.

So what is Hollywood to do? Verance recommends that it make legitimate copies of movies easier to find and cheaper. People do not want to pay $10-15 to buy a movie using iTunes or Hollywood's own clunky service when they can find it online for nothing (or close to it).

Convenience trumps cost, according to Verance, and that is one area in which the company argues its “curtailment and conversion technologies” can help.

The report's central argument, that Hollywood can deter people from pirating movies and TV shows, is important to an industry that acknowledges it has lost the public relations battle. Most people believe piracy is acceptable, and stream or download copies of movies they want to see.

Comcast and AT&T have already pledged $112 billion for two acquisitions in the past few months, and this is only the beginning of a feverish few years of dealmaking, according to a new report by Ernst & Young.

This is the second report in as many weeks projecting billions of dollars will change hands as media conglomerates try to outflank competitors and new rivals by getting bigger.

With the rise of YouTube, Netflix and Hulu, traditional media and cable companies are consolidating to dictate terms as best they can. Comcast and AT&T want to provide video and Internet services -- without paying an arm and a leg for those videos.

“Size matters,” Tom Connolly, Global Leader of Media & Entertainment, Transaction Advisory Services at Ernst & Young, told TheWrap. “These companies want to do what they can to maximize geographic reach and customer reach for when they are negotiating.”

Time Warner, Disney and Comcast want to own as many different producers of content as they can, so that the people who own the pipes must deal with them if they want high-quality product.

Executives remain optimistic about the future, according to the report, but these deals could cost people their jobs. Companies will reduce the size of their work force, eliminating redundancies as they acquire companies that perform some of the same functions.

Amazon is serving kids a side of education with their daily dose of TV shows.

The Seattle-based tech giant launched its first slate of children's series with shows from Emmy winner Drew Hodges, “Blue's Clues” co-creator Angela Santomero and Emmy nominee JJ Johnson.

The shows fit into a broader curriculum, a term Amazon executives use frequently that underscores their focus on educating and entertaining at the same time. “Creative Galaxy” chronicles Artie, an alien artist who lives in the eponymous realm of ingenuity and ends each show by urging kids to do something creative. “Tumble Leaf” follows a fox who goes off on an adventure each day.

“In all of these shows, you see these characters exploring and learning, and in all the shows we are asking kids to be active,” Tara Sorensen, Amazon Studios’ head of kids’ programming, told TheWrap. “It's not just about the story on the screen but how we can extend that learning.”

Netflix and Amazon are spending more money on original series every year, and that could hurt the TV industry's bottom line, said Ben Silverman, Chairman of Electus.

The arrival of Netflix and Amazon created a huge secondary market for TV shows, much like syndication did years ago, awarding TV producers millions in new revenue. Now that those companies make series of their own, some fear they will not spend as much on other people's shows.

“The real concern is about cannibalization of the backends of TV shows,” Silverman said. “Most of Beverly Hills is built on the backends of TV shows and movies. That is a concern as everyone moves into originals and exclusive content.”

California Gov Jerry Brown has yet to declare where he stands on new legislation that would extend and expand the state's TV and film production incentives, but he sent an encouraging signal.

Kish Rajan, director of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, was the featured speaker at the ninth California Film Commission Locations Breakfast.

“The governor will make the final decision, but I know that he understands the toll taken in jobs and on our economy,” Rajan said in brief remarks to the roughly 300 assembled location managers, film officials, studio and network executives, union leaders and small business representatives gathered at the W Hotel in Hollywood.

“California is a brand and we have an image, and few sectors define that as much as our film and TV industry, so I will be recommending that we do everything we can to support it,” he said.

The new legislation, introduced by Assemblymen Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) and Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), would make the credits available to blockbuster movies with budgets of more than $75 million and one-hour network TV shows and pilots -- all of which are currently excluded -- in an effort to keep more productions in the state. It also would put the program on a five-year footing to run from 2016 to 2021 as opposed to its current two-year extensions settings.

Avi Lerner wants the US government to be more proactive in its fight against piracy, but does not have much faith in President Barack Obama to act on it.

“We've got a major problem with [President] Obama, who is scared of Google,” Lerner said.

Hollywood continues to fret over the theft of their intellectual property, especially in countries like Spain, Italy, China and Russia. Yet recent legal efforts have failed, and politicians have shifted their focus to persuading the American public that piracy is bad. Many applaud those efforts, including Lerner.

“Most of the people in the world, especially young children, don't think they have to pay to see a movie,” Lerner said. “They don't understand that by doing this, we are losing millions and billions of dollars.”