Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association, has made a deal with DirecTV Stream that will give fans of the team a $50 a month credit so they can stream games.

DirecTV is the only streaming platform distributing Bally Sports South, which carries Mavs games. The first 10,000 new DirecTV Stream subscribers who sign up for the Choice package or above get the credit.

Few streaming platforms have elected to carry regional sports networks. Carrying large subscriber fees, some cable and satellite companies have also balked at renewing their RSN carriage deals.

The DirecTV Stream offer was first made to Club Maverick Members. Now it is open to all of the team’s fans, known as MFFLs (Mavericks Fans for Life).

“DirecTV Stream is already the streaming service that gives fans across the country the most access to watch their hometown teams,” said Vince Torres, DirecTV’s CMO. “Knowing that, and given our long-standing relationship with the Mavs, collaborating with Mark Cuban on an opportunity that gives passionate Mavs fans a chance to see their favorite team play on our platform and creates more exposure for DirecTV Stream, is a no-brainer.”

Fox Business Network has snagged billionaire investor and internet video pioneer Mark Cuban for a virtual town hall April 23 at 2 p.m. 

Cuban has been named to President Trump's sports advisory panel on planning the reopening of the economy, or what the President has called "the path forward toward a future of unparalleled American prosperity." 

The hour special will be hosted by Making Money's Charles Payne and will focus on the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuban is also owner of the Dallas Mavericks, one of the high-profile sports franchises whose season was laid low by the virus. 

The town hall will be held via remote video conference and viewers can submit video questions for consideration.

Anthem Sports and Entertainment founder and CEO Len Asper found himself in a bit of a firestorm Wednesday. The day after he signed what is so far the biggest deal yet for his fledgling sports and music company -- the purchase of a majority stake in AXS TV and HDNet Movies-- reports spread quickly claiming the deal gutted the acquired companies' employee ranks, a contention the Anthem chief denies.

After news of the deal broke, there was a smattering of talk that as many as 40 people at AXS would lose their jobs as a result, a number that tended to escalate as more people got into the mix. According to some articles, the actual number of AXS employees without jobs could be as high as 80, when contract employees and freelancers were counted.

Asper confirmed the 40 layoffs in an interview, but added that it included contract and freelance workers. He estimated that AXS had between 130 and 140 employees before the deal closed, and now has about 100. Combined, he said Anthem and AXS currently have about 210 employees and that there are no further layoffs planned.

Asper added that most of the layoffs were in positions that were duplicated at Anthem and that the bulk occurred in Denver. At its Los Angeles location, four employees were let go, while eight still remain. He added that the layoffs represented less than 20% of the workforce.

Anthem held Town Hall meetings with employees in Los Angeles and Denver to explain the workforce reductions, Asper said. 

“We were very clear with the staff. We spoke to the staff yesterday,” Asper said. “We did it all at once.”

It was expected that employees that were terminated received substantial severance packages from AXS.

Asper also disputed reports that AXS TV closed its Dallas office -- he claimed that prior to the deal closing AXS had about a dozen workers in the Dallas area that were working from home or occupying space at a facility owned by AXS founder Mark Cuban in the city. But he declined to say how many remain.

“Some are staying and some are not,” Asper said.

In an email message, Cuban declined to comment. But other sources familiar with AXS said that the financial blow to many employees was likely lightened by bonuses Cuban issued company-wide in the summer. Those sources said the bonuses amounted to more than $5 million in total. While it couldn’t be determined if every employee received a bonus, sources said that most did. And though the payouts were likely based on each employee’s base salary and probably varied widely, at $5 million, each one of AXS TV’s 140 employees would have received an average bonus of $35,714.

A day after it announced its deal to sell a majority stake to Canadian programmer Anthem Sports and Entertainment, AXS TV has laid off at least 40 employees, including most of the workers in its Dallas office as the ink barely dried on the transaction.

Anthem agreed to buy a majority stake in AXS TV and HDNet Movies, two cable networks owned by internet guru Mark Cuban, for an undisclosed sum on Sept. 9. AXS TV and HDNet Movies have about 100 employees. But according to The Wrap, quoting Anthem spokesman Bob Gold of PR firm Bob Gold & Associates, about 40 people were let go, mostly in redundant positions to those at Anthem and that those layoffs were in the works for about six months.

Multichannel News had attempted Tuesday to confirm rumors that AXS TV had let go about 40 employees, but Anthem and its PR firm would not confirm the number at the time.  

The Wrap reported that in addition to most of the Dallas office being let go, about one-quarter of employees at AXS TV offices in Los Angeles were jettisoned, as were most of its team in Denver.

At least two relatively high profile executives were on that list -- long-time cable publicist Cindy Ronzoni and New Japan Wrestling executive producer and AXS TV VP of business and legal affairs Adam Swift, who tweeted about their departures yesterday.

[embed]https://twitter.com/cindyronzoni/status/1171211398044475392[/embed]

Wrestling fans have also been on top of the transaction, with wrestling.com citing the closure of the Dallas office Tuesday. 

[embed]https://twitter.com/AdamMSwift/status/1171520962702897153[/embed]

The Wrap reported that about one-quarter of employees at AXS TV offices in Los Angeles were let go, and most of its team in Denver.

[embed]https://twitter.com/marc_raimondi/status/1171558035791024131[/embed]

AXS TV will air content from the women’s pro wrestling outfit WOW-Women of Wrestling beginning in 2019, according to network officials.

AXS TV will air telecasts from the wrestling company – owned by Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss – beginning in first-quarter 2019, the network said. The all-female pro wrestling bouts are currently streamed on YouTube. 

MGM Television and Digital Group president Mark Burnett and David McLane, creator of women’s wrestling company Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling – which served as the inspiration for Netflix’s original series GLOW – will also be involved in the project, according to AXS TV.

Related: Season Two of ‘Glow’ on Netflix June 29

“I knew of Jeanie’s passion for elevating women’s wrestling for several years, so when Mark Burnett told me what MGM Studios has planned for WOW, I decided to get involved,” AXS TV chair and CEO Mark Cuban said in a statement. “AXS TV’s long-term success inside the squared circle and broadcasting New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) makes airing WOW a natural fit.” 

The new season of One Mississippi arrives on Amazon this Friday (Sept. 8). The writing started on Jan. 17, with President Donald Trump’s inauguration just three days away. The timing affected the writers’ room.

“We really focus on a lot of current events,” star Tig Notaro said. “Everybody was very fueled with ideas and feelings.”

Robert E. Lee, a key figure in the Charlottesville culture wars, gets a fortuitous mention. One Mississippidepicts that state celebrating Lee’s accomplishments on Martin Luther King Day.

Notaro called it “a huge relief” not having to deal with ratings in the streaming world. “It means we get to make the show we want to make,” she said.

One Mississippi may run for five or six seasons, she hopes. “As far as I’m concerned, it could go on and on. But who knows — maybe they kick us out after season two?”

Related: Watch the "One Mississippi" Trailer

Sept. 8 is also the launch date for Third Rail With Ozy, a lively PBS debate program. Guests include Katie Couric, Mark Cuban and Malcolm Gladwell. The host is Carlos Watson, creator of journalism site Ozy.com. Watson said the timing of its premiere is perfect. “People are hungry to have this kind of forum to participate in this kind of conversation,” he said.

Denise Dilanni, show creator and WGBH senior executive, said Third Rail offers some of the late-night vibe seen on Full Frontal With Samantha Bee and Real Time With Bill Maher. “It’s unplugged and electrifying,” Dilanni said.

Watson promises the debates will run hot. “We’re gonna grab a hold of the third rail,” he said, “and see what happens.”

Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville is ready to light up on Fox Sept. 10. The oddball space romp sees MacFarlane as a down-on-his-luck spaceship captain who leads a crew on a vessel known as The Orville.

Where did the name come from? MacFarlane was reading David McCullough’s book on the Wright brothers, aptly named The Wright Brothers. “It felt like they were down on Orville, that Wilbur was doing most of the work. I felt like we should be The Orville then.”

Not everyone at Fox dug the name, but according to MacFarlane “everyone recognized the oddness of it. It put the show in a space from the get-go that said to the audience, ‘This is a little offbeat.’ ”

The programming polymath has a unique way of calibrating a new sci-fi property. “If I was a kid, would I want this as a toy?” MacFarlane said. “If I was 12, would I want this in my room?”

Viewers will decide if they want The Orville in their room.

Online content pioneer Mark Cuban told the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Wednesday (Dec. 7) that the AT&T-Time Warner merger is pro-consumer and will be necessary for the companies going forward to be competitive with the dominant content providers, Web content giants Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook.

In his testimony at the hearing about the deal, Cuban said that while radio and TV used to be the big competition for online streaming services, now its app-driven websites and services like Snapchat, He said Facebook is in the dominant content delivery position, saying it was taking over millennials and had become the major alternative to boredom, which used to be the province of TV and radio.

Related: Stephenson: AT&T-TW Would Be Disruptive Cable Competitor

Public Knowledge president Gene Kimmelman countered that all those Web giants weren't charging $200 per month for those apps and that user-generated online content was not comparable to the expensively produced content from a Time Warner.

He also said those businesses are all dependent on the ISP gatekeepers, including AT&T.

AXS TV founder Mark Cuban will host a summer-long, live music concert series that will feature performances from such iconic groups as The Monkees and the Village People.

The series, AXS TV Concerts Hosted by Mark Cuban will debut Aug. 11 and will air every Thursday through Sept. 8, said network officials. The concerts, filmed at Dallas’ The  Bomb Factory, will launch with the Monkees, followed by The Village People (Aug. 18), Bret Michaels (Aug. 25), KC and the Sunshine Band (Sept. 1) and Bad Company (Sept. 8).

“With this exclusive series, I wanted to craft a fun live concert event, giving viewers the best seat in the house to experience these legendary acts,” said Cuban in a statement.  “From disco and funk to classics and metal, there’s truly something here for everyone to enjoy, as we send summer out on a high note with some of the most beloved anthems of all-time.” 

Shark Tank co-star, AXS TV chairman and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban said he was quick to rebuff explorations that he run as an independent candidate for president, but he said if the election were held today, he would probably be casting his vote for Hillary Clinton.

In an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, Cuban said of Clinton: better the devil you know.

He said at least he knew what her policies were, while Trump lists issues on his website but does not say how he will address them. Execution, Cuban said, is the key to success in business and elsewhere, noting it is easy to talk about it, not so easy to do get it done.

Cuban said he had gotten an e-mail through an associate about possibly running, but that there was no chance, "none," that he would run. He said it was too late to get on ballots, for one thing. He called it a quick no and characterized the suggestion as "ridiculous."

But he suggested a Trump presidency was no laughing matter, and that isolationist economic policies could lead to a huge market "correction." Burnett asked for numbers, and Cuban said 20% or more was possible, particularly given high-frequency trading.

Burnett played a clip from Shark Tank in which billionaire Cuban was berating a contestant and asked Cuban if he thought he had been reached out to because he was kind of like Trump himself.

"At least I have a billion dollars," Cuban said, a reference to those, including himself, who are not convinced Trump is worth what he says he is. Cuban conceded that being an outspoken billionaire probably figured into the approach about running. Also, like Trump, he said he can get access to media "anytime, anywhere, anyhow," and he knows how to take advantage of it, which is what Trump has done so successfully.

Asked how smart Trump is, Cuban said probably not as smart as Trump thinks he is. Cuban said he had been excited when Trump got into the race, but the candidate has not appeared to learn along the way. Where he has come from, Cuban said he would have thought he would be more knowledgeable about issues like jobs and immigration, but that that was not the case.

Cable network AXS TV, owned by media mogul Mark Cuban, has teamed with Sharknado producer The Asylum on the made-for-TV film Elvis Lives!, a conspiracy thriller that asks the age-old question: “What if Elvis never really left the building?”

The made-for-TV film – AXS TV’s first – is currently starting pre-production. Battling drug addiction and a failing voice, the movie depicts Elvis’ efforts to put his life back on track. But after he helps the police bring down a powerful crime syndicate, the King is caught in a trap he apparently can walk out of, putting his family in danger and sending him on a life-changing journey.

Cuban commissioned the film after starring in another The Asylum production – Sharknado 3 – where he played the President of the United States.

“When the decision was made to develop AXS TV’s first original made-for-TV movie, I knew I had to get The Asylum team involved because it was a great experience working with them on Sharknado 3,” Cuban said in a statement. “They’re the perfect fit to bring this wild ride to life, as we celebrate the life and legacy of the The King’s reign, crafting a unique and original storyline that explores the well-known conspiracy theories and allows our viewers to form their own conclusions.”

The Asylum’s partners Paul Bales, David Michael Latt and David Rimawi will produce along with David Garber. The Asylum will also handle worldwide sales on the film.

“With Elvis Lives! we intend to do for the life of Elvis Presley what Sharknado did for flying sharks,” says Asylum president and conspiracy theorist David Rimawi in a statement. 

This past weekend's finale of the current season of The X Factor UK airs tonight on AXS TV -- and an x-tra attraction is guest appearances from Coldplay (recently tapped to perform during halftime of Super Bowl 50), One Direction and top-selling singer Adele (whose NBC special also airs tonight).

AXS TV, founded by Mark Cuban, is completing the second of a three-season deal to re-air the FremantleMedia hit 24 hours after episodes air on ITV in the United Kingdom. Here, that means Sunday and Monday night in primetime.

AXS TV officials say audience has been building this season for the talent-competition import, which features Simon Cowell and Rita Ora among the judges. Its AXS TV run so far peaked with an Oct. 25 telecast this season filmed at Cowell's home in the South of France and featuring Louis Tomlinson of One Direction, the network said, drawing 370,000 average viewers over seven days of live and recorded viewing. It's the network's top-rated show for two seasons running.

The show generated some 39 hours of primetime content and "it’s just continued to dominate our ratings," Michele M. Dix, senior vice president, programming and development, said today. "We’ve seen great connection socially," using the #UKintheUSA hashtag, she added. AXS TV upped the ante this season by adding the companion show The Xtra Factor.

As for numbers, network officials said the total audience this season is approximately 300,000 viewers on average on a live plus seven day basis, citing Rentrak Essentials data. The show has seen a gain of nearly 15%, again on an L7 basis, among the 18- to 24-year-old demographic. And it has been viewed by nearly 10 million unique households in its 44-million-household base this season, officials said.

For AXS TV, she said, "it's just been a tremendous win."

The season finale airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. Central (5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on West Coast). 

AXS TV has secured the rights to Magnolia Pictures’ sports documentary on veteran NBA star Dirk Nowitzki.

The doc, Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot, will debut on the channel Oct. 29 and tells the story of the 13-time NBA All-Star, from his beginning playing German basketball to his run as the star of the Dallas Mavericks, including becoming the first non-American to lead his team to victory in the NBA Finals.

Produced by Emmy-winning filmmaker Leopold Hoesch, the documentary will feature interviews with Mavericks and AXS owner Mark Cuban, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd and former NBA Commissioner David Stern.

AXS TV, which provides live, exclusive coverage of music festivals including Stagecoach, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, launched a microsite backing that coverage and adding social features including notifications when an artist is about to perform or when new artists are added to the broadcast lineup. The location is www.axs.tv/festivals.

The network, founded by Mark Cuban and partly owned by AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media, Creative Artists Agency and CBS, said the site will launch a countdown clock on Wednesday, April 1, leading up to the season kickoff at Coachella on Friday, April 17. Followers of AXS TV’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Cyber Dust can receive messages alerting them to the latest breaking festival news, too. Each festival broadcast will also feature a minute-by-minute broadcast lineup. Festival histories and tourist information are on the sites and a social interaction page (powered by Wayin) will aggregate tweets from fans and artists during each event, using #AXSCoachella, #AXSStagecoach, #AXSJazzFest, #HomeOnTheRange and #AXSFirefly. This section will also detail what's trending at that moment, and contain interactive polls that viewers can start participating in during the microsite’s launch.

The AXS TV sites for each festival are: Stagecoach Country Music Festival, www.axs.tv/festival/Stagecoach; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, www.axs.tv/festival/JazzFest; Rock On The Range, www.axs.tv/festival/Rock-On-The-Range; Firefly, www.axs.tv/festival/Firefly.

You can add the Syfy Network to the long list of things that love David Hasselhoff (Germans and Norm MacDonald being just two) as the former Baywatch star joins the cast of Sharknado 3, contributing his aquatic thespian skills to the role of Gilbert Sheperd, father of series hero Fin Sheperd, portrayed by former Beverly Hills 90210 star Ian Ziering.

Hasselhoff – the star of iconic 1980s TV series Knight Rider and Baywatch – has carved out a decent side career in parodying his sometimes ultra-serious persona in films like Dodgeball and The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie. He will star opposite another 80s icon -- Bo Derek, who recently signed on to play Fin’s mother, May – as well as Ziering, Tara Reid (April) and Cassie Scerbo (Nova) in the newest installment of the global pop culture sensation.

In addition, Ryan Newman will play April and Fin’s daughter Claudia Sheperd and Jack Griffo portrays Claudia’s friend, Billy.

Additional cameo roles include Mark Cuban as the President of the United States; Ann Coulter as the Vice President; Jerry Springer as Mr. White, a manic tourist; *NSYNC singer Chris Kirkpatrick as a pool lifeguard, and Chris Jericho, who will portray Bruce the roller coaster ride operator.

Sharknado 3 will premiere on Syfy in July, causing mass destruction in Washington, D.C., before roaring down the Eastern Seaboard and into Florida.

Anthony C. Ferrante will once again direct, based on an original screenplay by Thunder Levin. Sharknado 3 is a production of The Asylum.

When it aired last July 30, Sharknado 2: The Second One became Syfy’s most-watched original movie ever, notching just under 4 million viewers in its debut.

Mark Cuban has given the proposed AT&T/DirecTV deal a big thumbs up.

In a filing with the FCC earlier this month, Cuban, chairman of AXS TV and founder of HDnet, said that he expected the combined company would expand opportunities for his companies’ content on new platforms. DirecTV has been carrying HDnet for the past decade.

Cuban's companies also include the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, Magnolia Productions and 2929 Productions.

Cuban says the merger would offer “an expanded high-speed broadband footprint enabling edge providers new means of reaching consumers with OTT services over a variety of platforms."

He said he “strongly supports” the merger and urged the FCC top move expeditiously to approve it.

A top investor in Shop HQ parent ValueVision Media who once criticized its former management for sticking shareholders with the bill of fighting off a proxy battle with activist investors, has soundly backed the company’s new ownership and management team, stating in a letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he is switching his funds investment position in the company from “active” to “passive.”

In a brief letter to ShopHQ CEO Mark Bozek, Cannell Capital managing member J. Carlo Cannell wrote that his hedge fund “no longer seeks to effect positive change in the change in the control of ValueVision Media, Inc.("VVTV"). We are content and confident that you have this sacred duty in hand.”

Cannell Capital owns about 3 million ValueVision shares, or about 5.6% of its outstanding stock. The letter was part of a quarterly 13-G filing with the SEC Cannell made on Oct. 14. Owners of 5% or more of a public company‘s shares are required by the SEC to file 13-G statements each quarter.

While 13-Gs are usually dry and to the point, Cannell has used them as a forum on occasion. In June, he criticized ValueVision’s then-CEO Randy Ronning for sticking shareholders with a $3 million bill for public relations and legal advisors to defend the company from a proxy battle being waged by dissident investor Clinton Group.

Clinton won that fight – it ended up electing a majority of the board of directors, ousting ValueVision’s management and installing new executives including Bozek, the former CEO of shopping network rival HSN, Inc.

“Since arriving about four months ago you have pruned the executive suite, driving away those to whom the very notion of a five day work was apparently abhorrent,” Cannel wrote. “You have let in air, light and a general feeling of relevance to all employees. You have given customers a taste of what should, and can, happen with the success of the Mark Cuban American Dream show (the debut of which set a ShopHQ viewership record). Perhaps most importantly, you have reactivated relationships with merchants. Good start. Good luck. Godspeed.”