Magic Johnson to head Comcast cable channel Aspire

Magic Johnson, the former Laker and basketball Hall of Famer, has long been on an aspirational journey. This summer he plans to bring his upbeat message to new audiences with the launch of a 24-hour cable television channel named Aspire, via Comcast Corp.

Comcast plans to announce Tuesday that it will make available Johnson's 24-hour network in late June in about 11 million of its subscribers' homes. The initiative begins to fulfill a promise the cable operator made last year when it was seeking the federal government's approval of its more than $14 billion merger with NBCUniversal. 

The Philadelphia-based cable giant agreed to launch 10 new channels by 2018, including eight owned by African Americans and Latinos, to diversify its channel line-up.

"I told Comcast that I wanted to be sure I got the first one," Johnson said with a laugh during an interview with the Times.  

Johnson, who left professional sports 20 years ago and has since built a business empire, said the channel would focus on positive, uplifting images of African Americans. The basic cable outlet, which will be based in Atlanta, will join other channels targeting black viewers, like BET and TV One, and will offer opportunities for blacks who have struggled to find work in mainstream Hollywood.

“This is big for myself, for the African American community and the African American creative community," Johnson said. "I wanted a vehicle to show positive images and to have stories written, produced and directed by African Americans for our community. Aspire—that’s how I’ve been leading my life.”

Read the full story in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times.

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Photo: Earvin "Magic" Johnson speaks during the press conference held by the Magic Johnson Foundation at the Staples Center. Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / U.S. Presswire

AFTRA health and pension plan trustees take union to task

In what could be a move by employers to throw some cold water on the planned merger of Hollywood's two actors unions, trustees for the health and pension funds of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have issued a statement challenging some legal opinions cited by the unions.

The trustees of AFTRA's health and retirement plans, which include representatives from labor and management, on Thursday took issue with a "feasibility review" document the unions posted on their websites this week. Those cited the opinion of various lawyers -- including Jani Rachelson, co-counsel of the AFTRA Health and Retirement Funds -- stating "there are no legal impediments to merging the plans." 

The feasibility review was part of an overall merger package the boards of the two unions recently approved in a bid to gain more leverage in negotiations with studios, which in the past have successfully exploited divisions between the two groups to gain the upper hand in contract talks. Members of each union will vote on the merger in the coming weeks.

On Thursday, the board of trustees for the AFTRA health and pension funds said the feasibility review did not represent the opinion of the board.

"The Board of Trustees did not request or authorize this opinion of Fund co-counsel and had no prior knowledge of this letter before reading the posting on the websites,'' the trustees said in a statement. "Although there is no doubt that planned mergers are legally permissible in appropriate circumstances, the merger of pension and health funds as large and divergent as the SAG and AFTRA plans raise complex and unique financial, legal and benefit issues which can only be addressed through a comprehensive analysis performed by the funds."

Details on how the unions' respective health and pension plans will be combined will be addressed only after members approve a merger in upcoming referendum.

A spokeswoman for AFTRA declined to comment on the matter. 

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SAG and AFTRA open up about merger plans

Hollywood's actors' unions are opening up about their proposed marriage agreement. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists on Tuesday posted details of a merger package overwhelmingly approved by their respective boards last weekend.

The package includes a merger agreement, constitution and dues plan for what would be Hollywood's largest entertainment union, combining actors as well as singers, dancers, talk show hosts and broadcast journalists under a single roof.

Members of SAG and AFTRA will get to vote on the plan in a referendum to be held in the coming weeks. Merger ballots are scheduled to be mailed out on or about Feb. 27 are due back by March 30, according to a recent email sent to members of both unions. At least 60% of voters must approve the merger for it to be ratified.

Under the plan, national officers, including the president and secretary-treasurer, would be elected directly by members. However, some other positions, including that of an executive vice president, would be elected by delegates at a convention held every two years, a concession to AFTRA's tradition of using conventions and delegates. SAG elects its officers directly by a vote of members.

Dues will increase for some members, including for current AFTRA-only members, and drop for others, including those who are already dual card holders. The new union will be called simply SAG-AFTRA.

For more details on the agreement, here's the full plan: SAG/AFTRA merger package

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AFTRA board agrees to tie the knot with SAG

The long-sought marriage of Hollywood's two actors unions cleared another hurdle Saturday when the board of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists endorsed a plan to merge with the larger Screen Actors Guild.

As expected, the AFTRA board approved a recently-negotiated merger plan by 94% to 6%, echoing a similar endorsement on Friday by SAG's national board.

The plan would create the largest entertainment union in Hollywood, combining the diverse memberships and cultures of two very different organizations that have talked about joining forces for decades.

SAG has 125,000 members who are actors, extras and stunt performers. AFTRA's 70,000 members include actors, as well as singers, dancers, broadcast journalists and talk show hosts. The unions already have 40,000 members in common and are eager to consolidate to strengthen their negotiating clout.

With the approval of the their respective boards, the merger document -- which includes a merger agreement, a proposed constitution and dues plan -- will now go before members in a referendum vote to be held in coming weeks. The proposed new union is to be called SAG-AFTRA and probably will be touted Sunday night at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. SAG's leadership has made merging with AFTRA a top priority.

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