The top five M&A advisers for the media, entertainment and new media industries year-to-date as of Sept. 30 all had a role in Discovery Communications Inc.'s $11.76 billion pending acquisition of lifestyle network owner Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.

The cash-and-stock deal, announced in July, is expected to close early next year. Discovery executives said at the time of the announcement that they expect the two network owners once merged will have more scale and leverage to pursue better advertising and distribution deals, including positioning in more over-the-top bundles.

JP Morgan Securities LLC secured the No. 1 rank with a total deal credit of $25.58 billion year-to-date as of Sept. 30 for the Discovery-Scripps deal and seven other transactions. Joining JP Morgan at the top were: Guggenheim Securities LLC, with $21.63 in deal credit; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, with $19.52 billion; Allen & Co. LLC, with $16.71 billion; and Evercore Inc., with $14.89 billion.

In total, S&P Global Market Intelligence counted 193 deal announcements in the media and new media sectors during the third quarter of 2017, with an aggregate transaction or deal value of $25.61 billion. That represented a lower deal volume than in the second quarter, which saw 296 deals announced, with an aggregate deal value of $20.10 billion. There were 303 deals announced in the third quarter of 2016, with an aggregate transaction or deal value of $15.86 billion.

S&P Global Market Intelligence defines transaction value as deal value plus net debt. If that figure is unavailable, S&P Global Market Intelligence uses deal value, excluding debt assumed, or the deal amount from the PitchBook. For some deals, a value is not given or could not be determined. Total deal value and transaction values are recorded as of the announcement date and include whole and asset deals and minority buyouts. Terminated deals are excluded from the analysis.