OuterwallInc. continued to top the list of media and entertainment companieswith the largest drops in short interest in the first half of September as itneared the closing of a deal that made it a private company.

Outerwall saw short interest decline 697 basis points to12.42% of shares outstanding between Aug. 31 and Sept. 15. The Bellevue,Wash.-based company had been leading the short interest decliner list since late July.Affiliates of funds managed by Apollo Global Management LLC on July 25announced plans to acquire Outerwall and take it private. The going-privatetransaction closedSept. 27.

McClatchyCo. topped the list of media and entertainment companies with thebiggest rises in short interest in the first half of September. The company sawshort interest increase 216 basis points to 7.72% of shares outstanding at theend of the period.

NexstarBroadcasting Group Inc. was the most shorted media andentertainment company as of Sept. 15. The company saw short interest climb 140basis points to 28.53% of shares outstanding.

SNL Kagan is anoffering of S&P Global Market Intelligence.