Disney buys 21st Century FOX
$68b deal sees Disney expand its assets as it prepares to take on Netflix.
- Published by David Knox
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The Walt Disney Company said on Thursday that it had reached a deal to buy film & TV assets of 21st Century FOX, the conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, in a transaction valued at roughly $US52.4 billion ($AU68.3b).
Disney is purchasing the FOX television studio, which has 36 series in production, including The Simpsons, Homeland, This Is Us and Modern Family. Disney’s significantly smaller TV factory, ABC Studios, has delivered series of inconsistent quality and lost its biggest hitmaker in August when the Grey’s Anatomy producer Shonda Rhimes signed with Netflix.
Disney now has enough muscle to become a true competitor to Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook in the fast-growing realm of online video. It is the biggest counterattack from a traditional media company against the tech giants that have aggressively moved into the entertainment business and strengthens Disney’s content hand. It plans to launch a pair of streaming services: one an ESPN-branded sports offering planned for next year, and a Disney-branded entertainment service to rival Netflix in 2019.
Disney and FOX film assets will create Hollywood’s largest studio, dominating the release slate and commanding as much as 40% of the domestic US box office.
Disney also would gain controlling interest in the TV streaming service Hulu, adding Fox’s 30% stake to its own equal share. That would give it a decisive voice in the future direction of the service, which also is owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit and Time Warner. As part of the deal, Disney will also get the FX and National Geographic cable networks, and stakes in two behemoth overseas television-service providers, Sky of Britain and Star of India.
Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chairman and chief executive, agreed to renew his contract for a fourth time, delaying retirement from July 2019 to the end of 2021. A role for James Murdoch is yet to be decided.
“(James) will be integral to helping us integrate these companies over the next number of months,” Mr. Iger said. “Over that time, he and I will continue to discuss whether there is a role for him here or not.”
Not included in the acquisition: FOX News, the FOX broadcast network and the FS1 sports cable channel. The Murdochs will spin those businesses and a handful of other properties, including the 20th Century FOX lot in Hollywood, which Disney is not buying, into a newly listed company.
Source: New York Times, Deadline
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- Tagged with Grey’s Anatomy, Homeland, Modern Family, The Simpsons, This is Us
19 Responses
So looks like 7 may benefit greatly from this deal…
This is the confirmation if it were needed that streaming will eventually dominate viewing preferences, the days of Foxtel’s pay TV set top boxes are now limited, the only negative will be that a mega company like Disney will dominate and ultimately absorb most of it’s competitors, maybe even Netflix eventually, so what this means for Mr Murdoch’s Sky and Foxtel business during the coming decade is anyone’s guess, apart from Fox Sports the value for money of Foxtels pay TV is not comparing well with the regular advertisement free offerings coming from it’s streaming competitors.
A Simpson episode also predicted this lol
Important to remember this deal isn’t instant – it will take quite a while to get through regulatory hurdles in the US.
Wow, huge news and industry shake-up! A couple of questions: 1) What is this 20th Century Fox “lot”? 2) I take it 20th Century Fox & 20th Century Fox Television still exist as seperate subsidiaries of Disney, rather than everything now being under the Disney or Disney ABC name?
1) The studio lot of 20th Century Fox in Century City, on Pico Boulevard. As above, “Not included” the “20th Century FOX lot in Hollywood”.
The Lot is land where the permanent and temporary external sets are. Fox retains ownership, but Disney has leased it for 7 years to allow productions to continue. As with any merger, Disney will need to identify where there are duplicated divisions and people between ABC and Fox and rationalise.
Been following these developments for a while – have noticed no mention of Foxtel in any coverage about the sale.
So I guess Foxtel remains as Lachlan’s little play thing.
Murdoch’s stake in Foxtel is through News Corp Australia which isn’t owned by 21st Century Fox and therefore not owned by Disney.
News Corporation owns the newspapers and Foxtel. Fox TV and film in the US, and overseas pay TV holdings, were separated off into 21 Century Fox.
Wow this is big news. I wonder how this will play out in Australia?
So this would mean CBS:TEN , can do a deal with DIsney , to get back the shows lost when FOX canceled there contract ?
Unlikely. See below.
I know it’s early days. But does this mean that some of these shows are coming to channel 7. Considering they already have a contract with Abc/Disney.
Seven must be keenly interested in this, in view of their long association with Disney.
What does this mean for Simpsons, This Is Us, Homeland and Modern Family on free-to-air TV?
And to think Channel 10 could’ve been owned by Disney… wow
Maybe not, as Lachlan Murdoch put the bid in through his investment company Illyria and Bruce Gordon through his investment company Birketu, so the lines may have been blurred.
So does this mean ch 10 could get back the shows it lost when Murdoch chucked a hissy fit?