Topic: Disney bought Fox: Fox Shareholders Agreed to $71B Disney Buyout!!

[BlackNMild2k1]

and once again, the Simpsons called it....


Announcement expected on Thursday
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/12/fox-disney-on-glide-path-for-thursday-deal-announcement-sources.html

But it appears Disney is practically done hammering out the details with FOX over an acquisition of a majority of it's Movie, TV assets and all their Regional Sports channels.

This deal DOES NOT include: FOX News, FOX Sports 1 or 2, nor their National Broadcast station FOX (ch2 around here)

From what I've read they will be acquiring the following:
- 21st Century Fox (IP holders of The Simpsons, Aliens, Predator, X-Men (& F4?), and distribution for Avatar and A New Hope, among MANY, MANY other shows an movies)
- FX/FXX cable channels
- National Geographic Channel
- All Regional Sports Channels (i.e. Fox Sports Boston, Fox Sports Detroit)
- An additional 30% stake in HULU (increasing Disney's share up to 60%)
- 40% Stake in SkyTV (big deal over in Europe) with the bid to also take full 100% control
  -there's another Euro/Aus company caught up in the deal... I'll have to edit it in later if it comes to me
- And all of FOX's debts

The entire deal was speculated to be worth about $60 Billion
and would be mostly completed through a stock trade which would give the Murdochs roughly about 5% of Disney while all the 21st Century Fox stock holders would trade out the remainder of their stock which I think including the Murdochs share was roughly 25% of Disney stock

I don't know how much of all that any of you care about, but this means that potentially Disney has just brought home the X-Men (& Deadpool) along with the Fantastic Four for Marvel Studios to play with.

Some may be worried that some of the upcoming X-Men movies might be cancelled or that we may never see some of them since they are rated R, but it's also reported that 21 Century Film/TV will remain autonomous like Marvel and Lucasfilm and Pixar, so they could still be releasing TV shows and movies under the 21st Century banner that Disney doesn't want directly under their own.

So we could still get the sequel to Logan, and a Deadpool 3 and a follow up to New Mutants, and maybe X-Force and all that depending on how Marvel Studios wants to handle the X-Men going forward past projects already in production (such as Dark Phoenix, which is supposedly taking place around the same time in history and also using Skrulls like the movie Captain Marvel)

this deal also gives Disney back the Star Wars: A New Hope (ep4) which could mean new OT untouched at some point, assuming it still exist. I know some SW fans will love that.

It also gives Disney distribution with Cameron directly for Avatar 2, 3, and 4 which pairs perfectly with their major investment in Avatar Land and Animal Kingdom.

Another interesting aspect of this whole deal is that Comcast was also seriously interesting in this deal for themselves, but the Murdochs never really entertained their offer. What's interesting about that is that Comcast owns NBC and Universal, who has the distribution right to The Hulk and I think Namor.
But that's not all, Universal is also the owner of Universal Studios, who has exclusive rights to Marvel characters in theme parks East of the Mississippi, meaning NO MARVEL at Disney World.
With all this newly acquired IP, maybe Comcast will finally make a deal with Disney so that Disney can get their rights back and make Marvel whole again.
I have no idea what Comcast would likely trade for, or what Disney would be willing to give up in exchange, but there plenty to deal with here.... and not just for Comcast, but for Sony who has Spider-Man rights, and to Paramount who holds rights to Indiana Jones.

Some of you may wonder what exactly is Disney supposed to do with all these Fox Properties, and what is gonna happen to my favorite shows that happen to com on FOX?

Well I imagine since FOX is keeping the FOX channel, all those same shows will still air on there, and 21 Century will continue to operate as normal (outside of maybe losing control of a few properties that belong to Marvel).
There could be a nice shake up in who is heading all of TV as ABC hasn't been doing the best, but the guy that runs FX/FXX might be a difference maker.

and as far as what happens with all these shows? Well don't forget that Disney is making their own competitor to Netflix, and they will also by 60% majority stake holders in HULU, so whatever doesn't fit on the former (fam-friendly) will likely end up on the other.

What do you guys think about this deal happening?

p.s. I didn't even mention the fact that all that sports stuff is gonna make Disney a MAJOR provider of sports going forwards since all of that will get rebranded as ESPN stuff
So this deal is pretty huge for Marvel, Lucasfilm, ESPN, possibly ABC as well as Disney as a whole.

p.s.s - and I didn't mention the comics and gaming side for Marvel at all....
Now Marvel can drop it's ban on Fantastic Four comics and creating NEW mutants for X-Men
this will also allow merchandising dept to start producing X-Men and F4 toys (X-Men Hot Toys could look dope)
and now all those Marvel games will be able to use X-Men and F4 characters again.
- so whenever Capcom decides to bring MvC:I over to the Switch, I expect a FULL roster of characters.

[broodwars]

It won't be, but this acquisition should be blocked. There's already way too much of the entertainment market concentrated at Disney without adding Fox to it. We're getting close to an entertainment monopoly.

[lolmonade]

It won't be, but this acquisition should be blocked. There's already way too much of the entertainment market concentrated at Disney without adding Fox to it. We're getting close to an entertainment monopoly.

Seconded.  I understand how badly people want the unification of all these properties that used to share the same universe, but with how Disney is already prone to strong-arm theaters to get the terms they want, i'm not sure I see good things coming out of this buy-out. 


I've already made my comments on how I suspect Disney would affect the tone and nature of things like Logan and Deadpool already in the Marvel thread.


I also kind of think in terms of X-men, they might have missed the big opportunity with Wolverine crossed-over into other movies?  I mean, obviously they are going to re-cast that character at some point, but Hugh Jacked-Man I still associate with the character too much, personally.

[BlackNMild2k1]

This sale was either happening for Disney or for Comcast, not because they forced Fox to consider a sale, but because Fox wanted to sell so they could focus on other things.

I'd much rather Disney get it for many reasons.
and this is just one tool for Disney to stay relevant in the long term, considering the war chest of potential rivals in Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix, not to mention the threat they already have from potential bullies like Comcast (net neutrality) and the Time Warner/AT&T merger.

I can see the arguments for the negatives, but looking at the big picture and knowing FOX was selling regardless, I think Disney was the better outcome here. At least we know they are making previous acquisitions closer to whole again, and as far as the movie side of things, we should get quality out of those products.

I think the last thing any of us wanted was Comcast extending it's reach and not only controlling the content, but the access to it as well. This deal would have also put their hand in the European and Australian pies. Unfortunately for them, The Murdochs weren't interested in Comcast's stocks/money.

I am curious what Disney is gonna do with the Simpsons though... is that something they could trade or continue to lease to Universal in exchange for release of some distribution rights?
Universal Studios I believe has a Simpsons Land or something, but Disney would really like it's Marvel rights back.

[lolmonade]

This sale was either happening for Disney or for Comcast, not because they forced Fox to consider a sale, but because Fox wanted to sell so they could focus on other things.

To be fair, I really don't want Fox getting bought by either. 

[BlackNMild2k1]

This sale was either happening for Disney or for Comcast, not because they forced Fox to consider a sale, but because Fox wanted to sell so they could focus on other things.

To be fair, I really don't want Fox getting bought by either. 

that's fine, but it was happening regardless. if Disney didn't jump on it first, Comcast would have outbid anyone else to get it.

I've already made my comments on how I suspect Disney would affect the tone and nature of things like Logan and Deadpool already in the Marvel thread.


I also kind of think in terms of X-men, they might have missed the big opportunity with Wolverine crossed-over into other movies?  I mean, obviously they are going to re-cast that character at some point, but Hugh Jacked-Man I still associate with the character too much, personally.

Feige has already commented on the Rated R nature of Deadpool and is not against doing that in the MCU. It's just not something that fit anything he is currently working on.
That's not to say that he couldn't reboot the X-Men outside of the MCU and keep running it under the 21st Century banner in association with Marvel Studios. Let them run adjacent to each other for a while... loosely connected like the Movies to TV show or something. And don't forget the Netflix Marvel shows are brutal and graphic in what they show, so it's not like Marvel or Disney is against R rated material in their MCU content. It just hasn't happened in a movie yet, as there hasn't been a good reason to.

Deadpool made a lot of money, I'm pretty sure they'll let it continue to do what it does, and Reynolds and company will have the superior advice of Feige to draw from going forward.

And Hugh Jackman already stated that he doesn't want to play Wolvie any more, and even though he's excited to see the character come to the MCU, he thinks his time for that character has already passed. That's not to say he wouldn't change his mind if they actually asked him, but I think it's more likely they have him cameo as someone else if at appear at all.

[lolmonade]

Sure, I get it was going to happen with one or the other, does that mean I can't have an opinion that I don't like what's happening?  The post was created to discuss all of this, I assume, not just to have confirmation bias and high-fiveing each other.  What fun is a conversation if there's consensus?

I'd much rather Disney get it for many reasons.
and this is just one tool for Disney to stay relevant in the long term, considering the war chest of potential rivals in Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix, not to mention the threat they already have from potential bullies like Comcast (net neutrality) and the Time Warner/AT&T merger.

I don't really see how they need Fox to stay relevant - they are Coca-Cola in terms of how prevalent and spread they are within the world, and while that doesn't happen without effort, this particular buy-out resembles much more a straight-laced power grab for an ever growing piece of the market share pie than JUST a strategic buy-out to shore-up gaps in their properties catalog.  They are confident enough in their own catalog and upcoming content that they're launching their own streaming service.  I also don't see how they are an ally to Net Neutrality - if anything, i'd perceive them as not likely to take a public stance, but aware they can weather whatever fallout from Net Neutrality, which is VERY similar to the public comments Netflix has made as of late.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'm sure as a future online content provider (like Netflix is now), Disney will be very much in favor of not paying Comcast or AT&T for "fast lane" data... Assuming comcast will be charging at both ends.

But like i said, your opinion is fine that you'd rather it not happen at all, and I understand that, especially outside just the IP collection they will obtain. But much like a vote, sometimes you gotta make your peace with the choice you think would do less harm.

Disney may have survived just fine on their giant vault of classics, home grown and recently bought, but if the long term strategy is to become a direct content provider for all sources in entertainment, then this purchase makes all the sense in the world. This is a big play by Disney, and I see why that worries some people, but even those that seem worried about it don't fully understand how big this play is (I don't fully understand it either, but it involves large networks in other countries as well).

I still rather it be Disney over Comcast.
Because for all the dirty **** Disney may have tried to pull, Comcast is, has been, and still trying to do even worse.


edit: and I don't want it to come across that I really "support" Disney owning everything, I more or less support them making whole the things they already own (Star Wars, Marvel, Indy, and to some extent they are heavily invested in Avatar).
Their far reaching grab for sporting is something i don't know much about, and I have no idea what they are going to do as far an new entries in so many classic Fox franchises if anything at all.


Having already seen the Disney release schedule for next yet.... I'd be kinda concerned if I was another studio as Disney will literally have a handful of movie, potentially even a BlockBuster movie EVERY SINGLE MONTH OF THE YEAR

[ThePerm]

I don't see a huge difference between 2 big corporations owning corporately owned IP and one big corporation owning corporately owned IP. This is because of the transitive property.

I'd be more concerned if they bought Netflix. This is where new stuff comes out nowadays. From  experience I have seen several corporations buy IP only for it to not have much of an effect on the market. Like WWE buying WCW. At least Disney are competent managers of content. It would be worse if they bought Warner Bros. WB sits on great IP and manages their IP mediocrely.

You have to think that all the content they are buying is content that has some level of diminishing returns. Their IP is old.

The content that they have would have been 1800s public domain works in the 1840s. This is the closest thing to public domain, and the furthest thing to public domain at the same time. If you look back. Disney and other corporations created the problem where the must buy corporations to get content. If the time to lapse into public domain was shorter they could have just made a new Star Wars movie and nobody could sue.

Disney will spend billions to get this corporation, this money will go to people in the entertainment industry who were patrons of the arts, and will likely continue to do so. There is a Yin and Yang in this situation. The money they spend here goes somewhere.

When you look at some of the IP they acquire, at least they are pretty good managers of the content.

As far as ratings go. Disney let the Marvel Netflix stuff happen, which was all pretty R rated. Also, when you look at the Fox Marvel universe, there isn't much in Deadpool that can't fit into the  existing Marvel Universe. In Deadpool, there are different X-men, the main ones are not seen, and the X-men universe was going to be rebooted anyhow. It had ran it's course. You could pretty much say at this point that they rebooted the X-men universe in Deadpool and all they have to do is connect Deadpool to the rest of Marvel somehow. I'm not sure how Deadpool 2 fits, but it isn't out yet. The R-rated Marvel stuff might just show up under the Fox Label.  Disney used to run Mirimax after all.

Also

[lolmonade]

I'm sure as a future online content provider (like Netflix is now), Disney will be very much in favor of not paying Comcast or AT&T for "fast lane" data... Assuming comcast will be charging at both ends.

In favor vs being large enough where they will pay for the privilege of "fast lane" are two different things.  Which is why at best I assume they're on the same track as Netflix - against it if pressed for an answer, knowing full well they can bear that cost to ensure they're prioritized.

But like i said, your opinion is fine that you'd rather it not happen at all, and I understand that, especially outside just the IP collection they will obtain. But much like a vote, sometimes you gotta make your peace with the choice you think would do less harm.

True, and given I don't have a choice one way or another, I see the benefits of how they're able to unify several properties they've taken ownership of over the years.  I'm hopeful for my friends who like Comics that this means Marvel can stop pretending the X-Men don't exist. 


That said, I think there are likely negative repercussions for Disney taking ownership like this, and taking a bigger piece of the entertainment market pie.  There have already been instances of Disney strong-arming theaters with Star Wars releases demanding a larger cut of the ticket sales AND requiring a certain number of screens for x amount of weeks.  Or how they inserted that Frozen 20 minute "short" ahead of a Pixar film instead of having the kinds of quick hit shorts they usually do.


One upside - Maybe with them now owning 60% of Hulu, they'll offer Disney content on there?   


I'm also curious how this really impacts gaming moving forward.  I know they have an exclusive deal with EA on star wars that seems to be going swimmingly (and I understand that's likely as much EAs fault as Disney), but does this actually mean X-Men are allowed to exist in Marvel v Capcom?  Does this mean more or less licensed games?  I do in some ways miss an occasional licensed Superhero game, and while it's nice a Spiderman one is in the works, i'd like to see something akin to X-Men Legends make a reappearance.

[broodwars]

"Well, some other big corporation was going to buy the Fox assets anyway" doesn't negate my concern that DISNEY having them consolidates too much market control under DISNEY & risks forming a monopoly.

Universal has nowhere near the control over the market that Disney has.

I also find the concern about Disney needing to compete with Apple amusing since IIRC the Jobs family has controlling interest in Disney's stocks (via the Pixar acquisition).

[nickmitch]

With Disney owning 60% of Hulu, I don't see why they'd still pursue their own streaming service.  They've got a majority stake in Netflix's biggest competitor, second only to piracy.  I would think revenue from one would strongly cannibalize the other.

I also wouldn't be concerned about Disney making the 21st Century tone down their movies.  Like Perm said, they once owned Miramax, which was putting out Tarantino movies at the time.  Now, they dropped Miramax, so there's that.  But one of the execs from the studio during that time would note how controlling Disney was over their releases, which would have included Kill Bill.

As far as Disney consolidating power goes, that is kind of concerning. Comcast would've been worse since they own cable and internet providing businesses.  I'm also not sure how big a deal there being one less big movie studio is.  To be fair, they can REALLY strong arm theaters now.  And if they push any of the big brands out, they could try to buy them up, which would create a regulatory nightmare.  I would think such a thing would be blocked, but I thought this about NBC Comcast, so **** it.

[Order.RSS]

Yeah agree with everyone's skepticism above. Sure, right now it might seem like a neat prospect to have Avengers vs. X-Men to occur or whatever... But ultimately they could still just do that if they struck a deal; see Spider-Man Homecoming.

Results from an acquisition like this would still be years off, by which time the whole superhero landscape might have changed a lot. There's too many projects in advanced states of production for there to be instantaneous results.

And yeah I agree it could be mildly fun to see the Fantastic Four prance around in Avengers 8, but I'd rather it doesn't come at the potential risk of shuttering studios like Fox Searchlight.

It just seems like further consolidation; Disney's effective competition would be reduced to Universal, WB, and I guess Sony Pictures and Paramount? Maybe Lionsgate? And sure I know Disney-Fox would still not breach the 50% market share, but they might expand close to that 40% number and it's just worrying when you consider that most of the other players will be hovering between 5 and 10% of the movie market. (WB being the obvious exception.)

[BlackNMild2k1]

That said, I think there are likely negative repercussions for Disney taking ownership like this, and taking a bigger piece of the entertainment market pie.  There have already been instances of Disney strong-arming theaters with Star Wars releases demanding a larger cut of the ticket sales AND requiring a certain number of screens for x amount of weeks.  Or how they inserted that Frozen 20 minute "short" ahead of a Pixar film instead of having the kinds of quick hit shorts they usually do.

I recognize those moments, but did Disney go thru with the increased hike on SW for the theaters?
I know that they heard the comsumer complaints on the Frozen 30 minute special before Coco, and removed it almost immediately, but that was also hurting thier own runtime and therefore profits from the movie (which is why once it was removed, they asked the theaters to please add an extra showing of Coco every day)
you also didn't mention it, but that journalist ban they almost immediately reversed as well.

as far as ticket share hike for theaters... SW is a BIG deal at the theater, so as a business, I can't really blame them for trying to capitalize, but at the same time, I also expect the theater to try and capitalize on it as well with movie tie-ins, sell posters, memorabilia in the lobby, hot cocoa to those waiting in line outside, etc etc.
I'm not saying it's ok to gouge the "little-man" as I know some theaters may struggle from time to time. but business is business (I know Disney ain't hurting for that extra $100M in shared revenue, but they are a business.... and business is gonna business)

One upside - Maybe with them now owning 60% of Hulu, they'll offer Disney content on there?

   
Disney is still moving ahead with their own service. All the Disney content will still be on Netflix till sometime in 2019. Disneyflix will probably be the home after that. Hulu will probably get all the non family friendly FOX stuff though that doesn't suit the audience for Disneyflix

"Well, some other big corporation was going to buy the Fox assets anyway" doesn't negate my concern that DISNEY having them consolidates too much market control under DISNEY & risks forming a monopoly.

Universal has nowhere near the control over the market that Disney has.

I also find the concern about Disney needing to compete with Apple amusing since IIRC the Jobs family has controlling interest in Disney's stocks (via the Pixar acquisition).

Universal is owned by Comcast and Comcast has a different kind of control over the market, since they are not owner IP owners/Content providers, but also gateway to access through cable and internet.

and I believe the Jobs fam has about 5% shares, about the same the Murdoch fam is getting out this deal.
Apple itself is HUGE, and the like of it, Google, and Amazon deciding to that become content providers puts them in direct competition with companies like Disney.... it's actually one of the reasons Murdoch had to get out of that portion of the FOX business and focus on News and Sports from what I've been reading.

Which comes back to the point that of the 2 companies that were even attempting to be involved in this transaction (because it was happening regardless), Disney was the best choice for many reasons.

With Disney owning 60% of Hulu, I don't see why they'd still pursue their own streaming service.  They've got a majority stake in Netflix's biggest competitor, second only to piracy.  I would think revenue from one would strongly cannibalize the other.

Disney wants to compete with Netflix, HBO and whoever else directly.
owning 60% of Hulu is great, but owning 100% of Disneyflix is even better.... especially when Hulu will be the companion site, so they will be getting more of your money (160%) instead of just 60% through Hulu

As far as Disney consolidating power goes, that is kind of concerning. Comcast would've been worse since they own cable and internet providing businesses.  I'm also not sure how big a deal there being one less big movie studio is.  To be fair, they can REALLY strong arm theaters now.  And if they push any of the big brands out, they could try to buy them up, which would create a regulatory nightmare.  I would think such a thing would be blocked, but I thought this about NBC Comcast, so **** it.

This deal was designed to avoid any regulatory issues. The biggest portion of this deal has to do with sports and international presence through SkyTV and YES network (the other network I forgot in the OP). The IP is just the portion us here seem to care the most about, but it's just the icing on a pretty big cake.
Fox from the reports will continue to run autonomously, much like Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar has (outside of a few select IP's). So that should should leave Fox Searchlight to continue doing what they do, same as the rest of the studio.
I think the question is will Feige let a part of 21st Century continue to make the X-Men movies under his direction "in association with Marvel Studios" or does he being it in house?
Disney was already fighting with itself for space on the release schedule.... so I assume this purchase doesn't make that any easier.

also, expect an official announcement tomorrow:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-finalizing-pact-to-acquire-assets-from-21st-century-fox-1513203075

[ShyGuy]

What we need, is a serious reformation of copyright law. Take it back to this:

If you create something, then you can own that for 28 years and then you can renew it for another 28 years making it 56 years. After that, public domain.

[UncleBob]

Why 28/28?

[ShyGuy]

Why 28/28?

I don't know, but that is what the US Copyright Office set it at back in 1909. 56 years gives you a big chunk of your life.

[ThePerm]

Also, Fox really didn't own much IP. The real notable ones are a couple sci-fi movies like Alien, Predator, Avatar,  Planet of the Apes, The Fly, and also the Fox and FX TV shows.

They had Marvel rights, but only because they ripped off Marvel with shitty contracts. We're all Nintendo people, can you imagine if to this day the Zelda CDi crap continued and Nintendo had no control over it? Or if Nintendo had followed through with the Playstation? The only reason why Marvel made those deals before is they were in a shitty financial position trying to stay afloat. Comics have only had a few periods of booming money making. Their artistic intellectual endeavor has always been consistent.

If you look at it, if Fox had bought Marvel a few years ago wouldn't they be buying a run down Disney by now? Also, to note: The original Star Wars was made at Fox.

Another note: Dr. Dolittle. That could be a big franchise again. Also, not buying Fox News.

As far as buying Hulu goes. Good. I want less pay streaming services. Another thing, they probably won't make the Disney streaming service now. If they have 60%  stake, they can just change the name. Were you married to the name Hulu?

Next move: CBS and Time Warner merge. The AT&T deal will probably fail.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Here is a list of things Disney gets in the Purchase of 20th Century FOX
http://beta.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-disney-21st-century-fox-20171213-htmlstory.html

20th Century Fox Movie and Television Studio
Valuation: $13.3 billion
Movies: “Avatar,” original “Star Wars,” “Deadpool,” “X-Men,” “Ice Age,” “Ferdinand”
Television shows: “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “This Is Us,” “Modern Family,” “Homeland,” “Empire,” “X-Files”


Fox Regional Sports Networks: 22 regional cable channels
Valuation: $22.4 billion
TV channels: Prime Ticket, Fox Sports West, Fox Sports San Diego, YES Network, among others


Domestic cable channels
Valuation: $8.7 billion
TV channels: FX and FXX, with such shows as “American Horror Story,” “Fargo” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia." National Geographic Channels have such shows as “Genius,” “The Long Road Home” and “Running Wild With Bear Grylls.”


Fox Networks Group International cable channels
Valuation: $13.7 billion
TV channels: Star India, headquartered in Mumbai, includes dozens of television channels in several languages, including in English and Hindi. Fox Networks Group distributes basic television channels in Mexico, Brazil and other parts of Latin America. The company also has been launching Spanish-language sports programming services throughout Latin America.


Hulu
Valuation: $1.75 billion
Other: Fox’s 30% stake, which would give Disney a controlling interest of 60%.


Sky
Valuation: $8.8 billion
Other: Fox owns 39% of Sky, the European satellite TV giant. Fox would like to increase its ownership stake to 100% next year if British regulators approve the transaction.

edit:
and here's a list of other shows Disney would obtain

Disney will be acquiring the rights to Crusader Rabbit – the first cartoon series created for television (in 1949). They’ll also pick up much vintage Saturday morning stuff – like the Planet Of The Apes cartoons, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, Fantastic Voyage, The Hardy Boys, Dr. Doolittle… Fox Kids originals like The Tick and Peter Pan and The Pirates, Bobby’s World and Life With Louie. Disney would acquire a slew of theatrical features, including Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards(1977) and Fire and Ice (1983). Disney could add Ferngully: The Last Rain Forrest, Once Upon A Forest, The Pagemaster, Don Bluth’s Anasatasia and Titan AE, and of course the Blue Sky studio and their assets: The Ice Age Movies, Robots, Rio, Epic, Horton Hears A Who, The Peanuts Movie – and the forthcoming Ferdinand (which will go good with the 1939 Oscar winning original short).They would now own The Book Of Life (which would pair nicely with Coco), and of course their Animation Domination Sunday night line-up: American Dad, King Of The Hill, Cleveland Show, Futurama… and a whole bunch of primetime one-season wonders: Sit Down Shut Up, Bordertown, Allen Gregory, and on and on.

and more info about Disney taking over Star India
http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/disney-fox-deal-how-it-is-set-to-change-india-s-broadcasting-pecking-order-117121400492_1.html

Walt Disney Co’s global acquisition of a large part of the business owned by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc (2CF) – expected to be announced soon – will fundamentally change India’s TV broadcast landscape as well. According to those privy to the talks, the entire business of Star India, including entertainment and sports channels and the digital over-the-top channel Hotstar, will be transferred to Disney as part of the deal. And, that will catapult Disney, currently a small player known primarily for kids’ channels and distribution of Hollywood films, as the country’s largest media & entertainment broadcaster, with over $1.3 billion of additional India revenue.

more at the link

[BlackNMild2k1]

aaaand, it's Official
http://www.enhancedonlinenews.com/news/eon/20171214005651/en/Walt-Disney-Company-Acquire-Twenty-First-Century-Fox/

details to follow later (or read the link)... I just happen to wake around this hour. I'm going back to sleep now.

Combining with Disney are 21st Century Fox’s critically acclaimed film production businesses, including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox 2000, which together offer diverse and compelling storytelling businesses and are the homes of Avatar, X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool, as well as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Hidden Figures, Gone Girl, The Shape of Water and The Martian—and its storied television creative units, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21, which have brought The Americans, This Is Us, Modern Family, The Simpsons and so many more hit TV series to viewers across the globe. Disney will also acquire FX Networks, National Geographic Partners, Fox Sports Regional Networks, Fox Networks Group International, Star India and Fox’s interests in Hulu, Sky plc, Tata Sky and Endemol Shine Group.
[...]
The agreement also provides Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool with the Marvel family under one roof and create richer, more complex worlds of inter-related characters and stories that audiences have shown they love.

Fantastic Phase 4 is coming!!!

edit:

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/walt-disney-company-acquire-twenty-first-century-fox-inc-spinoff-certain-businesses-52-4-billion-stock/
https://www.21cf.com/news/21st-century-fox/2017/walt-disney-company-acquire-twenty-first-century-fox-inc-after-spinoff
https://www.21cf.com/news/21st-century-fox/2017/21st-century-fox-spin-businesses-create-new-fox-growth-company

Disney is having an 8:00AM call and Fox is having a 9:00AM call. You can listen to it here and here

[lolmonade]

They had Marvel rights, but only because they ripped off Marvel with shitty contracts. We're all Nintendo people, can you imagine if to this day the Zelda CDi crap continued and Nintendo had no control over it? Or if Nintendo had followed through with the Playstation? The only reason why Marvel made those deals before is they were in a shitty financial position trying to stay afloat. Comics have only had a few periods of booming money making. Their artistic intellectual endeavor has always been consistent.

I don't see how it was Fox's fault for making an offer that Marvel accepted.  Marvel was in bad financial way, and Superhero movies were NOT the booming business they are today.  Marvel still had all the rights to make comic books, merchandise, etc, just not movies or tv.


And your example needs to be amended, it'd be like if Nintendo sold-off the movie/tv rights to Mario and Zelda today, not the franchises themselves.  If Video game movies become a breakaway success in the next 5-10 years, it wasn't the buyer screwing Nintendo, it was them making a deal at the time they felt was mutually beneficial, and the buyer ended up being the one who got the better deal in the long run.

[BlackNMild2k1]

From the Conference Call:

[Adrock]

I'm going back to sleep now.

Ron Howard voice: He didn’t.

From the Conference Call:

[Nile Boogie Returns]

I'm such a fanboy sometimes. Outside of Marvel getting back the rights to 90% of it's ip's, I would think this is a completely horrid and shitty move however, Doom is in the MCU (which I called years ago) and this is the only thing that matters to me.




I have enough current entertainment to last me 2 lifetimes, I'm an old dusty man now and don't really care about most of those other affairs now.




Disney will try and buy Walmart next...mark my words

[broodwars]

The Marvel Cinematic Universe: so utterly incapable of creating a good villain that Disney went out & bought Fox's instead of hiring competent writers.