Disney Makes Deal for 21st Century Fox, Reshaping Entertainment Landscape (nytimes.com)

Disney is going all in for its upcoming fight with Netflix and other streaming giants. The Walt Disney Company said Thursday that it had reached a deal to buy most of the assets of 21st Century Fox, the conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $52.4 billion. From a report: To complete the integration, a legacy-defining task, Robert A. Iger, Disney's chief executive, agreed to renew his contract for a fourth time, delaying retirement from July 2019 to the end of 2021. While the merger still requires approval by antitrust regulators -- and the Justice Department recently moved to block a big media company from becoming even bigger -- the once unthinkable acquisition promises to reshape Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It is the biggest counterattack from a traditional media company against the tech giants that have aggressively moved into the entertainment business. 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. Alternative source: Variety.

Comments

Does that include

[Anonymous Coward]

Does that include the fake news business? Micky mouse meets a gay liberal muslim conspiracy to give everyone affordable healthcare!

Re:Does that include

[Mashiki]

There is some real differences. If false information gets put out from these sources, which will tend to happen due to the financial pressure to be first to push out the news, they will retract the information publicly, and if it was fake then the journalist behind it, (many who were considered big names) can get fired.

You mean like the what was it? 10+ hours of the media fawning all over the wikileaks email with a date of the 4th(leaked), when the actual date was the 14th? Remember how wapo didn't retract the power grid hacking stuff for several days until after people pointed out the problems? It's not really any different then fox, if you've watched it as you say then you already know that they do broadcast retractions when they get things wrong too.

If you check Fox News website legal link, and compared to the other sites legal link. They are an "Entertainment Company" Not a news organization. They use this to push false and misleading information, or whatever they think they can get away with.

You mean this section?

FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in cable, FNC has been the most-watched television news channel for 15 years and according to a Suffolk University/USA Today poll, is the most-trusted television news source in the country. Owned by 21st Century Fox, FNC is available in 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.

Doesn't say entertainment company, it states that it is a news organization, and they bill themselves as a news company. The main parent(21st century) is "entertainment company" however. Which is the only section where I see "entertainment company" listed.

There's also nothing wrong with the bias either, that's one of the reasons it has the rating it does. It's actually open with that bias, it's not trying to hide it like say WAPO or CBS does.

Re:Does that include

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask the washington post, cnn, nbc, or abc news. They've done a bang-up job over the last few years of making fake news all on their own. You might even remember what started it in the current era, it was Dan Rather's "fake but accurate" which offered no proof at all.

Uh no, actually, the current era began with an incident on Dateline. Of course, the fact is, those tanks did result in lots of settled lawsuits so you can be sure it wasn't entirely manufactured.

Then again, concurrent with Dan Rather, we have....real fraud that got hundreds of thousands killed, and you'll never ever bring that up.

But if you want a real conspiracy? Ask yourself why the transmovement is pushing their stuff on pre-teens, and believe that a 3yr old boy or girl "really knows they're a girl or boy." And pushing puberty blockers before they're even old enough to legally engage in sex. Think back if you can, to when you were that young and all the stupid garbage you believed. I can remember wanting to be a train. And you can bet your and my ass, that if your parents were fawning after the transmovement you'd do what they were saying just to make them happy. Why? Because your brain isn't developed enough to understand.

Man, that is a crazy conspiracy Mashiki, and you don't even have a reason to blame the reverse vampires.

Meanwhile, actual reality escapes you.

You know, you wouldn't sound so crazy if you didn't make up such hysterical bullshit, but stuck to facts. Actual provable events.

Not your foaming at the mouth hyperbole.

FYI if you want affordable healthcare, you need it to be at the state level. Not the federal level, even at that I hope you're going to enjoy shortages and healthcare rationing.

Nope, I'm a citizen of the United States, and you may not understand this, but I want healthcare EVERYWHERE in my country, and more to the point, there are some practical considerations that necessitate my ability to cross state lines to get healthcare, as the boundaries of states were not set according to population or economics. A fatal flaw, but what can we do?

Whether it's in Canada, Sweden, France or the UK, we all have rationed healthcare even if it's free.

Everybody everywhere has rationed healthcare. That's because health care resources are not infinite or unlimited.

Letting you buy some healthcare at my expense because you have more money is not a gain.

Oh, and I still have medical insurance here in Canada because that "free healthcare" doesn't cover everything.

That's a choice. Not a necessary element. If you don't like it, write your Prime Minister.

And if you want to see wait times, you can look here. I hope you don't mind waiting 30-50 days for cancer treatment to start, or 150 days for bypass surgery or 11 months to get into a pain management clinic.

And what happe

Re:Does that include

[slshdtisctrldbysjws]

The fact that an idiotic troll like this is modded up proves Slashdot is dead

Re:Does that include

[Mashiki]

Uh no, actually, the current era began with an incident on

Well I didn't really want to go that far back, but if we really want to we can start with 60 minutes back in the 1970's. I'm sure you already know that one.

Man, that is a crazy conspiracy Mashiki, and you don't even have a reason to blame the... You know, you wouldn't sound so crazy if you didn't make up such hysterical bullshit, but stuck to facts. Actual provable events.

Not your foaming at the mouth hyperbole.

Guess that's why some schools in the UK have seen a 2800% increase in kids suddenly claiming to be trans right? Not been paying attention at all? I guess not.

Nope, I'm a citizen of the United States, and you may not understand this, but I want healthcare EVERYWHERE in my country, and more to the point, there are some practical considerations that necessitate my ability to cross state lines to get healthcare, as the boundaries of states were not set according to population or economics

How do you think it works in Canada? You know the single payer system that the left loves in droves? Each province is responsible for the level of healthcare. The federal government has no input. The fact that you want some bureaucrat in Washington to decide if Atlanta gets a new hospital is sure telling.

Everybody everywhere has rationed healthcare. That's because health care resources are not infinite or unlimited.

Except the part where healthcare is rationed because the government is unwilling to pay for it right?

That's a choice. Not a necessary element. If you don't like it, write your Prime Minister.

Again showing your ignorance. The PM has nothing to do with the state of healthcare in Canada, The premiers of each province do. On top of that, it is a necessary element otherwise you'd be as broke as someone in the US if you're a person who requires medications or specialized care. Why don't you go take a look at the green shield website and get an idea of how much you're gonna pay out, because many things aren't covered.

And what happens in the United States?

What's the difference between Canada and the US again? Right. You can't pay for your own healthcare in Canada at all, everyone get's in line and you just might die from waiting. Where as if you have money in most cases you can get that care.

Oh well, it's ok, I still remember you lying about

Can't figure out how that's related, but I've got a very good idea who you are now. I'll remind you, that it was the NDP that shut down the coal power plants and drove the price of electricity through the roof as well. And also required the utilities to build more transmission towers to cover cities that were suddenly off the grid. There's no lie in that.

I do like how you're so scared to stick your name behind what you're saying though. Such convincing truths after all.

Re:Does that include

[stonecypher]

Ask the washington post, cnn, nbc, or abc news. They've done a bang-up job over the last few years of making fake news all on their own.

I can't help but think the internet will improve dramatically as soon as there's a downside to being wrong in public again

Re:Does that include

[lexman098]

What's the difference between Canada and the US again? Right. You can't pay for your own healthcare in Canada at all, everyone get's in line and you just might die from waiting. Where as if you have money in most cases you can get that care.

Why should those with money go to the front of the line?

Re:Does that include

[Megol]

You don't think the increased acceptance of homosexuals and intersex people have something to do with your increase? That the Internet allows people to learn that one actually can live as one feels like? That one doesn't need to hide anything and still have a worthy life?

Nah. False news and SJW propaganda forcing people to do things against their will is of course the sole reason.

What's _your_ name BTW?

Re:Does that include

[Megol]

They still can at least in Canada, the poster you quoted is wrong. But then he tends to be...

Re:Does that include

[Mashiki]

No wonder you're unable to admit it though, you're committed to the lie. Ferociously so. It's like your inability to admit that the Iraq War was started by Bush the First, who wanted a reason to make the Middle Eastern Oil States beg for American help.

Says the person who can't even read? Sure glad you can't read at all. Much like the rest of your post, which can't be coherent let alone respond in context.

Re:Does that include

[Mashiki]

You don't think the increased acceptance of homosexuals and intersex people have something to do with your increase? That the Internet allows people to learn that one actually can live as one feels like? That one doesn't need to hide anything and still have a worthy life?

You mean the part where people are applying this to kids who have trouble tying their shoes? But absolutely know that they're *insert gender* because reasons. Sure. Do you or don't you remember the "autism" garbage a few years ago? I'm guessing not, otherwise you'd be seeing the same push in turns of trendiness.

Re:Does that include

[Mashiki]

Why should those with money go to the front of the line?

You misunderstand. I'd be happier if I had the option of being able to pay a private hospital for care if I had the money. I don't have that choice, everyone gets the same level of shit care unless you goto another country.

Re:Does that include

[Mashiki]

They still can at least in Canada, the poster you quoted is wrong. But then he tends to be...

Only if you go to the US, or another country that allows you to. There's one system of healthcare in Canada, just one. You're not going to be paying money out of pocket for healthcare to "jump the queue." There are no private hospital care options in Canada. I guess that's wrong though, gee or something.

Sometimes, sometimes if you're lucky a province may have private hospice care where patients can pay 50% of "day-in" surgery, Ontario had that for hernia care. It doesn't anymore, it was ruled in violation of the healthcare act. That hospice had been operating since 1883 and was shut down almost 12 years ago. Your ignorance is astounding though.

Re:Does that include

[lexman098]

I'd be happier if I had the option of being able to pay a private hospital for care if I had the money.

If there's a private hospital it sucks resources from the public ones. The better doctors want to work there. Patients who pay for care at that hospital are now removing income from the public one. It's very similar to the effect of private schools in large cities. There are great schools that are very expensive and then public schools close by which are absolute shitholes. I'm not exactly advocating that we do away with private schools (or maybe I am, I don't know), but my point is that injecting capitalism into an industry doesn't always provide the greatest benefit all around.

Re:Does that include

[Mashiki]

In Canada, all doctors are paid at the same level. If you worked in a private hospice clinic doing hernia surgery for instance, you were paid the same if you were working a *insert hospital at city*. Usually in the 280k-400k range depending on your years of service and so on. As well, in Canada your teachers wages are generally not all the much out-of-sync with private or public school. The differences are usually around $5k/year or less. The US has far bigger problems in this area compared to Canada because there is far bigger problems with criminality in those inner city schools, and lack of moral and ethical teaching.

Now put the Fox intro music back on Star Wars

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously The Force Awakens just felt wrong just going straight into the movie without it.

Re:Now put the Fox intro music back on Star Wars

[omnichad]

On that subject, this is a seriously long way to go to get the rights to release the original, unaltered trilogy a few years early (the rights revert in 2020).

Re:Now put the Fox intro music back on Star Wars

[Rhipf]

According to Lucas they can't release the original unaltered trilogy. The negatives were somehow damaged around the time he was working on the "Special Editions" and it would be too expensive to fix them.

At least Fox News isn't getting sold off

[Baron_Yam]

We wouldn't want that bastion of fair and balanced quality journalism to be tainted by Disney.

Re:At least Fox News isn't getting sold off

[hcs_$reboot]

Why? Fox news seems to be managed by Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, though.

Re:At least Fox News isn't getting sold off

[antdude]

And Goofy!

Fox News

[Anonymous Coward]

It's like the media in the SOVIET UNION.

Re:Fox News

[randomErr]

Like CNN, MSNBCS, OANN, Twiiter, Facebook, ect. ?

Boycott Disney

[theguyfromsaturn]

That's it. I'm Boycotting all Disney products. I hope people wake up and start doing this before they completely destroy the entertainment industry. I was feeling uneasy about them for a while, but this is the last straw. They need to be made to divest of a large part of their recent acquisitions. This kind of monopoly is good for no one.

Re:Boycott Disney

[Baron_Yam]

In this case, doesn't it at least mean that some media IP is no longer split between rivals, so we can see all our favourite characters from the same universe in the same movies?

We want movies that pander to us (though we have different ideas as to how that pandering should be done). This will allow more committee-based movies to check more boxes for focus groups and give us what we want.

It won't destroy quality thought-provoking movies... there's always another generation of talented people trying to break into the industry. It means that the mindless big budget blockbusters are slightly more likely to appeal to us... and if they do, be immediately followed up by 200 cheap direct-to-video cartoon sequels with plots that are too simple for the average five year old.

Re:Boycott Disney

[MitchDev]

Used DVDs/Blu-rays are a good deal and the media corps get NOTHING from the resales...

Re:Boycott Disney

[CODiNE]

As far as the Fantastic Four goes, apparently FOX leases that from a smaller company that acquired the rights long ago. So they won't be in Avengers 4 or anything.

Re:Boycott Disney

[squiggleslash]

Yeah, let's start that boycott in a few weeks though, I wouldn't want to miss the new Star Wars movie.

Re:Boycott Disney

[ranton]

As far as the Fantastic Four goes, apparently FOX leases that from a smaller company that acquired the rights long ago. So they won't be in Avengers 4 or anything.

Any confusion over whether or not Fantastic Four would be part of this deal was put to rest today by Disney. Read the actual press release and you will see Fantastic Four was included in this deal.

Re:Boycott Disney

[mallyn]

Yes, and become part of the 24 percent of internet traffic that is of pirated excrement from the entertainment industry! What the original founders of the Arpanet (predecessor of the internet) have never even thought of!

Re: Boycott Disney

[MitchDev]

Or they'll just D/L it. Garage sales can be great for DVDs too, especially from families where the kids have all grown up and moved away :)

Harder to find valuable collectibles there anymore, but sometimes you get lucky. AMazing how much you can turn around an old box of Pokemon Cards if the "right ones" are in there....

Competitor?

[coofercat]

As things stand, you can't get Disney films on Netflix (I believe there's one star wars film on there right now, possibly as a test or something). If Disney buys 21st Century, then there'll be even less on Netflix as those titles get removed as well.

One wonders if this can be seen as Disney becoming a 'better competitor' or just muscling out the opposition. Netflix offers something Disney seem incapable of - that is, what the customer actually wants, rather than what a big media company says they can have. Loss of content on Netflix doesn't seem like we're moving forwards, but knowing how US regulators are, it's probably where we're headed.

Re:Competitor?

[Baron_Yam]

>As things stand, you can't get Disney films on Netflix (I believe there's one star wars film on there right now, possibly as a test or something).

I suspect that would be, "A New Hope", because Disney doesn't own that until this deal goes through. Once it does, they'll pull it from Netflix to support their own streaming offerings instead.

Re:Competitor?

[nine-times]

As things stand, you can't get Disney films on Netflix

That's not true. I remember seeing Moana on there recently. They have a bunch of Marvel films. The Marvel TV shows are produced jointly by Netflix and Disney. Rogue One is on Netflix. I think there may be a Pixar film or two.

I'm not arguing with your larger point, which is that Disney has gotten awfully big, and we should be on the lookout for anticompetitive practices. However, it's not true that there's no Disney content on Netflix.

Re:Competitor?

[EvilSS]

As things stand, you can't get Disney films on Netflix.

That's not true at all. They cut a deal that runs through 2019 for most new Disney titles to go to Netflix like 3 months after home media release. Plus a ton of back catalog. Just go there and login and search for Disney. TONS of Disney movies on Netflix.

Re:Competitor?

[coofercat]

I have to disagree - maybe it's by location. I just tried the search you suggested, and I got:

James and the giant peach
strange magic
tomorrow lands
star wars force awakens
avengers
thor
antman
ghost patrol
air buddies
kate and mim mim
Air bud
Wild Ride
Air Bud
Jake's buccaneer blast
Yo Kai Watch
Harry Bunnie
Air Bud
Fangbone
Walt before Mickey
Air Bud

So apart from a couple of exceptions, almost none of that list is actually Disney.

Re:Competitor?

[coofercat]

I replied to someone else below you with the results of a search for "disney" on the netflix phone app. With a couple of notable exceptions, almost no disney on (my) Netflix. Some are on Amazon, but you have to pay for them there.

I'll also say I'm not too sad about that - we've inherited lots of DVDs from the family/friends, so with only a couple of exceptions, we're not giving Disney any actual money for films, either directly through sales or indirectly through streaming services.

Re:Competitor?

[pr0fessor]

If you are looking for Disney content on Netflix you should look in the children and family section. Netflix has a deal with Disney and a lot of Disney content though if that deal ends then yes it going to hurt Netflix it will almost wipe out their children's sections.

Re:Competitor?

[coofercat]

Nope - still not there. A Force Awakens, and a couple of others, but that's it from Disney. See below for a full list.

It seems it varies by region. Should have known really.

Re:Competitor?

[EvilSS]

Are you outside the US? In the US there are hundreds of Disney films available. Mulan, Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Moana, Zootpia, Finding Dory, The Jungle Book, Atlantis, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mulan II, GotG Vol 2... The list goes on and on.

Also we should discuss what you consider "a couple" because in my part of the world 20 isn't even close.

Enjoy renting

[AHuxley]

the back catalog for ever. For every stream of a movie.

Re:Enjoy renting

[omnichad]

They currently still sell physical media. For the older movies, 1080p is enough to pass down for a few generations, until playing physical media is completely impossible. DMCA will hopefully relax on AACS when DVD/Blu-Ray players come off the market (not that my Blu-Rays aren't already ripped).

Online video?

[110010001000]

I must have missed something: what online video capability does Fox have? They are just buying the content.

Re:Online video?

[omnichad]

Well...they did promise to have a streaming service soon. Didn't know they'd try brute force buying out an existing one. Though that might be one of the few ways they even get subscribers.

Re:Online video?

[Daetrin]

Back when they first announced the plan i agreed with you. "They want us to subscribe to _another_ online service just to watch some Disney and Pixar movies and whatever they show on Disney TV? No thanks!"

Now however, they can presumably arrange it so that Hulu, or a new online service of their own, has all the Disney and Pixar movies, the Star Wars movies, the Simpsons, Futurama, X-Files, Buffy, Firefly, Orville, Family Guy, How I Met Your Mother, Glee, MASH, Arrested Development, American Horror Story, and far too many other shows to list them all here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

I don't know if the exact details of what all they picked up are publicly available, but given the price and scope described I'm guessing they got at least a majority of that stuff. Assuming Disney is smart enough to get a lot of it online ASAP i think that would make a powerhouse of an online service.

On an aside, as a SoCal resident i am curious about what exactly the terms are of Universal Studios' agreement to have the Simpsons in their park. For their sake i hope the terms specify exclusive theme park rights regardless of who the current owner is, but if so it'll be a bit funny to go to Universal Studio and see what are technically Disney characters :)

Yay, More Monopolies!

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe in low regulation, but think the government needs to step in when the market becomes uncommunicative, whether that be the desktop OS market, the internet service provider market, the search engine market or the movie industry. Unfortunately, both parties are now bought and paid for by industry, and are completely unwilling to intervene in uncompetitive markets.

An increasing number of markets are tending towards monopolies, and in all cases the company in charge is abusing that monopoly. Rather than intervene, the government actively encourages them, banning community run ISPs, allowing mergers and removing barriers to abuse.

What we have is not capitalism and the free market, it's more like a corrupt soviet system run by a small number of elites. We desperately need to restore a competitive market place by splitting up monopoly companies.

Re:Yay, More Monopolies!

[I'm New Around Here]

I believe in low regulation,

except for when you are inconvenienced by businesses.

Re:Yay, More Monopolies!

[Anonymous Coward]

What we have is not capitalism and the free market

capitalism != free market

Potential major power shift

[GameboyRMH]

Rupert Murdoch is probably the most politically powerful person on Earth. If he's giving up his news channels and newspapers, he could fall a few places and leave an opening for the current #2, Mark Zuckerberg.

Your local FSN $5-6/mo + must be in basic level

[Joe_Dragon]

Your local FSN $5-6/mo + must be in basic level

Re:Your local FSN $5-6/mo + must be in basic level

[EvilSS]

FSN isn't part of the deal

Now only south park can bash the mouse Simpsons

[Joe_Dragon]

Now only south park can bash the mouse the Simpsons will be banned from doing it!

Re:Now only south park can bash the mouse Simpsons

[DontBeAMoran]

The Simpsons? Is that still a thing?

Re:Now only south park can bash the mouse Simpsons

[Joe_Dragon]

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/1...

Re:Now only south park can bash the mouse Simpsons

[omnichad]

Right around the time they moved to HD, they actually had a bit of a resurgence. I'll admit I hadn't watched it for nearly a decade when I picked up again, but I've been watching ever since. It's been hit and miss, but that's always been the case. A different dynamic, but a good one.

Re:Now only south park can bash the mouse Simpsons

[DontBeAMoran]

... they didn't happen to predict Bitcoin at one million dollars by any chance?

Disney will have to much NFL now!

[Joe_Dragon]

Disney will have to much NFL now!

Concentration of Intellectual Property?

[substance2003]

Am I the only one that worries about this? Disney has been gobbling up IP for the last few years with Marvel and LucasFilms and with the acquisition of Fox's movies (which include some of Marvel's IP) I find it to be a bit much. It also means there will be one less studio out there making movies in a world where other studios such as Sony and Paramount are reporting losses. There were even rumors of Sony wanting to sell their movie studio. Will Disney eat them up too in some near future?

Re:Concentration of Intellectual Property?

[chispito]

other studios such as Sony and Paramount are reporting losses

I do not think that means what you think it means.

Re:Concentration of Intellectual Property?

[thegarbz]

No it's pretty much exactly as he said. Sony Pictures reported a Net Loss of over $900mil last year. Now admittedly that was due in part to close to a $1bn writedown in its movie business (which is itself a reflection of profitability) but a movie studio making less than $50m is virtually unheard of. Of course Sony's 4 big movies that year were a huge flop grossing some $350m. For comparison Spectre alone grossed over $1bn the year before.

Sony spent the best part of this year justifying to shareholders and the media why it isn't selling off the drain on its profits.

Re:Concentration of Intellectual Property?

[philmarcracken]

They don't care about entertainment value, only money. But art and business, especially risk averse suits, do not mix. The masses will smell the stench of stale, watered down pandering sooner or later.

So the obvious question is

[drinkypoo]

Does that include Firefly? And will Disney let it rot, or rape the corpse?

Re:So the obvious question is

[turp182]

They will rape the corpse AND then let it rot.

So both.

Re:So the obvious question is

[DontBeAMoran]

It's going to be Firefly reboot, with Tinker Bell as "the firefly".

Re:So the obvious question is

[drinkypoo]

They will rape the corpse AND then let it rot.
So both.

So like Reavers, then?

This has to due with the marvel stuff.

[Truekaiser]

21st century fox has the licenses for spiderman and x-men. Disney has said they want all marvel properties under one roof...

Re:This has to due with the marvel stuff.

[Gojira Shipi-Taro]

Sony has Spider-Man, and they've made a deal with Disney.

Fox has X-Men and Fantastic Four.

Re:This has to due with the marvel stuff.

[EvilSS]

Actually Fox doesn't have Fantastic Four, they just have a deal with Constantin Film to produce films under their license. Constantin Film owns the license.

Re:This has to due with the marvel stuff.

[ranton]

Actually Fox doesn't have Fantastic Four, they just have a deal with Constantin Film to produce films under their license. Constantin Film owns the license.

Read the actual press release and you will see Fantastic Four was included in this deal.

Re:This has to due with the marvel stuff.

[cmdr_klarg]

21st century fox has the licenses for spiderman and x-men. Disney has said they want all marvel properties under one roof...

The only thing I like about this is that Fox won't be able to make any more shitty movies with the Marvel IP. Fan4stick was atrocious.

Re:This has to due with the marvel stuff.

[Anubis IV]

Actually, Fox does have the Fantastic Four film rights. They were explicitly stated to be included in this deal, so it's likely that one of the renegotiations over the rights throughout the years (e.g. in 1994 when Marvel bought out the low-budget Fantastic Four film to spike its release, or around 2000 when Fox and Constantin negotiated an extension to the rights) resulted in Fox buying out Constantin's rights, perhaps in exchange for some other obligation, such as being required to attach Constantin to each subsequent entry in the series.

Re:This has to due with the marvel stuff.

[EvilSS]

That doesn't actually mean they got the right backs, only that they can at some point make the films. It's plausible that Fox and Constantin had an exclusive production deal that Disney will now inherit. Similar to the deal that Disney cut with Sony for Spider-man.

Re:This has to due with the marvel stuff.

[EvilSS]

Yea I read the same article and that's all speculation on the author's part.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Marvel and Star Wars

[sjbe]

So this would bring Deadpool, the Xmen, Wolverine, The Fantastic Four, Star Wars: A New Hope, and a large catalog of other content under the Disney brand. I think the only major Marvel property they wouldn't own would be Spiderman which Sony has the rights to and Sony is playing nice.

Of course there is a lot of other content and assets owned by Fox.

Re:Marvel and Star Wars

[EvilSS]

Constantin Film owns the FF4 film rights, they just have a deal with Fox to produce the films for them.

Re:Marvel and Star Wars

[DontBeAMoran]

Now try to imagine Kingdom Hearts 4...

Re:Marvel and Star Wars

[tepples]

And after the acquisition, they have a deal with Disney to produce the films for them.

Re:Marvel and Star Wars

[ausekilis]

I wanna see Hulk smash the Death Star. There's probably some other universe mashups that would be awesome too.

Re:Marvel and Star Wars

[EvilSS]

Yea there are a few options on the table. Disney takes over the Fox role, producing the films for Constantin. Disney buys back the rights (Constantin's parent company might be up for that, they need the money). Disney uses the Fox exclusive production deal (if it's worded to allow it) with Constantin to run out the clock on a rights-reversion clause by refusing to produce new films.

Oh really?

[JBMcB]

On Netflix as of right now:

Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stich 2
Leroy & Stitch
Moana
Mulan
Hercules
Zootopia
Finding Dory
Atlantis
Tarzan II
Kronk's New Groove
An Extremely Goofy Movie
Phineas & Ferb
A bunch of the Tinkerbell movies
Fox & Hound
Mickey's Christmas Carol
Pete's Dragon
The BFG

That's all I'm going to bother to list, but there are dozens more.

Re:Oh really?

[coofercat]

Lucky you - see above for my list - just a couple here.

Re:Disney Cryptocurrency

[Baron_Yam]

No. Why would a private corporation want a blockchain currency whose security would depend on maintaining more processing power on the network than the rest of the world combined?

They could (if they haven't already via a partnership with Visa or other major entity) issue a DisneyCard and require it for transactions with their empire.

Are you kidding me?

[DontBeAMoran]

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.

Netflix: movies and TV shows including exclusives.
Apple: for now, simply a reseller/renting service, nothing else.
Amazon: movies and TV shows including exclusives, but AFAIK a lot smaller than Netflix - at least in Canada.
Google: YouTube is for short videos, not full movies.
Facebook: Are you kidding me? FUCK FACEBOOK.

They did not mention Crackle, Sony's ad-ridden streaming service that cuts the video ANYWHERE to show the same fucking three ads in rotation a half-dozen times every hour. They also have some exclusives.

They also didn't mention Hulu.

Disney + 21st Century Fox has potential, as long as they're not planning to ask a higher monthly fee than Netflix. People are fucking tired of paying fees for multiple similar services.

Re:Theatrical cut of Sar Wars...

[chispito]

hopefully this is the real motivation. Fox has the rights to it still and has no interest in releasing it... Lucas doesn't want it out there... but if Disney owns the 1977 film rights and the Star Wars franchise rights, Lucas can no longer stop them.

Remember kids, it's not episode IV: A New Hope... just "Star Wars" where Jabba is not to be seen and Hahn definitely shoots first.

While they are at it... theatrical cuts of Empire and Jedi as well... the original emperor was freaking creepy.

I have the DVD set where they include a letter boxed, un-remastered original cut along with the new version.

Why stop there? Buy DC as well....

[Danathar]

They could easily buy the right to DC as well if the price was right.

Re:Why stop there? Buy DC as well....

[q4Fry]

They could easily buy the right to DC as well if the price was right.

I thought Disney already had a controlling stake in DC: the Copyright Office, the trademark part of USPTO, and a couple hundred legislators.

Re:Theatrical cut of Sar Wars...

[omnichad]

There are still copies of the original out there if you take the time to look.

This is bad news for all of us

[backwardsposter]

I'm sure we've all felt a disturbance...

No, NOT Fox News

[p51d007]

Before you get all giddy, this won't affect Fox News.

Time Warner as well?

[tepples]

DC is part of Warner Bros. Buying Warner would bring Daffy Duck and Donald Duck under the same umbrella, which I imagine would raise antitrust suspicion even in a Republican administration.

Re:Time Warner as well?

[BobTheJanitor]

It worked pretty well in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[Mashiki]

Call me back when any of those networks gets caught colluding with the DNC

CNN politico Washington Post. That's all from the 2016 election cycle, they all colluded. So did all those other networks I listed, you can find them all right in the DNC email leaks. There's dozens on top of dozens of stories on major networks getting caught sending stories to the DNC to make sure the narrative was correct, directly publishing articles from the DNC. Hell Donna Brazille was caught giving the Clinton camp debate questions before the debate from CNN. You get that? They all colluded.

Or better yet, don't call me at all you nazi.

And the current state of the political left rears it's head. Anyone who dares to question the narrative = nazi. You truly are pathetic people.

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[Mashiki]

That's why the DNC email leaks showed that there were multiple reporters from those organizations who leaked/wrote stories/directly published DNC material right? So what does that mean? You have a single media organization "fox" which has GOP support. And everyone else with DNC support...gee...who can't realize their shit doesn't stink.

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[SvnLyrBrto]

Um... no.

To get to media sources that are slanted to the left as far as fox lists to the right you need to leave broadcast and mainstream print behind entirely, and sink to the levels of websites like Indymedia and DailyKos. And even then, those sites have the modicum of integrity to wear their bias in their sleeves and refrain from claiming to be either "news" or "fair and balanced".

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[Mashiki]

Which is why they all colluded with the DNC right? CNN politico washington post donna brazille handing debate questions to the clinton camp before a debate and on, and on and on and on.

Re:Liberals WIN !!

[MachineShedFred]

21st Century Fox != Fox News

Cue idiotic fake news comments

[slshdtisctrldbysjws]

Honestly, if you're at the point where you get happy because one media company is buying out another, you're acclaiming one demon in favor of another, when both are completely against you. That's about the rock-bottom of brainwashing. Get help, find religion, because you're not handling your life.

Apple has more cash than Disney is worth

[kwerle]

Apple cash: >200B
Disney Market Cap: ~166B

That doesn't seem like a contest.

Re:Apple has more cash than Disney is worth

[ausekilis]

That's because Disney actually spends their money. They bought Lucasfilm and Marvel. They constantly upgrade their theme parks. They have a lot of R&D behind *every* attraction at their parks.

Apple sells their wares for 4x cost of materials then hides behind Ireland.

Disney 60% of Hulu

[CrashNBrn]

After this deal, Disney will own 60% of Hulu.

Hulu > Owners
Comcast/NBC: 30%
21st Century Fox: 30%
Walt Disney: 30%
Time Warner: 10%

With CBS still going at it alone.

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[ranton]

Fox news = GOP news network!

So.....

ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, WAPO, USAToday, Boston Globe, and several dozen others = DNC news network!

Right?

It is surprising how effective it is to ignore the truth enough that nearly every news network spends significant air time pointing out your lies, so that you can then claim nearly every news network is biased against you. I wouldn't have believed it without seeing it, but actually works on people really well.

To what end?

[LordZardoz]

Ok, so you think Disney has too much of a monopolistic influence in entertainment. I disagree that it is a significant problem, provided that the contracts of the key content creators they have under their control are not unreasonably coercive. Being a bigger content provider does not worry me. I would be worried if they started buying and operating movie theaters or broadband networks (ie, buying Comcast).

Disney is fundamentally a creator of content. They own ABC and want to have their own streaming service, but the foundation of their power is the content they create.

They are not in a position to prevent other groups from creating content, and nothing they do can diminish the quality of the content.

Putting it another way, you are allowed to like both DC and Marvel comics. You are allowed to like Star Trek and Star wars. You may like one better than the other, but within the constraints of your own time and budget, you are free to enjoy both.

Unless they are in a position to force customers to be unable to watch competitors offerings, I do not see any real problem here.

Clearly you see a problem, but what is an ideal situation for you, and how does it change things from how they are now for a typical consumer?

END COMMUNICATION

Re:To what end?

[Trogre]

Clearly you see a problem, but what is an ideal situation for you, and how does it change things from how they are now for a typical consumer?

The fact that with more money than God it will now be even easier for them to buy more laws that serve their ends (see theft of the Public Domain for one prime example).

Almost right

[scdeimos]

Take the "esh" out of "Reshaping" and you'll have an accurate story title.

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[Mashiki]

It is surprising how effective it is to ignore the truth enough that nearly every news network spends significant air time pointing out your lies, so that you can then claim nearly every news network is biased against you. I wouldn't have believed it without seeing it, but actually works on people really well.

Isn't it funny that when you live in an ideological echo chamber, and don't see the media from an outsiders point of view that you fail to understand exactly how slanted the media is in particular directions. You know, kinda like how 95% of reporters in the beltway are registered democrats and vote democrat.

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[Mashiki]

It's interesting you mention that specific example. Clinton did get debate questions in advance but in the debate in question she wasn't debating against Trump -

4ac's and you've still managed to get it wrong. I find it odd, but funny just how far people are willing to defend handing off debate questions in any case at all. But "it was against sanders" you screech, as if that somehow makes it better.

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[Mashiki]

Oh Mashiki, you know there's more than Fox chasing after the GOP tail. There's a whole host of AM radio providers, good ole Sinclair Broadcasting, and the websites you check with fanatical devotion even as they lie to you.

So you're saying I'm right, that the DNC email leaks happened. That multiple organizations were working and/or handing things off to media or back to the DNC for prior publication. Otherwise, you'd actually be able to dispute something rather then cry about some nonsense.

Re:Fox news = GOP news network!

[ranton]

You know, kinda like how 95% of reporters in the beltway are registered democrats and vote democrat.

You would think it would be easy to see that a profession with the goal of keeping people informed and exposing the truth, that also tends to lean strongly to one side of the political spectrum, is highly indicative of which side of the political spectrum aligns closer to the truth.