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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.

23 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Does that include by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

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

    1. Re:Does that include by Mashiki · · Score: 2, Informative

      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.

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  2. At least Fox News isn't getting sold off by Baron_Yam · · Score: 4, Funny

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

    1. Re:At least Fox News isn't getting sold off by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 3, Funny

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

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  3. Fox News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's like the media in the SOVIET UNION.

  4. Boycott Disney by theguyfromsaturn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

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    I like my dinosaurs feathery, and my pterosaurs hairy (or is it pycnofibery?)
    1. Re:Boycott Disney by MitchDev · · Score: 3, Insightful

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

    2. Re:Boycott Disney by squiggleslash · · Score: 2, Funny

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

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      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    3. Re:Boycott Disney by ranton · · Score: 2

      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.

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      -- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
  5. Yay, More Monopolies! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  6. Concentration of Intellectual Property? by substance2003 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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?

    1. Re:Concentration of Intellectual Property? by chispito · · Score: 2

      other studios such as Sony and Paramount are reporting losses

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

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      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
  7. This has to due with the marvel stuff. by Truekaiser · · Score: 3, Insightful

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

    1. Re:This has to due with the marvel stuff. by ranton · · Score: 2

      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.

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      -- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
  8. Marvel and Star Wars by sjbe · · Score: 2

    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.

    1. Re:Marvel and Star Wars by EvilSS · · Score: 2

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

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    2. Re:Marvel and Star Wars by EvilSS · · Score: 2

      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.

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      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
  9. Re:Now only south park can bash the mouse Simpsons by omnichad · · Score: 2

    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.

  10. No, NOT Fox News by p51d007 · · Score: 2

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

  11. Time Warner as well? by tepples · · Score: 2

    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.

  12. Re:Fox news = GOP news network! by Mashiki · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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.

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  13. Re:Fox news = GOP news network! by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 2

    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".

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  14. Apple has more cash than Disney is worth by kwerle · · Score: 3, Interesting

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

    That doesn't seem like a contest.