United States approve Fox Disney asset purchase in full conflict with Comcast | Technology

Fox's film franchises and television programs were the subject of a bidding war between Disney and Comcast, who both want to develop their own entertainment business to compete with fast-growing digital rivals such as Netflix. and Amazon.com.

The agreement does not include Fox News, Fox Business or Fox Sports networks.

If Disney wins on Comcast, the combination will expand Disney's unmatched portfolio of some of the world's most popular characters, including Mickey Mouse, Luke Skywalker and Marvel's superheroes with the "X- "And" The Simpsons. "

Disney owns ABC, Pixar, Marvel Studios and the producer of" Star Wars "Lucasfilm, as well as a number of theme parks. Fox's acquired badets include a cable TV group that includes FX Networks, National Geographic and more than 300 international channels, as well as Fox's participation in the Hulu video streaming application.

Disney, which also owns the ESPN Sports Network, has agreed to divest all of Fox's regional sports networks, which provide sports programming to North American regional and local markets, such as Fox's YES network, which displays matches Yankees baseball in the New York metropolitan area.

The Department of Justice stated that without the divestitures, "the proposed acquisition would eliminate the substantial competition that currently exists between Disney and Fox and would likely result in higher prices for cable sports programming.

The Disney deal with the government could be a failure for Comcast, which has not yet responded to Fox's latest offer for Fox, announced last week. Comcast, whose latest bid is $ 65 billion, declined to comment.

Fox has not commented either.