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Disney has finalized the $ 71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment business, featuring "Cinderella," "The Simpsons," "Star Wars," and "Dr. Strange "under one roof.
This agreement is likely to upset the media landscape. Among other things, it paves the way for Disney's creation of its streaming service, Disney Plus, which should be available later this year. This will likely lead to thousands of layoffs, thanks to duplication between the Fox and Disney production teams.
By buying the studios behind "The Simpsons" and X-Men, Disney is aiming to better compete with tech companies such as Amazon and Netflix to catch the attention of viewers – and dollars.
Disney needs compelling television shows and movies to persuade viewers to sign up and pay for another streaming service. It already contains classic Disney cartoons, "Star Wars", Pixar, Muppets and some Marvel characters. With Fox, Disney could add Marvel's X-Men and Deadpool movies, as well as programs on Fox channels such as FX Networks and National Geographic. Fox's productions also include "The Americans", "This Is Us" and "Modern Family".
The deal allows Disney to further control TV shows and movies from start to finish – from program creation to distribution through TV channels, movie theaters, streaming services and home theater. other ways to watch entertainment programs. Disney would get valuable information about customers and their entertainment viewing habits, which they could then use to sell advertising.
Disney's general manager, Bob Iger, said in a February earnings call that Disney Plus and other consumer direct-sellers were "No. 1 priority. "
Cable and telecommunications companies have bought companies that produce TV shows and movies to compete in a changing media landscape. Although internet providers such as AT & T and Comcast directly control their customers' access to the Internet, unlike Amazon, YouTube and Netflix, they are still threatened by the growing popularity of these streaming services.
AT & T bought Time Warner last year for $ 81 billion and has already launched its own streaming service, Watch TV, with Time Warner channels such as TBS and TNT, among other networks, at $ 15 per month .
In addition to boosting the Disney streaming service, which is expected to debut next year, this agreement paves the way for the Marvel X-Men and Avengers meeting in future movies. Although Disney owns the Marvel Studios, some characters, including the X-Men, had already been licensed to Fox.
Disney is also acquiring a controlling interest in Hulu's existing streaming service, which it plans to retain as a more general programming basis. Family-friendly programs and movies will head to Disney Plus.
No awards have been disclosed for Disney Plus. The streaming service will feature five content categories: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic. Disney charges $ 5 per month for ESPN Plus, a service offering separate programming from the ESPN cable channel.
At the same time, Fox Corp. – 21st Century Fox parties that are not part of the deal, including Fox News, Fox Sports and Fox Broadcasting – began trading on the Nasdaq under "FOX" and "FOXA" tickers on Tuesday.
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