Netflix may have changed the rules of the game in Hollywood but the studios are getting together, it seems. A case in point is the partial merger between Walt Disney and Fox, which was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this week. The DOJ’s only condition, reports The Hollywood Reporter: “Disney must sell Fox’s regional sports networks as those, coupled with ESPN, could form a monopoly in sports broadcasting.”
“Disney originally offered $52.4 billion in stock for the Fox assets and Comcast topped that with $65 billion in cash before Disney again upped it to $71.3 billion,” noted The Hollywood Reporter.
However, the approval from The Justice Department came much quicker than expected. Noted Variety, “The Justice Department’s approval of The Walt Disney Co.’s purchase of Fox assets is quicker than Wall Street analysts and others were expecting – and it certainly has implications as Comcast weighs whether to counter its counter offer.”
The deal has other hurdles to bypass but if it sustains, it will mean that Disney will own Rupert Murdoch’s “TV and film studios, National Geographic, Star India and the company’s 30 per cent stake in Hulu”.
Under the present agreement, Disney, who has plans to introduce its own subscription service akin to Netflix, has three months to sell its sports networks.
Disney also owns Marvel Studios, who are behind some of the most successful superhero films of the decade including recent releases like The Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.
