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Monday 18 deceMber 2017 TECHNOLOGY
A24

Disney buying much of Fox, will help it compete with Netflix

By TALI ARBEL on Wall Street when it sued
AP Technology Writer to block another media
NEW YORK (AP) — Disney is megamerger, AT&T’s ac-
buying a large part of Fox, quisition of Time Warner, in
including its movie and November.
television studios, for about A watchdog group, the
$52.4 billion, as the home of Parents Television Council,
Mickey Mouse tries to meet worries that in getting larg-
competition from technol- er, Disney would be able
ogy companies in the en- to extend the traditional
tertainment business. big cable bundle to newer
Disney’s all-stock deal for online services, resulting in
the Murdoch family’s 21st higher prices for consum-
Century Fox gives it the stu- ers.
dios that produce the Ava- That said, the White House
tar movies, “The Simpsons” says President Donald
and “Modern Family.” Trump supports the deal
Murdoch will form a new and called Murdoch to
company to keep the U.S. congratulate him.
television networks, includ- MURDOCH FAMILY TAKES A
ing Fox News Channel, Fox BOW
Business Network and Fox Murdoch built his empire
Broadcasting. “The Simp- by buying a string of pa-
sons” will continue to air on In this Aug. 8, 2017, file photo, The Walt Disney Co. logo appears on a screen above the floor of pers in Australia, the U.K.
Murdoch’s Fox stations. the New York Stock Exchange. and the U.S., building an
The deal also brings Marvel Associated Press influential platform for his
characters such as X-Men lege sports through the the internet, where Google ment in Roku. views. He expanded into TV
and The Avengers under Fox TV network and cable and Facebook win the vast Disney will get at least a 39 and movies, launching the
one roof — Disney’s. networks FS1, FS2 and Big majority of advertisers’ dol- percent stake in European Fox network and Fox News
In owning these properties, Ten Network. Disney is get- lars. satellite-TV and broadcast- and changing the face of
Disney will be in a better ting Fox’s regional sports To combat this trend, Dis- er Sky. Fox is hoping to ac- American news and enter-
position to compete with networks, including the Yes ney is launching its own quire the remainder of Sky tainment.
the likes of Netflix when it Network showing the New streaming services with ex- before the deal closes, so “Rupert has spent many,
launches ESPN- and Disney- York Yankees. clusive video to sharpen that it could give Disney full many years assembling the
branded streaming servic- Disney also gets some ca- its ability to compete with control after the sale. Dis- components of his empire,”
es in the coming years. ble and international TV Netflix for consumer dollars. ney is also acquiring Star said NYU business professor
That Rupert Murdoch and businesses from Fox. Disney CEO Robert Iger India, a major media com- Samuel Craig, who special-
his sons were willing to sell BATTLING NETFLIX said many Fox properties pany with dozens of sports izes in the entertainment in-
off much of the business The deal — announced will fit with the new service, and entertainment chan- dustry. Rupert Murdoch has
that has been built up over Thursday on the eve of a including National Geo- nels. ostensibly already handed
decades came as a shock major “Star Wars” movie re- graphic and additional Disney will also win majority the reins over to a new
to the entertainment indus- lease from Disney — comes Marvel productions. In control of Hulu, both its live- generation at Fox. His son
try. as the entertainment busi- some cases, though, Dis- TV service and the older James is CEO, while his oth-
Murdoch, who built a ness goes through big ney will have to wait for service with a big library of er son, Lachlan, like Rupert,
global media and enter- changes. TV doesn’t have existing Fox deals to expire. TV shows. has the title of executive
tainment empire out of an a monopoly on home en- Fox movies are exclusive to Not everyone thinks this chairman. The Murdoch
inheritance from his father tertainment anymore. HBO through 2022, for ex- is a good bet by Disney, empire has already been
in Australia, said what re- There’s Netflix, which is ample. though. Rich Greenfield, a divided. After a phone-
mains of his family’s busi- spending up to $8 billion THE MECHANICS longtime Disney critic, thinks hacking newspaper scan-
ness will be able to focus on on programming next year. Iger will continue as chair- the deal is a bad idea that dal in the U.K., News Corp.
American news and sports. Amazon is building its own man and CEO of The Walt ties Disney to older TV-dis- was split off into a separate
During a call with investors library, having splashed out Disney Co. through the end tribution systems — cable company for the publishing
Thursday, Murdoch and his on global TV rights to “Lord of 2021. The deal still needs and satellite TV — rather and newspaper businesses,
sons described the move of the Rings.” Facebook, approval from Disney and than helping it look toward which include the New York
as a return to the compa- Google and Apple are also Fox shareholders. the future. Post, The Wall Street Jour-
ny’s lean and aggressive investing in video. Before the buyout, Fox will He also notes that regula- nal, The Sun and The Times
roots. As consumers spend more separate the businesses it’s tors may not like the idea in the U.K., and book pub-
Murdoch’s new company time online, TV’s share of keeping into a newly listed of combining two major lisher HarperCollins. Now,
will get national rights to U.S. ad spending is shrink- company. It will also keep movie studios. The Jus- Fox is slimming down, with
Major League Baseball, ing. Advertisers are follow- the Fox studio lot in Los tice Department surprised the bulk of the company
the NFL, NASCAR and col- ing consumer attention to Angeles and equity invest- many in the industry and going to Disney.q