The Disney-Fox Deal Has Friends in High Places
- 6 years ago
The Disney-Fox Deal Has Friends in High Places
If the Justice Department really wanted to be aggressive, it might also invoke the words of former Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, who wrote in a landmark opinion, “The widest possible dissemination of information from diverse
and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public.”
Under terms of the proposed deal, Fox shareholders would own about 25 percent of Disney in an all-stock transaction.
“The government’s theory in Time Warner very much applies to Fox and Disney,” he said.
But depending on how much influence the Murdochs are able to exert at Disney, the family might achieve much the same objective, perhaps with a board seat, or, as some have speculated, if James Murdoch joins Disney as an executive
and even becomes a potential successor to the Disney chief executive, Robert Iger.
“Reports suggest that James Murdoch is apparently in line for a senior management role within Disney as part of the deal,” said Doug Creutz, senior media
and entertainment analyst for Cowen & Co. in a note to clients Thursday.
It will almost surely pull 21st Century Fox content, like “X Men,” the planned “Avatar” sequels
and TV shows like “The Simpsons” and “The Americans,” and offer them on its own service
One of the government’s concerns in its effort to block the AT&T deal, according to its complaint, is the risk
that AT&T would withhold Time Warner content from rivals like Netflix, thus hurting consumers.
Vertical mergers like that of AT&T and Time Warner — AT&T buys content from Time Warner,
but doesn’t compete directly with it — used to be approved almost routinely, albeit often with conditions.
If the Justice Department really wanted to be aggressive, it might also invoke the words of former Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, who wrote in a landmark opinion, “The widest possible dissemination of information from diverse
and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public.”
Under terms of the proposed deal, Fox shareholders would own about 25 percent of Disney in an all-stock transaction.
“The government’s theory in Time Warner very much applies to Fox and Disney,” he said.
But depending on how much influence the Murdochs are able to exert at Disney, the family might achieve much the same objective, perhaps with a board seat, or, as some have speculated, if James Murdoch joins Disney as an executive
and even becomes a potential successor to the Disney chief executive, Robert Iger.
“Reports suggest that James Murdoch is apparently in line for a senior management role within Disney as part of the deal,” said Doug Creutz, senior media
and entertainment analyst for Cowen & Co. in a note to clients Thursday.
It will almost surely pull 21st Century Fox content, like “X Men,” the planned “Avatar” sequels
and TV shows like “The Simpsons” and “The Americans,” and offer them on its own service
One of the government’s concerns in its effort to block the AT&T deal, according to its complaint, is the risk
that AT&T would withhold Time Warner content from rivals like Netflix, thus hurting consumers.
Vertical mergers like that of AT&T and Time Warner — AT&T buys content from Time Warner,
but doesn’t compete directly with it — used to be approved almost routinely, albeit often with conditions.