Will Disney buy out Time Warner?

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=106023

It's probably a rumor, but given how many companies Disney has bought out by now, do you think this is a real possibility?

I could see them trying, but I think the FTC would block it.

No, Disney will not buy out Time Warner, nor should they; even if they made an offer to buy Time Warner, the FTC will meddle and the buying wouldn't happen.

edited 15th Aug '14 9:05:35 AM by Buzzinator

FTC may not get involved, or if they did they'd be curbstomped. Why that is is that I'm sure Disney and Time Warner combined can afford a much, much, much better class of lawyers than you will see ever appear on a federal dime. Disney has most of all the money, and Time Warner has the rest.

I'm not sure that a deal is even being contemplated though, and I'm pretty sure the synergies involved in combining Marvel and DC Comics (i.e, they wouldn't have to employ quite so many writers and artists etc) aren't worth the firestorms of fanboy rage that would ensue if they tried it.

If they do purchase Time Warner they might have to sell DC or Marvel just so they do have the big two comic companies under one roof.

The FTC would be involved, and the new company would have to divest stuff. . . but the comics business would not be part of it. Owning both Marvel and DC may arguably make you a monopoly, but there would also have to be evidence of actual harm to the consumers. Given that the idea of Disney price gouging on comics is laughable on the face? The FTC isn't going to care.

Remember, anti-trust laws are *not* about protecting competitors. They are about protecting consumers.

First of all: Unlike other people I rarely see a problem with Disney acquiring something. For all the grousing that something is ruiiiiiiiined!!!!!! as soon as Disney owns it, history shows the total opposite. Marvel certainly is better off know than it ever was, and I have faith that the Star Wars franchise is better off with Disney and anywhere else (honestly, I don't see how Disney can make it worse). But I can't see that happen. It's just not worth the hassle which will come with it.

Well, they can make Star Wars worse by making an animated crossover with one of Disney's franchises.

Wait, no, that actually made it BETTER.

edited 15th Aug '14 1:55:03 PM by GaryCXJk

Depending on how the next two years go, and whether the current administration makes any other screw ups the way people are harping on about the Healthcare stuff, the next administration might be one willing and able to throw out Antitrust laws altogether.

No.

I'm like 80% certain the only reason this story is going around is because of some stupid Buzzfeed story that said they would- based solely on the fact that they have money.

You could have said precisely that five years ago about any rumour of Disney buying Lucasfilm.

Which is why we now have Darth Mickey pics all over the net.

swanpride, Power Rangers says you're wrong. They kept decreasing the annual episode count, and it was Screwed by the Network.

Is Time Warner in financial trouble? If it isn't, I think the Warner Bros. pride of being Disney's rival will stop them from accepting defeat to Disney.

I don't know if they are in trouble. Maybe Time Warner as a whole but I think DC Comics and Warner Bros. are both very successful financially. If Time Warner was in trouble I think they would just sell off the least successful divisions of the company.

How can you screw something which was never good in the first place?

Well, apparently Warner does try to sell DC comics, if a previous deal with Fox fell through. I wonder why, though. Perhaps they only want to sell the publishing company itself, while keeping the movie and TV rights for the characters?

edited 15th Aug '14 11:13:58 PM by swanpride

You take that back! Power Rangers is magical!

Well, each of their own...still, Power Rangers was pretty much the bottom of the barrel from the get go. There was no way down for it.

Power Rangers problem is at its base, its trying to use japanese shows without half of their original plot. Its kind of a prospect doomed to failure without really good writing

Except, you know, all those seasons where they either followed the Sentai plot, or improved them

Speaking about Lost Galaxy, Saban's Vortexx really should have finished broadcasting Lost Galaxy reruns, even if they did have to edit them.

How can it be screwed? Oh. let's see, Sports Preemption, local affiliate opt-out, and RPM (one of the better seasons) not being aired on Disney XD. Disney wound up selling it back to Saban, but it got Screwed by the Network again - Nickelodeon this time - by having the episode count shrunk even further and being saddled with a massive mid-season hiatus.

edited 16th Aug '14 9:37:33 PM by Digifiend

edited 16th Aug '14 9:37:51 PM by Digifiend

I heard the idea came from the idea that the DC Cinematic Universe is being handled so terribly that fans want it to be taken away from Warner Brothers' management and given to the Marvel hit machine.

I don't really pay that much attention to what the fans say (If I would I would be required to dislike the amazing Spiderman), but wasn't "The Dark knight" a huge success? And "The Dark Knight rises" was not bad...perhaps not enough Batman overall, but the best Catwoman ever imho.

But those aren't part of the DC Cinematic Universe. So far in the Cinematic Universe, we have Green Lantern which caused DC to restart the whole thing and Man of Steel which was...polarizing to say the least.