Some people would claim that Fox hadn't tried to sell it if not for the idea to merge the two studios. But yeah, I guess Fox would have sold the studio sooner or later anyway. I mean, Fox did pretty badly last year. The signs are there and have been for some time. No matter what, the studio needed some sort of overhaul to survive.
From what I understand, Fox was already looking to sell it’s film studio, and went into negotiations with Disney because of that.
Well, apparently Bob Iger and Murdoch Junior know each other and threw the idea around in a talk, so it is hard to tell what was there, the chicken or the egg. It was the notion that Fox and Disney together would reach new highs which was the impetus - remember, the Murdoch's get stocks in Disney, and they pushed hard for the Disney and not Comcast being the buyer.
In any case, though, Fox most likely would have been forced to do something sooner or later, especially considering the rise of streaming. Fox has a decent enough library, but they have only a few large brands. While Disney is a brand in itself, but their library is a little bit one-sided. Win/win.
Takat Empress
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Uh-oh...
Takat Empress
I fear this might derail everything if Mexico follows suit.
Mileena Madness
We're too close...
Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Feb 12th 2019 at 11:09:40 AM
Commander Thor
How would this derail the deal with Brazil not doing anything and Mexico possibly following suit? I'm not an expert on these things, so resources might help.
Power of Thor!
Takat Empress
They need their approval to finish this. Without it this will take possibly more months if not a year.
Mileena Madness
A really good video discussing the possible futures of Blue Sky Studio and Fox Animation in General.
This is really good too. It takes a critical look of Fox’s recent Box Office performance, and really lays out the writing on the wall about why Fox decided to sell.
Edited by megaeliz on Feb 13th 2019 at 8:32:16 AM
I suspect that there are two possible futures for Blue Sky: Either Disney will put them to work to do animated adaptations of Comic book properties (since this is apparently a viable market and Disney owns a LOT of those), or they will use it to fill up their streaming service with exclusives. Or both.
Or they will just sell it.
Takat Empress
Copy-pasting the article since Bloomberg is one of those news sites that has a pesky impending paywall:
The companies earlier this week accepted the divestment recommendation of Brazil's antitrust regulator, and at a meeting next week they'll present an agreement to pursue the sale, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren't public. Competitors have already shown interest in the assets, said a third person.
In Mexico, Disney expects the country's telecommunications regulator to require the sale of Fox Sports and is willing to agree to it, according to one person. In both countries, the final details of the agreements are still under discussion and it's possible the situation could change, the people said. It's unclear, for example, whether regulators will require the companies to sell the rights to sports programming, such as soccer games, in addition to the channels themselves.
The companies didn't immediately respond to requests for comment, and the regulators declined to comment.
Home Stretch
The two countries are among the last major hurdles for the deal. Disney has agreed to sell Fox's 22 regional sports networks in the U.S. after the Justice Department said the ownership of those channels and ESPN would give the company undue influence in the sports broadcasting business. The company also will sell its 50 percent stake in A+E Networks in Europe to satisfy regulators there.
Disney faced opposition to the merger from Brazil's Globo Comunicacao e Participacoes SA, which raised concerns over concentration in sports networks. Mexico's Grupo Televisa SAB, the world's largest producer of Spanish-speaking content, and Globo would be their countries' sole competitors in sports networks if the divestments weren't made, said the people. The U.S. Justice Department's decision to demand divestitures also influenced the Brazilian and Mexican regulators, said one person.
Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger failed to get a better deal after flying to Brazil to meet the antitrust board. As a result, the companies decided hanging on to the sports channels wasn't worth jeopardizing the takeover, said two of the people.
Mexico's antitrust regulator also looked into the deal, specifically examining movie distribution and merchandise matters, and gave it a green light earlier this month.
Bump.
It'd be a massive stretch, but on the off-chance the Disney-Fox deal closes by March, what if we got a stinger after Avengers: Endgame featuring the Silver Surfer?
Not going to happen. Feige has already stated the movie was done without the merger in mind.
Takat Empress
The merger likely won't be done until summer.
Mileena Madness
Zero. Marvel won't rush into anything regarding the new properties. At the earliest we can expect a hint next year.
I have a question about this deal.
Are Fox’s ADHD animated shows (Axe Cop, High School USA, Golan, Major Lazer, etc) apart of the Disney-Fox deal too?
If so, it be hilarious for them to technically become Disney properties soon.
Yes? Disney actually already owns a lot of Fox shows. They got them when they bought Fox kids (which is today freeform).
No, Freeform is what used to be ABC Family. Disney bought the Fox Kids cartoons in 2001 (after, ironically, causing them to be born by taking away their "Disney Afternoon" to local channels they owned instead of Fox affiliates). While Disney owns the Fox Kids cartoons, they didn't own the timeslot, which was sold to 4Kids Entertainment.
Eventually, Disney took Fox Kids and turned them into Jetix. Then it transitioned into Toon Disney, until they eventually just decided to air them on ABC Family.
The primetime cartoons are completely different from Fox Kids and are still owned by Fox (until the merger, that is). These include The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and Bob's Burgers.
Edited by alliterator on Feb 25th 2019 at 2:34:46 AM
The Dishonorable
The only reason Disney has the Fox Kids cartoons in their library is because both News Corporation and Saban, who ran Fox Family Worldwide via a joint-venture, stipulated that Disney had to buy the whole company if they wanted to get the Fox Family channel (currently Freeform). That's why Disney was stuck producing more Power Rangers shows every year until Saban managed to get the rights back (along with most of their other live-action shows, but not the cartoons save for Digimon and Popples), and why Jetix was airing all those old Marvel and Saban/Fox cartoons on Toon Disney via the Jetix block before it became Disney XD.
Funnily enough, the merger with 21st Century Fox means everything is back full circle.
Edited by Mario1995 on Feb 25th 2019 at 5:47:06 AM
"The devil's got all the good gear. What's God got? The Inspiral Carpets and nuns. Fuck that." - Liam Gallagher
It's also the reason why the 700 Club is still airing on Freeform, despite the fact that Disney probably doesn't want it — it was stipulated in their contract when they bought the Fox Family Channel that they had to produce and air the 700 Club.
Well, one of the advantages of the merger is that they will mainstream a LOT of rights. For some properties it means that they might have a future now. For others it means that Disney can finally burry them for good.
I'm actually kinda really hoping this revives Futurama (again).
Why are they buying it? Because Fox was selling. If they hadn’t decided to buy it out, then someone else would have, and the conversation would still be the same (If not a whole lot worse).
Edited by megaeliz on Feb 11th 2019 at 2:39:48 PM