By Joe Flint 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (December 12, 2017).

Comcast Corp. said it is no longer pursuing an acquisition of several key media and entertainment assets from 21st Century Fox, leaving Rupert Murdoch's media empire in position to finalize a deal with Walt Disney Co.

The Philadelphia-based cable and programming giant had approached 21st Century Fox about assets that included its international properties, movie and television studios, and some U.S. cable networks, The Wall Street Journal had previously reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

"When a set of assets like 21st Century Fox's becomes available, it's our responsibility to evaluate if there's a strategic fit that could benefit our company and our shareholders," Comcast said in a statement. "That's what we tried to do and we are no longer engaged in the review of those assets. We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer."

Meanwhile, Disney's talks to acquire assets from 21st Century Fox continue to progress, and a deal could be announced as soon as this week, people familiar with the matter said.

Wall Street Journal parent company News Corp and 21st Century Fox share common ownership.

Besides its Sky and Star channels in Europe and India and its Twentieth Century Fox television and movie studios, 21st Century Fox is also expected to sell several cable networks including almost two dozen regional sports channels and entertainment networks FX and National Geographic Channel.

Not for sale are the Fox News and Fox Business channels, the Fox broadcast network and its local television stations, which would remain part of a stand-alone company. Its national sports channel Fox Sports 1 also isn't part of any deal with Disney, which is the parent company of ESPN, according to people familiar with the matter.

Comcast was primarily interested in 21st Century Fox for its international platforms, according to people familiar with the matter, given that the pay-TV market in the U.S. is saturated and traditional distributors like Comcast have been losing customers recently.

In Monday's statement, Comcast said it has a "strong portfolio of businesses" on its own and will continue its focus on "driving growth" and creating content for its customers.

It was unclear how regulators would have even received a combination involving Comcast and 21st Century Fox assets, particularly in the wake of the Justice Department's lawsuit to try to block AT&T Inc.'s takeover of Time Warner Inc., which similarly would combine distribution and content.

To be sure, a horizontal deal between two programming giants could also present regulatory and antitrust issues. The combination of Disney and Fox's movie units represents 30% of the domestic box office so far this year. Disney's ESPN would also be paired with Fox's powerful regional sports networks.

A deal would give Disney intellectual property from 21st Century Fox's television and movie libraries as well as additional cable channels, plus a controlling interest in Hulu. The online video platform is a joint venture between Disney, 21st Century Fox and Comcast, which each own 30% of Hulu, and Time Warner, which has a 10% stake.

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2017 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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