Acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets adds heft in effort to
compete with Netflix
By Erich Schwartzel and 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 (March 21, 2019).
Walt Disney Co. closed its $71.3 billion acquisition of the
major entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox, the companies said,
combining some of Hollywood's best-known studios, characters and
franchises as media companies look to get bigger to better compete
in a world where shows and movies are increasingly streamed.
Disney will now control Fox's movie and television production
studios, as well as its FX cable network, Fox Searchlight label and
National Geographic properties.
The deal, which stemmed from talks about 18 months ago at a Los
Angeles winery owned by Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch, closed
following approval in several foreign markets. After quickly
getting approved by the U.S. Justice Department last year, the deal
was slowed by the partial government shutdown earlier this
year.
The combined Disney-Fox entity is part of a race for scale in
Hollywood, where having a hit movie or TV show is no longer enough.
Studios today need a deep stable of characters and franchises to
sell streaming subscriptions, movie tickets, toys and theme-park
admissions.
That trend has led to rapid consolidation. AT&T Inc.
acquired Time Warner Inc., a merger the telecom giant is planning
to use to pipe entertainment onto its phones and launch its own
direct-to-consumer streaming service. Comcast Corp., to boost its
NBCUniversal and Universal Pictures divisions, purchased DreamWorks
Animation SKG Inc. in 2016. CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. are seen as a
potential merger this year by industry analysts.
Disney will now be regarded as a leader in this new Hollywood,
though Chief Executive Robert Iger will need to manage a merger of
companies that will lay off thousands of employees and prompt tough
questions about which Fox properties align with Disney's
family-friendly brand.
Disney's rise has been driven by its acquisitions: For a
combined $15.4 billion, the company has purchased Pixar Animation
Studios, Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. The acquisitions
have put lucrative properties such as "Toy Story," "The Avengers"
and "Star Wars" under the same roof as its storied animation
studio, extending the franchise business model that allows Disney
to exploit those characters at the box office, on toy shelves and
at theme parks.
Disney is positioning its bet on Fox -- by far the biggest
acquisition in the company's history -- as a central element of its
long-term strategy. The rise of Netflix has forced traditional
studios to look for ways to create direct business relationships
with consumers, skipping the multiplex and going directly into the
home.
Disney has launched one streaming service, tied to its ESPN
programming, and is planning a family-oriented one for later this
year. To prepare for that launch, it already has started removing
its movies and television shows from Netflix's library.
Disney has a considerable advantage in its streaming ventures,
given the popularity of its well-known characters and movies. But
launching a streaming service requires an extensive catalog of
programming to convince consumers to pay a monthly fee, and Fox
programming such as National Geographic documentaries is expected
to launch on the Disney service alongside Disney shows like "High
School Musical."
In a sign of the awkwardness of the Disney-Fox mashup, edgier
Fox fare -- such as FX shows like "American Horror Story" or "Pose"
and movies like "Deadpool" -- will appear on streaming service
Hulu, over which Disney will assume majority control now that the
deal has closed. However, many FX shows are on Netflix and will
remain there for some time.
Acquiring Fox's 20th Century Fox Television Studio gives Disney
one of the industry's most prolific producers of content and a
large library that includes such hits as "The Simpsons," "The
X-Files" and "Modern Family."
Disney has put Fox's television team in charge of its TV
operations, including the ABC network, its cable networks and ABC
Studios. Peter Rice, who headed Fox's Network Group, has been named
chairman of Walt Disney Television, while former Fox TV Group
Chairman Dana Walden has been named chairman of Disney Television
Studios and ABC Entertainment.
ESPN will continue to be overseen separately by President James
Pitaro, who reports directly to Mr. Iger.
It remains to be seen what will ultimately happen to Fox's movie
studios. Its Fox Searchlight label has had considerable success at
the Oscars, releasing best-picture winner "The Shape of Water" in
2017 and nominee "The Favourite" last year, and as a result of the
acquisition is expected to focus primarily on movies for the
streaming services. The larger Fox studio will likely see its
output diminish.
Movie-theater owners are watching the acquisition warily, given
Disney's already-dominant position at the box office. Disney's
string of hits, including "Black Panther" and "The Incredibles 2,"
gave the studio a 26% market share of the box office in 2018,
providing Disney with remarkable leverage over exhibitors. Fox
releases accounted for about 9%, down from around 12% in recent
years.
Messrs. Iger and Murdoch began talking of a potential deal
between their two companies in August 2017, according to regulatory
filings. A $52.4 billion deal was announced that December.
The proposed tie-up was quickly complicated, though, when
Comcast Corp. made a competing $65 billion offer for the Fox
assets. The resulting bidding war culminated with Disney's final
$71.3 billion offer last June. Comcast ended up winning control of
Fox's stake in Sky PLC.
Disney and Fox shareholders approved the transaction in
July.
The merger is expected to result in thousands of layoffs across
Fox, but it will also bring several high-ranking Fox executives
into the Disney fold at a time when succession at the world's
largest entertainment company remains a looming question. Mr. Iger
has postponed his own retirement five times, most recently so that
he could see through the Fox deal and the launch of Disney's
streaming services.
His deal now runs through December 2021, with no obvious
successor in sight. Two internal candidates -- Bob Chapek, chairman
of the parks, experiences and products division, and Kevin Mayer,
chairman of direct-to-consumer and international -- are seen as
possibilities. Mr. Rice, who had headed Fox's Network Group, enters
Disney as a candidate as well.
Tea-leaf readers throughout Hollywood have noted Mr. Rice's
appearance with Mr. Iger at events such as the annual luncheon
celebrating Oscar nominees.
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com and Joe
Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 21, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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