Liberty Media has joined the bidding for the regional sports networks that Disney is trying to sell to finalize a deal with Twenty-first Century Fox, sources told CNBC. Liberty and Major League Baseball have submitted bids in the auction. Disney is selling them in order to complete its $71 billion deal to acquire Fox’s movie production and television assets, which included the regional sports networks. That deal is expected to close within weeks.
Among traditional media companies, no one is making a bigger bet on streaming than Walt Disney Co. It’s all part of Ceo Bob Iger’s master plan to corral many beloved brands, from “Avatar” to “Zootopia,” and deliver them to the millions of viewers who now stream TV via monthly subscriptions. But challenging Netflix, the online pioneer with almost 140 million subscribers worldwide, will cost big money, especially with Disney digesting Fox.
When The Simpsons ends its 30th and current season this spring, it will have racked up 663 original episodes — having a season ago passed Gunsmoke (635) as the longest-running scripted program in television history. But with the Walt Disney Co.’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox pending, one of TV’s least likely institutions could prove more valuable to its new owner in retirement than as a going concern.
The Walt Disney Co. provided investors a more detailed look at its investment in building a direct-to-consumer business in financial documents filed today with the SEC. The company re-cast Disney’s results for the past three fiscal years to align with the new corporate structure created with last March’s re-organization.
The Department of Justice is prepared to put the ball back in Disney’s court for unloading Fox’s regional sports networks, saving Disney from a fire sale and billions of dollars in losses, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said. Justice is poised to allow Disney to spin off the control of Fox’s 22 regional sports networks to complete its $71 billion deal for Fox, one of the sources said, as opposed to finding an actual buyer.
Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger missed his shot at a $60 million bonus but still got his largest-ever compensation package thanks to special awards issued in connection with his contract extension. Iger was awarded $65.6 million for 2018, including an $18 million cash incentive and $43.6 million in restricted stock and options.
Exclusives
New Fox, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, on Friday said it has no plans to bid for the 22 Fox regional sports networks that regulators have said Walt Disney must divest as part of its acquisition of large parts of 21st Century Fox.
Veteran TV executive Joe Earley has been named head of marketing for Disney’s new subscription streaming service. Earley will serve as executive vice president, marketing ad operations for Disney+.
The contract replaces one that expires Monday and comes following Verizon warning its customers last week that they were in danger of losing Disney-owned properties on the service. Disney also ran ads warning of the possible blackout. News of the new agreement did not offer specifics.
‘Tis the season for cable carriage fights, with Dec. 31 a common expiration date for major deals, and the latest battle is brewing between Disney and Verizon FiOS. The media company has started airing ads aimed at the 4.5 million subscribers to FiOS. The spots carry the message “don’t lose your shows.”
ABC exec Channing Dungey’s move to the streamer signals a new front in Reed Hastings’ battle with Bob Iger in the run-up to the Mouse House digital competitor’s debut next year.
Disney’s auction of Fox’s chain of local sports TV networks has proven to be such a complicated process that the Mouse House has decided to offer up the networks piecemeal.
Disney’s Direct-To-Consumer & International unit has reached a deal with Google for advertising technology in a bid to increase revenue across its vast digital footprint.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Resort developer Genting Malaysia has filed a lawsuit in California seeking at least $1 billion in damages from Walt Disney Co. and Fox Entertainment Group […]
Bidding has begun for the 22 regional sports TV networks Disney acquired from 21st Century Fox. Amazon is bidding for all of the networks, including the YES Network, sources familiar with the matter said. In addition to Amazon, Apollo Global Management, KKR & Co, The Blackstone Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tegna also made first round bids for the full slate of networks, the sources said.
Analysts had worried that China might use Disney’s $71.3 billion deal to buy most of 21st Century Fox as a weapon in a trade war with the United States.
When Disney finally closes its deal to acquire 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets early next year, the company will gain — among many things — ownership of Hulu, which has never before had just one company hold a controlling stake. But with Disney also readying the launch of its own Disney-branded streaming service next year, it will now have ownership of two competing streaming services, which begs the question: How will Disney be able to launch Disney+ while allowing Hulu to continue to grow?
Veteran media and tech executive Michael J. Wolf predicts that established media brands — including The Walt Disney Co. and WarnerMedia — will be among the handful of winners in the emerging direct-to-consumer world.
Disney has finally given a name to its upcoming streaming service. It’s Disney+, but there’s still no word on the launch date or price for the OTT platform.
Disney Beats Revenue, Earnings Forecasts
The Walt Disney Co. beat Wall Street’s earnings and revenue forecasts for its fourth quarter. Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 29 rose 33% to $2.32 billion, or $1.55 per share, from $1.75 billion, or $1.14 per share last year. Excluding one-time items, net income totaled $1.48 per share.
21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch said Thursday it is still an “open question” whether the company will buy back the regional sports networks it sold to entertainment company Walt Disney Co. in July as part of a $71 billion deal.
The Wall Street Journal reports that big media companies, sports teams, private-equity firms and rapper Ice Cube are among those kicking the tires of nearly two dozen regional sports networks that Disney is divesting as part of its $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox assets. “There’s never been an instance where a large group of these [regional sports networks] have been sold all at once,” said sports-media consultant Lee Berke. Initial bids on the channels are due Nov. 8. Journal subscribers can read the full story here.
The front-runner to buy 22 regional sports TV networks from Disney is the same company that sold them in the first place. “New Fox,” the company that will remain after Rupert Murdoch sells $71.3 billion worth of 21st Century Fox assets to Disney, is the leading contender to buy back the RSNs it “sold” to Disney as part of the larger transaction, according to people familiar with the matter.
Disney’s sales process for Fox’ 22 RSNs took a big step forward last week when the company sent the official bid book to prospective bidders, according to several sources. Said to be more than 150 pages, the book was sent to networks, digital companies, distributors and investment banks who agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Allen & Co. and JP Morgan Chase are handling the sale for Disney, sources said.
The American Cable Association has a problem with how the Justice Department resolved its antitrust issues with Disney’s purchase of Twenty-First Century Fox assets, including, at least temporarily, its 20 regional sports networks, Prime Ticket and the YES network.
Walt Disney has offered concessions in an attempt to allay EU antitrust concerns over its $71.3 billion bid for 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, the European Commission said on Monday. Disney submitted its proposal on Friday, according to a filing on the EU competition enforcer’s website which however did not provide details.
ESPN’s Aaron LaBerge will be executive vice president and chief technology officer of Disney’s international and direct-to-consumer segment.
Over the past week, Walmart announced plans to partner with MGM Studios on original shows for Walmart’s video-on-demand service, Vudu, while AT&T’s WarnerMedia said it would create its own streaming service centered on HBO and Turner properties. Disney, meanwhile, is buying Fox’s entertainment businesses to beef up its planned streaming service , set to debut next year.
Peter Rice, the president of 21st Century Fox, will leave Rupert Murdoch’s empire after three decades to take charge of the Walt Disney Company’s TV division. Although he will become arguably the most powerful executive in the industry — he will oversee a broadcast network, a collection of cable channels and an enormous studio — his understated demeanor is unlikely to change.
Bob Iger shared the stage with presidential historian Doris Keans Goodwin at Tuesday’s Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, but he didn’t want people to read into it. “I happen to be speaking with a presidential historian, but it’s just a coincidence,” he told the crowd. “I am not doing that. It’s off the table. I am running the Walt Disney Co.” Questions of a possible presidential run in 2020 have followed the Disney CEO for some time.
Disney’s $71.3 million deal to acquire key Fox Television Group assets leaves top FTG executives in no man’s land. The list includes FTG Chief Marketing Officer Shannon Ryan, EVP Casting Sharon Klein, CFO Robert Barronand and SVP Brand Management & New Media Strategy Michael Gooch.
Top 21st Century Fox television executives Peter Rice, Dana Walden, John Landgraf and Gary E. Knell are officially headed to the Magic Kingdom. The Walt Disney Co. announced that Rice and Walden will come aboard to lead the conglomerate’s non-sports television operations. Rice has been named chairman, Walt Disney Television and co-chair, Disney Media Networks. Walden has been named chairman, Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment Landgraf will serve as Chairman of FX Networks and FX Productions. Knell will serve as chairman of National Geographic Partners.
So far in 2018, Disney has released the top three U.S. box-office hits. And Disney CEO Bob Iger has topped his own bigger-is-better strategy with a $71 billion deal to buy 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, bringing into the fold everything from Avatar to The Simpsons. Now the studio that began in the back of a real estate office by selling its first cartoon to one distributor in 1923 is poised to launch its own streaming service. By eliminating the middlemen and selling content directly to consumers, Disney will disrupt the disrupters.
Disney’s reconstituted advertising sales unit has set details, priorities and the top executive team for its approach to capturing brand dollars in a fast-moving media environment.
We are about a week or so away from Disney unveiling the names of top 21st Century Fox executives who would be joining the company following the acquisition of key Fox assets. Disney-ABC TV Group Ben Sherwood is not expected to continue in the combined company.
If neither suitor gives up before Sept. 22, U.K. regulators could take the rare step of setting up an auction that will determine which U.S. media heavyweight ends up controlling the coveted broadcaster.
Alphabet, Facebook, Netflix and others will be in focus on Sept. 24 when they are moved out of the tech and consumer discretionary sectors into a deepened pool of communication and media stocks. In the largest-ever shakeup of the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), the telecommunication services sector will be renamed “communication services” and include 18 companies pulled from consumer discretionary and technology, including Netflix, Walt Disney Co. and Twitter.
The Walt Disney Co. is consolidating its advertising sales operations under Rita Ferro, who has been head of sale for the Disney/ABC Television Group. Ed Erhardt, the head of ad sales for ESPN for the past 20 years, is retiring in January.
