Acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney
The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019.[1] Among other key assets, the acquisition included the 20th Century Fox film and television studios, U.S. cable channels such as FX, Fox Networks Group, a 73% stake in National Geographic Partners, Indian television broadcaster Star India, and a 30% stake in Hulu. Immediately after the acqusition, the holding company of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business, Fox Sports 1 and 2, Fox Deportes, and the Big Ten Network was renamed Fox Corporation. Other 21st Century Fox assets such as the Fox Sports Networks and Sky were divested and sold off to Sinclair and Comcast, respectively.[2]
Initiator
Full acquisition of entertainment assets
US$71.3 billion
December 14, 2017
March 20, 2019
History[edit]
Early developments (November 2017–April 2018)[edit]
On November 6, 2017, CNBC reported The Walt Disney Company was negotiating a deal with Rupert Murdoch to acquire 21st Century Fox's filmed entertainment, cable entertainment, and direct broadcast satellite divisions, including 20th Century Fox, FX Networks, and National Geographic Partners. The deal would reportedly exclude the Fox Broadcasting Company, 20th Century Fox's studio lot, Fox Television Stations, Fox News Group, and Fox Sports, which would be spun off into a new independent company run by the Murdoch family.[3]
According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, the idea of purchasing Fox's assets came after Disney acquired majority control of the streaming company BAMTech with anticipation to develop its own streaming service, which would eventually launch in November 2019 as Disney+. It was less interested in Fox's production capacities and more keen to acquire Fox's own film and television libraries to help expand the streaming service's library.[4][5] Additionally, as 20th Century Fox was the last major studio from the studio era to be acquired when Rupert Murdoch took full control in 1985, its film library was largely intact relative to its peers from that era such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
The two companies had done business in 2001, when Disney acquired Fox Family Worldwide from the original incarnation of News Corporation, which included the Fox Family Channel (afterwards rebranded to ABC Family and later Freeform), Saban Entertainment, and the international Fox Kids cable networks controlled by Fox Family Worldwide, among other assets.
The deal would also include 20th Century Fox's film rights to certain third-party franchises, such as X-Men, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four, the distribution rights to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (which were not owned by Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm respectively when Disney acquired those companies), as well as consolidate ownership of other franchises both share such as Home Alone and give Disney access to adult animation with ownership of The Simpsons (which Disney would fully embrace under the Disney moniker) and Family Guy (which in the following years after the acquisition would break the fourth wall by making inside jokes on what they were allowed to do now that they were owned by Disney).
Talks had stalled for the day without a deal being finalized,[6][7] but it was reported on November 10 that the prospected deal had yet to be fully abandoned.[8] On November 16, it was reported that Comcast (parent company of NBCUniversal, Xfinity, and Comcast Spectacor), Verizon Communications, and Sony (parent company of Sony Pictures, Sony Music, and Sony Interactive Entertainment) had also joined Disney in a bidding war for 21st Century Fox.[9][10] During a recent shareholders meeting, 21st Century Fox Co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch said Fox was not in the category of "sub-scale" companies that were "finding it difficult to leverage their positions in new and emerging video platforms", but was instead a company that had "the required scale to continue to both execute on our aggressive growth strategy and deliver significant increased returns to shareholders".[11]
Because Disney owns the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Comcast owns the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and 21st Century Fox owned the Fox Broadcasting Company, a full acquisition of Fox by Disney or Comcast would have been illegal under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s rules prohibiting a merger between any of two of the four major broadcast networks.[11][12]
On November 28, while mentioning a rumor that the rumored negotiations between Disney and Fox were progressing at a rapid pace, Mike Fleming Jr. of Deadline Hollywood commented, "given how Disney made the Marvel and Lucasfilm deals under the cone of silence, if this happens we'll probably only know it when it's announced. It is certainly being talked about today."[13]
Rumors of a nearing deal continued on December 5, with additional reports suggesting the FSN regional sports networks would be included in the sale (assets that would likely be aligned with Disney's ESPN division).[14][15][16][17]
On December 11, Comcast announced it was dropping its bid on the Fox assets.[18] On December 14, Disney and Fox confirmed a $52.4 billion deal to merge the two companies, pending approval from the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division.[2][19]
In February, CNBC reported that, despite the Disney–Fox deal, Comcast might take action to outbid Disney's $52.4 billion offer, if the AT&T–Time Warner merger went through. Despite this, Fox President Peter Rice stated he was content with Disney's offer and that the Fox assets were "a great fit for Disney."[20]
Early in March, the non-profit group Protect Democracy Project Inc. filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on the hopes to seek any records of communications between the two groups over Disney's pending acquisition of Fox. The lawsuit also sought "any related antitrust enforcement efforts by the DOJ, to find out whether the president or his administration is improperly interfering with the independence of the DOJ out of favoritism for a political ally." Donald Trump congratulated Murdoch for the Disney–Fox deal while attacking AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner, particularly over the ownership of CNN, which he frequently criticized due to alleged bias.[21]
On April 12, 2018, Rice revealed the acquisition was expected to close by summer 2019.[22] Beginning in March 2018, a strategic reorganization of the Disney conglomerate saw the creation of two business segments, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. Parks & Consumer Products was primarily a merger of Parks & Resorts and Consumer Products & Interactive Media, while Direct-to-Consumer & International took over for Disney International and global sales, distribution, and streaming units from Disney–ABC Television Group, Studio Entertainment, and Disney Digital Network.[23] Given that Iger described it as "strategically positioning our businesses for the future", The New York Times considered the reorganization done in expectation of the 21st Century Fox purchase.[24]
Bidding war between Disney and Comcast (May–July 2018)[edit]
On May 7, 2018, it was reported that Comcast spoke to investment banks about topping Disney's offer to acquire Fox.[25] Shortly afterwards, Iger stated he was willing to drop Sky plc from the deal to ensure the Fox acquisition.[26]
Several Fox investors said they would be open to terminate the company's agreement with Disney if Comcast followed through on its plan to launch a rival all-cash bid for $60 billion. Murdoch's family trust controlled 39% of Fox due to shares it held with special voting rights. However, under the company's by-law, those special rights did not apply to a vote on the Disney/Fox deal when the Murdoch trust only controlled 17% of the vote, making it easier for other shareholders to defeat him, which was expected as early as next month.[27] Later that month, it was confirmed that Lachlan Murdoch, rather than James Murdoch, would take charge of the new company tentatively known as "New Fox".[28]
The following week, Comcast publicly announced it was looking into making an all-cash counter-offer for the Fox assets that Disney proposed to acquire.[29] Shortly after, it was reported that Disney was looking into making its own all-cash counter-offer for Fox assets if Comcast went through with their offer.[30]
The next day, Disney and Fox announced they had set their shareholder vote meetings for July 10, although both said Fox's meeting could be postponed if Comcast came through with their offer.[31]
On June 12, AT&T was given approval by District Judge Richard J. Leon to acquire Time Warner, easing concerns Comcast had regarding whether government regulators would block their bid for Fox. Consequently, the next day, Comcast mounted a bid of $65 billion for the 21st Century Fox assets that were set to be acquired by Disney.[32][33]
On June 18, it was reported that Disney would upgrade its already-existing $52 billion claim to contest Comcast's proposed counter-offer for the Fox assets.[34]
On June 20, Disney and Fox announced they had amended their previous merger agreement, upping Disney's offer to $71.3 billion (a 10% premium over Comcast's $65 billion offer), while also offering shareholders the option of receiving cash instead of stock.[35] On June 21, Murdoch said in response to Disney's higher offer: "We are extremely proud of the businesses we have built at 21st Century Fox, and firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace at a dynamic time for our industry." That still would not have prevented other companies from making a bid, as the deal still needed to be voted on by shareholders.[36]
Iger explained the reasoning behind the bid: "Direct-to-consumer distribution has actually become an even more compelling proposition in the six months since we announced the deal. There has just been not only a tremendous amount of development in that space, but clearly the consumer is voting—loudly."[37]
On June 27, the United States Department of Justice gave antitrust approval to Disney under the condition the company sold Fox's 22 regional sports channels within 90 days of closing, to which the company agreed.[38] The next day, Disney and Fox boards scheduled July 27, 2018 as the day shareholders voted on the sale of Fox's properties to Disney.[39]
On July 9, a Fox shareholder filed a lawsuit to stop the acquisition from Disney, citing the absence of financial projections for Hulu.[40][41] On the same day, CNBC reported Comcast was looking for companies that could take over Fox's Regional Sports Networks. The shareholder claimed that would've made Comcast's antitrust problems regarding the takeover of Fox assets easier as Comcast was preparing to make a new all cash counter-offer before July 27, 2018.[42]
On July 12, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal with the D.C. Circuit to reverse the District Court's approval for AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner (which became WarnerMedia shortly afterward). Analysts said the chances of a victory by the DOJ were small, but would be the "final nail in the coffin for Comcast's Fox chase. This is a clear gift to Disney."[43] On the next day, AT&T CEO Randall L. Stephenson gave an interview with CNBC, about Comcast's bid for Fox: "It probably can't help it. You're in a situation where two entities are bidding for an asset, and this kind of action can obviously influence the outcome of those actions."[44]
On July 13, Disney received the support of the Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, the two most prominent proxy adviser firms in the world. Fox shareholders were recommended by the advisers as means to provide for Disney's future.[45]
On July 16, CNBC reported Comcast was unlikely to continue its bidding war with Disney to acquire Fox. Instead, Comcast would likely continue pursuing the 61% stake of Sky.[46]
On July 19, Comcast officially announced it was dropping its bid on the Fox assets in order to focus on its bid for Sky. CEO Brian L. Roberts said "I'd like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company."[47]
Road to completion (July 2018–March 2019)[edit]
On July 25, 2018, TCI Fund Management, the second largest shareholder of 21st Century Fox, indicated it voted to approve the Disney–Fox deal.[48] On July 27, Disney and Fox shareholders approved the merger between the two companies.[49]
There were reports on August 9 that Viacom CEO Bob Bakish wanted to license its television ad targeting tech to the entire industry, starting with Fox.[50] On August 12, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the Disney–Fox deal.[51]
On September 17, the European Commission (EC) scheduled a merger review for October 19, which was later postponed to November 6.[52]
On October 5, Disney announced the commencement of exchange offers and consent solicitations for 21st Century Fox.[53]
On October 10, it was reported that the new, post-merger organizational structure of "New Fox" would be implemented by January 1, 2019, ahead of the closure of the Disney sale (which was still expected to occur during the first half of 2019).[54]
On October 15, Disney offered a list of concessions to the EC, which extended the review deadline to November 6.[55] On that day, the EC cleared the sale, pursuant to the divestment of certain factual television networks in Europe owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Disney and Hearst Communications, including Blaze, Crime & Investigation, History, H2, and Lifetime. Disney would continue to own 50% of A&E everywhere outside of the European Economic Area.[56]
On November 18, the official name for "New Fox" was revealed to be "Fox Corporation."[57]
On November 19, regulators in China approved the Disney–Fox deal, without any conditions.[58] After obtaining approval from Chinese regulators, Disney said it still needed to obtain regulatory approval from several other regulators, though the approvals from the United States, European Union, and China were considered the most important hurdles to clear.[59]
On December 3, Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) said the deal would concentrate the market of cable sports channels, and CADE recommended remedial measures.[60]
By December 14, the merger was subjected to regulation in Mexico, where Disney/Fox would account for 27.8% of content distribution across all genres.[61] Disney would own 73% of all sports channels in Mexico.[62] On January 31, Mexico's Federal Commission of Economic Competition (COFECE) approved the Disney–Fox deal after Disney agreed to sell its part in the Mexican distribution joint venture, Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing de México, to Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.[63]
On January 7, 2019, the registration statement for Fox Corporation, was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[64]
On January 11, it was reported that the deal was expected to close by either February or March 2019.[65] However, on January 30, in a SEC filing by Disney, it was reported that the deal was expected to close by June 2019.[66]
Iger met with CADE on February 12, 2019, to discuss the deal. However, a decision on it still could not be reached. However, on February 20, Bloomberg said CADE would make its ruling on the deal on February 27.[67] On February 21, Bloomberg reported Disney would divest Fox Sports in Brazil and Mexico to get approval in these countries, which were among the last major hurdles for the Disney–Fox deal.[68] On February 27, CADE approved the merger with conditions requiring the aforementioned divestiture of the Brazilian Fox Sports, among other measures. The regulator said it coordinated with regulators in Mexico and Chile in evaluating the transaction. Brazil's approval cleared one of the final hurdles, allowing the deal to be completed in March.[69]
On March, Disney tweaked Iger's compensation package he would receive upon closing the Disney–Fox deal, removing $13.5 million in potential salary and incentive awards available for the chief executive after the company closed its acquisition.[70]
Mexico's telecom regulator Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) approved the deal on March 11, 2019, under the condition that Disney agreed to sell the country's Fox Sports within six months. It also had to keep the National Geographic brand separate from its A&E channels. This cleared the last major holdout on the deal.[71] On March 12, 2019, Disney announced it was set to close the Fox deal in seven days.[72]
Fox Corporation officially became a standalone, publicly traded company separate from 21st Century Fox on March 19, 2019, making Fox Corporation the owner of the assets that were not acquired by Disney. The announcement also included the appointment of the board of directors.[73] Also on March 19, 21st Century Fox officially completed distribution of new Fox shares ahead of the completion of the Disney deal.[74] The deal was officially completed that night.[1] Under the terms of the acquisition, Disney would phase out Fox brand usage by 2024 to avoid consumer confusion in the marketplace.[75][76]
At acquisition (October 2018–March 2019)[edit]
Disney announced on October 8, 2018, 21st Century Fox's top television executives would join the company, including Peter Rice, Gary Knell, John Landgraf, and Dana Walden. Rice would serve as Chairman of Walt Disney Television and co-chair of Disney Media Networks, succeeding Ben Sherwood while Walden would be named Chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment.[77] Disney announced on March 5, 2019, Craig Hunegs would lead the combined television operations at Disney Television Studios once the Disney–Fox deal closed. Hunegs would be president of the subsidiary, with oversight of all operations, including ABC Studios, ABC Signature, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios. He would report to Dana Walden, chairman of Fox Television Group who would be chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment.[78]
On October 18, 2018, Disney announced a new organizational structure for the Walt Disney Studios and the individual unit heads who would join the company except for Fox's filmed entertainment CEO Stacey Snider, including Emma Watts, Fox 2000 President of Production Elizabeth Gabler, Fox Searchlight Pictures Chairmen Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula. Watts, who served as Vice Chairman and President of production at 20th Century Fox, would stay on in that post. All Fox film production units would report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn except for Fox Family and 20th Century Fox Animation reporting to Watts and Horn.[79] By March 22, 2019, Fox Family only reports to Watts, with Fox Animation reporting only to Horn.[80]
On December 13, 2018, Disney announced a new organizational structure for its international operations and the individuals who would join the company, including Jan Koeoppen and Uday Shankar. Shankar, who served as chairman and President of Fox Networks Group Asia and Star India, would lead Disney's Asian operations and become the new Chairman of Disney India.[81]
Aftermath (March 2019–present)[edit]
On March 21, 2019, it was reported that Disney would shut down the Fox 2000 Pictures studio in 2020, following the release of The Woman in the Window.[82] On the same day, it was reported that up to 4,000 people would lose their jobs as Disney commenced layoffs following the merger. The top executives given two to six months notice of being laid off included 20th Century Fox film president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson, president of worldwide marketing Pamela Levine, co-president of marketing Kevin Campbell, chief content officer Tony Sella, international distribution president Andrew Cripps, executive vice president of corporate communications Dan Berger, executive vice president of legal affairs and executive vice president of Fox Stage productions Bob Cohen and executive vice president of publicity Heather Phillips, 20th Television president Greg Meidel and Fox Consumer Products boss Jim Fielding.[83] The layoffs from Fox's Film Division continued from March, May,[84] June,[85] July and more recently in August 2019.[86][87] As of July 31, 2019, the layoffs totaled 250 with the layoffs of several dozen employees in the production and visual effects departments. Key Fox executives in this group were executive VP of feature production Fred Baron, executive VP of physical production Dana Belcastro, executive VP of post-production Fred Chandler and visual effects John Kilkenny.[88]
Debmar-Mercury announced on April 3 that it would end its national ad sales partnership with 20th Television, and transfer its national ad sales for its first-run and off-network shows by the company to CBS Television Distribution Media Sales.[89] On April 10, Disney's ESPN unit acquired a package of rights to the Big 12 Conference in college athletics that had previously been held by Fox.[90] On April 15, Hulu acquired AT&T's 9.5% stake in its service for $1.43 billion, with Disney and NBCUniversal co-owning the share.[91]
On April 24, Disney announced that it had canceled a number of upcoming Fox films, such as Mouse Guard,[92] News of the World (whose rights were then picked up by Universal Pictures),[93] and an adaptation of Angie Thomas' On the Come Up (whose rights were then moved to Paramount Players),[94] and that some projects, such as The King's Man, Fear Street, and Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story, were still in production.[95] On May 7, Disney announced a revised release schedule for several Disney and Fox films. Among the changes, several films (Artemis Fowl, Ad Astra, Spies in Disguise, The New Mutants, and Call of the Wild), were moved to later release dates. All the Fox Marvel films previously scheduled for release after 2019 were removed from the schedule. Avatar: The Way of Water was rescheduled from 2020 to a 2021 Christmas release, after which Avatar sequels would be released every other Christmas holiday release, alternating with Star Wars sequels through 2027.[96]
On April 25, 2019, Shannon Ryan, who was previously Fox Television chief marketing officer, was made president of marketing for ABC Entertainment and Disney Television Studios, reporting directly to Karey Burke, president of ABC Entertainment, and Craig Hunegs, president of Disney Television Studios.[97]
On April 26, Sinclair Broadcast Group agreed to acquire Fox Sports Networks (excluding YES Network, which would be sold separately to Yankee Global Enterprises) from Disney for $10 billion.[98] On May 14, Disney announced it had assumed control of Hulu as part of a put/call agreement with Comcast and its 33% stake in the service. Comcast will continue to license NBCUniversal content and live carriage of NBCUniversal channels until late 2024 and their stake in Hulu could be sold to Disney as early as January of that year. In addition, both companies would fund Hulu's purchase of AT&T's 9.5% stake in the namesake platform.[99]
Following the acquisition, Disney reorganized its television division to align various operations. On June 10, Disney announced that both Disney Television Studios and FX Entertainment would share the same casting division.[100] On July 31, Disney reorganized Hulu's reporting structure, placing Hulu's Scripted Originals team under Walt Disney Television. Under the new structure, Hulu's SVP of Original Scripted Content would report directly to the chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment.[101]
On July 3, Fox Stage Productions was moved into Disney Theatrical Group. Top FSP executives Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Connor Brockmeier and Bob Cohen all left at the same time.[102][103] On August 1, Disney announced that the Fox Research Library would be folded into the Walt Disney Archives and Disney Imagineering Archives by January 2020.[86][88]
On August 7, Disney announced that it would overhaul Fox film projects in development except Avatar, Planet of the Apes and Kingsman sequels due to Dark Phoenix causing a third-quarter loss. A new reduced slate of about 10 films per year fully overseen by Disney would now be the main focus, with 20th Century Fox making half of the films for Hulu and Disney+. Fox properties such as Star Wars, Home Alone, Night at the Museum, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid were assigned for Disney+ release and assigned to Fox Family.[104][105]
On August 9, the Los Angeles Times reported that Disney would be pulling all Fox film library titles out of all theater chains and moving them onto either Hulu or Disney+. Little Theatre, a local theater chain in Rochester, New York, was forced to cancel their August 5 screening of Fight Club after Disney notified the theater that it was not allowed to screen the film in the future.[106]
On August 22, Sinclair completed its acquisition of Fox Sports Networks from Disney.[107] Seven days later on August 29, a consortium consisting of Yankee Global, Sinclair, and Amazon also completed the acquisition of the 80% share of YES Network from Disney, with Yankee owning 65%, Sinclair owning 20% and Amazon owning the remaining 15%.[108]
On September 10, Disney announced plans to sell the video game division of FoxNext, preferring to license its properties for video games rather than develop them.[109]
On October 22, Banijay Group announced its intent to acquire Endemol Shine Group from Disney and Apollo Global Management for $2.2 billion.[110] Disney and Apollo agreed to sell Endemol Shine on October 26, pending antitrust approval from regulators.[111][112] On July 3, 2020, Banijay completed its purchase of Endemol Shine.[113]
On October 24, Vulture reported that Disney was limiting theatrical exhibitions of Fox's older films, with several theaters and film programmers reporting that Fox's back catalogue was no longer available to them.[114] An exception to the new policy was made for The Rocky Horror Picture Show due to that film's traditional midnight screenings and holding the Guinness world record for longest original theatrical release.[115]
On January 17, 2020, Disney began to rebrand Fox's studios to remove references to "Fox" from their names, with 20th Century Fox being renamed "20th Century Studios", and Fox Searchlight Pictures being renamed "Searchlight Pictures".[76]
On January 22, 2020, Disney announced it had sold off a majority of FoxNext's assets, including FoxNext Games Los Angeles, development studios Cold Iron Studios and Aftershock, and FoxNext's original IP's, to mobile game developer Scopely.[116] Two days later, Disney announced they would shutter Fogbank Entertainment, a third development studio under FoxNext.[117]
On January 31, Disney removed the position of CEO from Hulu, as part of the latter's full integration with Disney's business model. Under the new structure, top Hulu executives would report directly to the leads of DTCI and Walt Disney Television.[118]
On March 17, The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney sought to sell true[X] due to lack of investment after being labeled a noncore asset.[119]
On May 6, CADE approved the merger between Fox Sports Brazil and ESPN Brasil with conditions requiring Disney to keep Fox Sports Brazil until January 1, 2022, when the channel's operations were expected to be absorbed into ESPN. In the meantime, ESPN and Fox Sports will share the rights to broadcasting sporting events.[120]
On August 10, 2020, Disney announced a reorganization and rebranding of its television studios, with 20th Century Fox Television being subsumed by 20th Television, distributor 20th Television being folded into Disney-ABC Domestic Television, and Fox 21 Television Studios being rebranded as Touchstone Television (reviving a name dropped in 2007 by what then became ABC Studios —now ABC Signature).[121][122]
On September 1, 20th Century Fox Japan was absorbed into The Walt Disney Company Japan. Through this branch, Fox had served as co-distributor with Toei Company for animated films based on the Dragon Ball franchise since Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013). Due to the acquisition, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022) was released without the involvement of 20th Century Studios (distribution outside Japan was undertaken by Sony Pictures' Crunchyroll).[123]
On September 28, Disney announced that it had sold true[X] to Gimbal, Inc.[124]
On October 1, Disney and Dutch football league Eredivisie jointly announced that the Fox Sports channels in the Netherlands would be rebranded as ESPN. The rebranding is a direct consequence of the acquisition and it occurred on January 1, 2021. Taking over from 21st Century Fox, Disney owns 51% of Eredivisie Media & Marketing CV while Eredivisie owns the remaining 49%. Eredivisie Media & Marketing in turn owned the Netherlands' Fox and Fox Sports channels.[125][126]
On November 27, Disney announced that they would be renaming the Fox branded channels in Latin America to Star on February 22, 2021: Fox Channel would become Star Channel, Fox Life would become Star Life etc.[127][128]
On December 30, Dutch cable provider Ziggo revealed that the European feeds of StarPlus and Star Gold would be rebranded as Utsav Plus and Utsav Gold respectively. The rebranding came as Disney chose to use the Star brand name for non-family and mature-oriented programming with its forthcoming hub on Disney+ in several international markets as well as the launch of streaming service Star+ in Latin America.[129][130]
On February 9, 2021, Deadline Hollywood confirmed that Blue Sky Studios would shut down due to "current economic realities" related to the COVID-19 pandemic and that all of the Blue Sky library and IPs would be absorbed by Disney.[131] Blue Sky Studios was shut down on April 10.[131][132][133]
Fox Sports Networks and Fox College Sports were later rebranded as Bally Sports and Stadium College Sports on March 31.[134][135][136]
In March 2021, Disney launched 20th Television Animation, a division under 20th Television for adult animation productions from studios involved in this acquisition.[137]
On April 26, Fox Sports Go became the Bally Sports app.[138]
On April 27, Disney announced that most of the Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific linear channels would be shut down in two phases in October 2021 for Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries and January 2022 for Taiwan, respectively.[139]
On May 14, Fox 2000 Pictures was shut down after The Woman in the Window was released on Netflix.[140]
Disney sold Fox Sports Mexico to Grupo Multimedia Lauman in June, which was approved by regulators. The sale of Fox Sports Mexico was among the conditions of approval to the 21st Century Fox deal in Mexico.[141]
On August 31, Disney announced that Hotstar, which it acquired in the 21st Century Fox acquisition, would be shut down in the United States in late 2022. The company also announced the migration of content, such as Hotstar Specials, Star India's programming, and blockbuster movies, to Hulu starting September 1. The sports content including the Indian Premier League, Board of Control for Cricket in India, International Cricket Council, and Pro Kabaddi League would be migrated to ESPN+.[142]
On October 28, ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) announced its purchase of TeleColombia from Disney with the acquisition expecting approval in 2022. TeleColombia was sold on November 23, 2021.[143]
On November 4, Disney announced that it would rebrand the remaining feeds of Fox Sports Latin America to ESPN 4 on December 1, with the exception of the Mexican channel due to the aforementioned sale of that channel.[144][145]
On January 20, 2022, Disney sold the Argentinian Fox Sports as part of the conditions of approval for the 21st Century Fox acquisition in Argentina.[146] On February 15, Disney announced that it had sold Fox Sports Argentina to Mediapro.[147] The sale would be approved by Argentina's National Commission for Competition Defense (CNDC) on April 27.[148]
On January 26, Tata Sky was rebranded into Tata Play.[149]
On March 1, Gimbal | true[X] (formerly known as true[X]) was rebranded into Infillion, approximately one year after Gimbal's purchase of the company from Disney.[150]
It was announced that on May 1, Fox Sports Premium would rebrand to ESPN Premium.[151]
On May 27, Disney began to rebrand Fox's international studios to remove all references to the "Fox" branding from their name, starting with Fox Star Studios being renamed Star Studios.[152]
On October 10, Fox Studios Australia was rebranded into Disney Studios Australia.[153]
In July 2023, Disney began exploring strategic options, including a sale or formation of a joint venture, for their businesses in India.[154] Between September and October 2023, the company held preliminary talks with Reliance Industries, billionaire Gautam Adani and Kalanithi Maran, owner of the Sun Group, for a potential sale of its streaming and linear television assets.[155][156] In late October 2023, it was reported that Disney was nearing a cash and stock deal with Reliance Industries for the sale of its operations in India, including a controlling stake in Disney Star. The assets Reliance would acquire are reportedly valued at around $7-8 billion and a transaction was to be announced as early as November.[157] Although Disney CEO Bob Iger refuted claims of a sale during a third quarter earnings call, it was announced in December 2023 that Disney and Reliance had signed a non-binding term sheet for a merger. According to its terms, Reliance would hold a 51% in the merged company in cash and stock, while Disney would own the remaining 49%. For purposes of the merger, a subsidiary of Viacom18 being created to absorb Disney Star through a stock swap with the deal being expected to be completed by February 2024, pending ratification and regulatory approval, with Reliance aiming to complete it by the end of January.[158][159][160]
In February 2024, Disney and Reliance reached a deal to merge their streaming and television assets, with the joint venture valued at $8.5 billion including synergies. As part of the deal, Viacom18 would be merged into Disney Star with Disney holding a 36.84% stake in the combined entity, which would bring together assets such as linear television entertainment channels StarPlus, Colors TV and the Star Gold Network, sports channels Star Sports and Sports18 and the streaming services JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar with Nita Ambani serving as the chairperson of the joint venture, with Uday Shankar serving as vice chairperson with the deal giving 16.34% to Reliance and 46.82% to Viacom18[161] and with the deal being expected to close sometime in late 2024 or early 2025 pending regulatory approval,[162][163] and was later reported that Disney was in talks with Reliance to sell its 30% share in Tata Play.[164]
In March 2024, it was reported that Paramount Global was looking to sell its 13.01% stake in Viacom18 to Reliance, which already owned a 73.91% share via TV18.[165] Although Bloomberg News reported that the deal was unlikely to close, the deal was confirmed a week later for $517 million, its closure subject to regulatory approval and the completion of the joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney. Paramount would however continue to license its content to the company.[166]
Assets[edit]
Disney acquired the majority of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets.[35] These assets included film studios such as 20th Century Fox (rebranded to 20th Century Studios in January 2020), Fox Searchlight Pictures (shortened to Searchlight Pictures that same month), and Fox 2000 Pictures (which was shut down on May 14, 2021);[206] television production units 20th Century Fox Television (became 20th Television in August 2020) and Fox 21 Television Studios (renamed to the second Touchstone Television that same month before being folded into 20th Television in December 2020);[77][207][208][209] the international cable operations of Fox Networks Group (the U.S. operations, which included FX Networks, merged with Disney–ABC Television Group to form Walt Disney Television);[77][210][211] a 73% stake in National Geographic Partners; and a 30% stake in the streaming service Hulu.[35]
The Murdoch family kept ownership of 21CF's remaining assets under the Fox Corporation name. This remainder consists primarily of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations (which retains the MyNetworkTV syndication service),[212] Fox News Media (which includes the Fox News and Fox Business networks), and the U.S.-exclusive operations of Fox Sports (which retains cable channels such as FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, and a 61% interest in the Big Ten Network).[2] Fox Corporation also inherited the Fox studio lot in Century City; it has leased the lot to Disney for the acquired 21CF assets until 2026.[213]
Several Disney and 21CF assets were initially included in the acquisition, but have since been sold off to third parties due to international regulations, competition from rival media companies, or Disney's lack of investment. One of the divested assets was Sky plc; 21CF sold its 39.14% stake in Sky to Comcast for £11.6 billion (US$15 billion) on September 26, 2018.[214][215] Other divestments included the regional sports group Fox Sports Networks (sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios on August 22, 2019, per U.S. Department of Justice mandate),[38][216] a 50% stake in A&E Networks Europe (which was mandated by the European Commission and purchased by Hearst Communications in January 2019),[217] the gaming assets of FoxNext (sold to Scopely in January 2020),[116] Endemol Shine Group (which was a joint venture with Apollo Global Management and sold to Banijay on July 3, 2020),[113] and a controlling interest in TeleColombia (sold to ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) on November 23, 2021).[143][218]