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Disney can buy Fox if it sells 22 regional sports networks, Justice Dept. says:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...r-sale-22-regional-sports-networks/738440002/
The Walt Disney Co. is nearing the red zone with its $71 billion bid for a collection of Twenty-First Century Fox’s assets.
The Justice Department Wednesday approved the deal after Disney agreed to sell Fox's 22 regional sports networks included in the deal.
Disney and Fox initially entered into a $52.4 billion deal in December 2017 for Fox's television and film studios, cable channels such as FX and National Geographic, and other assets including Fox's 30 percent share of streaming service Hulu and a 39 percent stake in U.K.-based pay-TV and broadband provider Sky.
But the DOJ said allowing Disney, which also owns ESPN and its family of sports networks, to also acquire Fox's 22 regional sports networks, "would likely result in higher prices for cable sports programming" licensed to pay-TV operators where those local markets serve. That in turn could lead to higher prices for consumers.
“American consumers have benefitted [sic] from head-to-head competition between Disney and Fox’s cable sports programming that ultimately has prevented cable television subscription prices from rising even higher,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim in a statement. “Today’s settlement will ensure that sports programming competition is preserved in the local markets where Disney and Fox compete for cable and satellite distribution.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...r-sale-22-regional-sports-networks/738440002/
The Walt Disney Co. is nearing the red zone with its $71 billion bid for a collection of Twenty-First Century Fox’s assets.
The Justice Department Wednesday approved the deal after Disney agreed to sell Fox's 22 regional sports networks included in the deal.
Disney and Fox initially entered into a $52.4 billion deal in December 2017 for Fox's television and film studios, cable channels such as FX and National Geographic, and other assets including Fox's 30 percent share of streaming service Hulu and a 39 percent stake in U.K.-based pay-TV and broadband provider Sky.
But the DOJ said allowing Disney, which also owns ESPN and its family of sports networks, to also acquire Fox's 22 regional sports networks, "would likely result in higher prices for cable sports programming" licensed to pay-TV operators where those local markets serve. That in turn could lead to higher prices for consumers.
“American consumers have benefitted [sic] from head-to-head competition between Disney and Fox’s cable sports programming that ultimately has prevented cable television subscription prices from rising even higher,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim in a statement. “Today’s settlement will ensure that sports programming competition is preserved in the local markets where Disney and Fox compete for cable and satellite distribution.”
