It’s happened.
The announcement has come: Disney and NewsCorp have confirmed a deal of $52 billion for the non-broadcast elements of 21st Century Fox. This means that Disney will now obtain ownership of 20th Century Fox studios, Fox Searchlight and their collected back catalogue.
The deal did not include Fox Television or Fox News. Since Disney already owns ESPN and ABC, it is likely that purchasing another TV network would be considered unlawful under US anti-competition laws. Former Fox shareholders will reportedly now own 25% of the new company.
This of course means that the rights to several important Marvel properties will now be owned by that company’s parent, specifically the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Disney will also gain rights to Fox’s back catalogue of other franchises, such as Alien and the first six Star Wars movies.
No information has been released as of yet on what Disney’s plans are for the future, and whether the purchase of 20th Century Fox will impact Touchstone Pictures or if the two will run side-by-side. We will of course bring you more news once we know it.
Source: Reuters
Dave Bowling
Dave was born at an early age to parents of both sexes. He has been a self-confessed geek for as long as he can remember, having been raised through the 80s on a steady diet of Doctor Who, Star Trek, Red Dwarf and (sigh) Knight Rider. Throw the usual assortment of Saturday morning cartoons into the mix and we have something quite exceptional: someone with an encyclopaedic knowledge of utter tosh; a love of giant robots and spaceships fighting; and the strange desire to leap tall buildings in a single bound while wearing his underpants over his trousers. The death ray is currently in the works and one day you shall all bow to him, his giant space station and fleet of funky orange space shuttles...
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