Advertisement

Disney seals $71B deal for Fox entertainment, takes over ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Deadpool’

Click to play video: 'What you need to know about the Fox-Disney deal'
What you need to know about the Fox-Disney deal
WATCH: Disney now owns Fox’s major entertainment assets, – Mar 20, 2019

Disney has closed its $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business, putting Cinderella, The Simpsons, Star Wars and Dr. Strange under one corporate roof.

The deal is likely to shake up the media landscape. Among other things, it paves the way for Disney to launch its streaming service, Disney Plus, due out later this year. It will also likely lead to layoffs in the thousands, thanks to duplication in Fox and Disney film-production staff.

By buying the studios behind The Simpsons and X-Men, Disney aims to better compete with technology companies such as Amazon and Netflix for viewers’ attention — and dollars.

Disney needs compelling TV shows and movies to persuade viewers to sign up and pay for yet another streaming service. It already has classic Disney cartoons, Star Wars, Pixar, the Muppets and some of the Marvel characters. With Fox, Disney could add Marvel’s X-Men and Deadpool, along with programs shown on such Fox channels as FX Networks and National Geographic. Fox’s productions also include The Americans, This Is Us and Modern Family.

Story continues below advertisement

The deal helps Disney further control TV shows and movies from start to finish — from creating the programs to distributing them through television channels, movie theatres, streaming services and other ways people watch entertainment. Disney would get valuable data on customers and their entertainment-viewing habits, which it can then use to sell advertising.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

WATCH: Disney/Fox merger could result in up to 4000 job losses

Click to play video: 'Disney/Fox merger could result in up to 4000 job losses'
Disney/Fox merger could result in up to 4000 job losses

Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an earnings call in February that Disney Plus and other direct-to-consumer businesses are Disney’s “No. 1 priority.”

Cable and telecom companies have been buying the companies that make TV shows and movies to compete in a changing media landscape. Although internet providers like AT&T and Comcast directly control their customers’ access to the internet in a way that Amazon, YouTube and Netflix do not, they still face threats as those streaming services gain in popularity.

Story continues below advertisement

AT&T bought Time Warner last year for $81 billion and has already launched its own streaming service, Watch TV, with Time Warner channels such as TBS and TNT, among other networks, for $15 a month.

In addition to boosting the Disney streaming service, expected to debut next year, the deal paves the way for Marvel’s X-Men and the Avengers to reunite in future movies. Though Disney owns Marvel Studios, some characters including the X-Men had already been licensed to Fox.

READ MORE: Netflix competition heats up as Disney, WarnerMedia set to launch streaming services in 2019

Disney also gets a controlling stake in the existing streaming service Hulu, which it plans to keep operating as a home for more general programming. Family-friendly shows and movies will head to Disney Plus.

No pricing has been disclosed for Disney Plus. The streaming service will feature five categories of material: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic. Disney charges $5 a month for ESPN Plus, a service that offers programming distinct from the ESPN cable channel.

Meanwhile, Fox Corp. — the parts of 21st Century Fox that are not part of the deal, including Fox News, Fox Sports and Fox Broadcasting — started trading on the Nasdaq under the “FOX” and “FOXA” tickers on Tuesday.

Sponsored content

AdChoices