ATT/Time Warner Deal paves way for Disney-Comcast battle

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Disney gets some Marvel IP if they win?

I hope they lose then. If I want superhero stuff I'll go to Universal. Disney is going to lose everything special about it if it adds all this stuff ( to their parks )

Already love reading some Disney shirts with some classic beautiful quotes, and then " may the force be with you " added at the end, makes me go UGH slightly

 

[jknezek]

Disney gets some Marvel IP if they win?

I hope they lose then. If I want superhero stuff I'll go to Universal. Disney is going to lose everything special about it if it adds all this stuff ( to their parks )

Already love reading some Disney shirts with some classic beautiful quotes, and then " may the force be with you " added at the end, makes me go UGH slightly

This really isn't about the parks. Very little of the Fox IP will fit in the Disney Parks. This is about content for the OTT service and Sky and Star.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

This really isn't about the parks. Very little of the Fox IP will fit in the Disney Parks. This is about content for the OTT service and Sky and Star.

Ah Ok

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

This really isn't about the parks. Very little of the Fox IP will fit in the Disney Parks. This is about content for the OTT service and Sky and Star.

Right on.

...and it isn't about "superhero rights" either. It's all about competing with Netflix.

 

[jknezek]

Up to $71B. Disney cancels a $20B share repurchase to pay for it. 50/50 cash and shares supposedly. This is getting very expensive very fast.

 

[Liljo22]

Up to $71B. Disney cancels a $20B share repurchase to pay for it. 50/50 cash and shares supposedly. This is getting very expensive very fast.

Fox approved the new offer from Disney. Fox shareholders have the option to take part in cash up to 50/50.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Up to $71B. Disney cancels a $20B share repurchase to pay for it. 50/50 cash and shares supposedly. This is getting very expensive very fast.

Yup...and there were a lot of people cheering. Comcast on saying "competition is good" or just gleeful whenever Comcast/Universal sticks it to Disney.

In reality, it was clear that this wasn't going to be a good thing for consumers of whichever company prevails.

 

[rteetz]

I saw this on twitter, “Disney could build 19 Epcot Centers with this money”

 

[Lee Matthews]

Fox approved the new offer from Disney. Fox shareholders have the option to take part in cash up to 50/50.

Then I think that's a foolproof bid by Disney and Fox shareholders would be stupid to not go for that

 

[hertamaniac]

In reality, it was clear that this wasn't going to be a good thing for consumers of whichever company prevails.

That's the unfortunate part about this.

 

[adam.adbe]

This really isn't about the parks. Very little of the Fox IP will fit in the Disney Parks. This is about content for the OTT service and Sky and Star.

And not being held over a barrel by Comcast when it comes to negotiating cable fees. I think (other than perhaps Iger's 'legacy') a big part of the thinking here has to be that negotiations will eventually come down to "who loses more in a hard war between Comcast and Disney?" If Disney's portfolio is too strong, then a channel blackout will hurt Comcast more. At the least they'll be facing irate cable customers, and at the worst some of those customers will drop their TV package and become streaming only houses. If Disney's portfolio is weaker, then Comcast can risk blackouts in exchange for splitting the Disney/ESPN bundle.

 

[adam.adbe]

I saw this on twitter, “Disney could build 19 Epcot Centers with this money”

Yeah but the ROI on that would be even worse than paying top-dollar-with-a-cherry-on-top for 21CF. We're in an arms race for media consolidation. Assuming sanity does not suddenly prevail, this is going to rumble on until one monster is left standing.

 

[goingthedistance]

We all saw what happened to US park development and prices when Shanghai went over budget and that park was "only" $5.5 Billion. Now Disney will be assuming $13.5 billion debt from 21CF. I have to wonder what things that have not been started will be postponed, like the new cruise ships or the rumored new monorails, at least until Disney starts to get a return on investment from the premium paid.

Edit to add: I am glad Disney's offer was accepted and I think it will be good for Disney in the long run, particularly with the Fox IP in the MCU and the enhanced inventory for the upcoming Disney streaming service.

 

[rteetz]

Yeah but the ROI on that would be even worse than paying top-dollar-with-a-cherry-on-top for 21CF. We're in an arms race for media consolidation. Assuming sanity does not suddenly prevail, this is going to rumble on until one monster is left standing.

It was just a joke showing that this is a lot of money. Building 19 new theme parks isn’t really feasible.

 

[Lee Matthews]

And not being held over a barrel by Comcast when it comes to negotiating cable fees. I think (other than perhaps Iger's 'legacy') a big part of the thinking here has to be that negotiations will eventually come down to "who loses more in a hard war between Comcast and Disney?" If Disney's portfolio is too strong, then a channel blackout will hurt Comcast more. At the least they'll be facing irate cable customers, and at the worst some of those customers will drop their TV package and become streaming only houses. If Disney's portfolio is weaker, then Comcast can risk blackouts in exchange for splitting the Disney/ESPN bundle.

I hadn't thought of that, I wonder if long term they could afford to remove all their content from Comcast?

I guess if they end up forcing people to use their streaming services or SKY in the UK, then it may pay off financially for them because of the sheer amount of content they will own

 

[maltdizzy]

Fox approved the new offer from Disney. Fox shareholders have the option to take part in cash up to 50/50.

No, there has been no vote. All that has been said by Fox is that Disney's offer “is superior to the (Comcast) proposal" in a press release. The WJS headline is misleading, all Fox "agreed to" was to allow Disney to restructure their previous "all stock" bid (to include less stock) without penalty. Fox is certainly hoping for a counter-offer from Comcast to continue to drive up the price.

 

[rteetz]

Possible spending freeze/budget cuts to the parks if this goes through...

 

[rteetz]

And Comcast is looking to counter again at $80 billion

https://twitter.com/ScottGustin/status/1009477183088353281

 

[jknezek]

And Comcast is looking to counter again at $80 billion

https://twitter.com/ScottGustin/status/1009477183088353281

This is going to be a disaster. I wonder if Comcast is going to go one more, knowing Iger sees this as his capstone, and trying to bleed Disney as much as possible. I can't imagine they actually want it at that premium, especially since Comcast will still be able to bleed Disney over the Sky bid, even if they lose the rest of this deal.

There comes a point when you need to walk away. From my understanding of the financials, I'd have let Comcast win on their first bid. If they bid again, it should be a no-brainer for Disney to step away and watch Comcast load themselves so badly into debt they won't be able to invest in the future.

 

[rteetz]

This is going to be a disaster. I wonder if Comcast is going to go one more, knowing Iger sees this as his capstone, and trying to bleed Disney as much as possible. I can't imagine they actually want it at that premium, especially since Comcast will still be able to bleed Disney over the Sky bid, even if they lose the rest of this deal.

There comes a point when you need to walk away. From my understanding of the financials, I'd have let Comcast win on their first bid. If they bid again, it should be a no-brainer for Disney to step away and watch Comcast load themselves so badly into debt they won't be able to invest in the future.

Yeah I hope Comcast makes this big and Disney walks away.