I don't think the issue here is that the Murdochs are trying to offload the bulk of Fox (especially since the TV nets aren't included in the deal).
As a consumer (both in the literal and figurative sense of the word), I had been looking forward to Disney closing this deal, because it would mean that all Marvel IP would finally be under one roof, and all Star Wars home video distribution issues could finally be resolved (and we might finally get the long-rumored 'theatrical cut' BDs of the original trilogy). Comcast jumping into the fray at the last minute mucks that up considerably - their only Marvel interest is the presence in Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando (a remnant of the Marvel early-00's IP fire sale that gives Universal exclusive theme park rights to major Marvel characters east of the Mississippi*). Does Fox's film unit have any other major franchises left? * Two addenda: 1) The Universal/Marvel contract means that Disney can't have certain characters - mostly the Avengers and the X-Men - inside the parks. Back in 2012, I was at WDW the same weekend The Avengers came out; a monorail was wrapped in Avengers art to celebrate the release, but it had to be restricted to the resort loop, because the other track would take the train inside of EPCOT, violating the Universal agreement. 2) It appears that Universal wasn't interested in what could have been considered "minor" Marvel characters - just the ones that were already in movies or cartoons, which is how Disney is able to build a Guardians of the Galaxy ride in EPCOT. On Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 12:23:53 PM UTC-4, Adam Bowie wrote: > > I don't see Trump stepping in to stop his friend Rupert Murdoch from > getting in the way of cashing out from Fox. Although I think they'd still > prefer Disney to up their offer so that they can sell to them. > > Sidenote: HBO has just started airing Succession, a drama about a media > owning patriarch and his family that could be construed as a take on the > Murdochs. The series is created by a Brit, and stars a Brit. In the UK, the > Murdoch owned Sky has an output deal with HBO that gets them everything > that HBO makes - with exceptions where another co-production partner like > the BBC is involved. Strangely Sky Atlantic - which mostly shows HBO and > Showtime fare - has not yet scheduled Succession. This despite the fact > that series like Westworld get aired simultaneously with their US release. > Literally in the case of Westworld - we get a 2am simultaneous airing with > the East Coast! > > With all those Brits involved and an Oscar nominated director of the > pilot, you'd think they'd have rushed to put it on air :-) > > > Adam > > On Thu, Jun 14, 2018 at 5:14 PM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < > [email protected] <javascript:>> wrote: > >> >> Re/code >> <https://www.recode.net/2018/6/13/17460848/comcast-fox-disney-new-bid-rupert-murdoch-all-cash-regulatory-international> >> >> (link): The NBC parent's now decided on a bid for the Fox package 19% north >> of the Mouse's, paying all the ancillary fees... and hopes the govt's >> preliminary OK to AT&T/Time Warner opens them up to it as well... >> >> B >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
