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FOX/Disney deal

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/114622/justice-dept-approves-disneys-fox-bid/format/print

Here is the Latest on the Fox Disney Talks

NEW YORK (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday won U.S. antitrust approval for its $71.3 billion bid for Twenty-First Century Fox's entertainment assets.

Disney must first sell its 22 regional sports networks, the Department of Justice said. The company has 90 days to sell the networks, with an option to extend for another 90 days.

Fox's assets have been the target of bidding war between Comcast and Disney. Comcast offered nearly $66 billion for Fox's assets, which include the FX network and the studio that houses the X-Men franchise.

Fox has the option to consider other offers and Comcast could raise its bid.

The battle for Twenty-First Century Fox reflects a new imperative among entertainment and telecommunications firms. They are amassing ever more programming to better compete with companies such as Amazon and Netflix for viewers' attention — and dollars. The news comes on the heels of AT&T buying Time Warner for $81 billion.

"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," said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department's antitrust division in a statement.
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And with this latest move, Disney has now hung ESPN out to dry!! No ESPN (name of city here), no new SportCenters or local College Game Days. And the many colleges and Universities who were hoping for genuine CAble TV exposure now must make do with "ESPN +" And with the six month window the DOJ has given Disney, things will now move fast! Fox could buy back their own sports networks (not likely); Comcast could certainly move in on this smaller piece of the Fox Pie (much more likely). 22 new NBC Sports Channels would give Comcast leverage to get the rights to non Power 5 college conferences away from ESPN to boost programming to these many newly branded channels. Or, we could see a whole new player in the Regional Sports Channel game. Speculation??
 
https://www.fiercecable.com/video/c...offload-fox-s-rsns-to-at-t-comcast-or-charter

An Update on the Fox/Disney talks

The Walt Disney Company has officially received the Justice Department’s blessing for its $71.3 billion bid for Fox, but now the clock is ticking for Disney to find a buyer for Fox’s regional sports networks.

As a condition of the deal approval, Disney has agreed to sell off Fox’s 22 RSNs, which operate in markets including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Detroit, and own broadcast rights for various teams from the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL. The DOJ is giving Disney a minimum of 90 days (with the possibility of extending the deadline by another 90 days) after closing the Fox deal to secure a sale of the RSNs.

Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar said Disney’s agreement to sell off the RSNs could generate around $19 billion to $20 billion in value (assuming a 10x EBITDA multiple off approximately $2 billion EBITDA), which should add another around 0.5x to Disney's leverage capacity (including Sky).

But if Comcast plans to carry out the same proposed sale of the RSNs, it could potentially allow the company to sweeten a counter offer for Fox.

“Assuming Comcast also divests the RSNs, it could in theory go to a high $40 bid to keep leverage at ~4.5x (4.2x leverage based on last Comcast bid). Also, at this point, Comcast will have little incentive to back down, as it may want to force Disney's leverage higher in order to make Comcast's hand stronger with Sky,” Venkateshwar wrote in a research note.

RELATED: Editor’s Corner—Comcast, Disney would both sell off Fox’s RSNs, but who would buy them?

Assuming Disney’s current offer for Fox, complete with DOJ approval, holds off any counter from Comcast, Disney is still on the hook to find a new home for Fox’s RSNs.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand said during a podcast Thursday morning that he expects the Yankees to take back majority ownership of the YES Network, particularly since the team had a clause allowing it to do so when it agreed to sell its majority interest back in 2014.

Ourand also speculated that Disney could sell off the RSNs piecemeal, and that Comcast wants the networks in its markets and AT&T wants the ones in its markets. He said that distributors like Charter could also be interested in buying the RSNs.

Ourand also mentioned firms including Venture Capital, Endeavor and CAA as possible contenders.
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https://www.fiercecable.com/cable/activist-investor-pushes-murdoch-to-consider-comcast-bid

Update

Activist investor Chris Hohn sent a letter this week to 21st Century Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch and the company’s board, urging the company not to turn away so fast from Comcast’s bid to purchase its entertainment assets.

“We do not know if Comcast will return with a higher offer, but we will be strongly motivated by the deal that offers the highest price and we will encourage other shareholders to do the same,” Hohn wrote in his letter, which was first reported on by Financial Times.

Hohn heads TCI Fund Management Ltd., which is one of Fox’s largest shareholders, controlling a 7.4% stake in the company. His letter was prompted by an SEC filing made by Fox earlier this week, in which the media company justified taking a $71.3 billion cash and stock offer from The Walt Disney Company.
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I think that Comcast, AT&T & Charter Spectrum split the RSN's I believe that Comcast buys Fox Sports Detroit which will get rebranded NBC Sports Detroit.
 
Megatron said:
I think that Comcast, AT&T & Charter Spectrum split the RSN's I believe that Comcast buys Fox Sports Detroit which will get rebranded NBC Sports Detroit.
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That could be a way to avoid another, larger bid from Comcast which, in the absence of an agreement like this, most certainly will be in the offing.
 
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