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FOX/Disney deal

https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2018/11/12/Media/RSNs.aspx

Here is an Update regarding Fox RSN's

Fox Sports and NBC Sports — two of the companies that were considered the most likely bidders for all or part of the 22 Fox Sports regional sports networks being sold — did not submit bids last week when they were due.




Speculation over the past several months was that NBC Sports would pick off the RSNs in markets where it is the dominant cable operator — places like Atlanta, Detroit and Miami — and Fox Sports would look to buy back the RSNs at a discount. But the lack of bids to Allen & Co., who is handling the sale along with JPMorgan Chase & Co., threw cold water on both of those scenarios.



Mark Lazarus, NBC Broadcasting and Sports chairman, went so far as to say that Comcast is not in line to buy any of the Fox RSNs. It was notable that Comcast did not even sign a non-disclosure agreement last month that would have given it access to the bid book for the RSNs.
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https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/21st-century-fox-new-name-disney-1203028619/

Here is an update on the Murdochs announcement on Fox as the Film studio division is heading to Disney.

New Fox Has a New Name
It’s “Fox.” Leave your questions in the comments section below.

Rupert Stands Down

Eighty seven-year-old mogul and News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch appeared for only seconds at the top of the meeting to introduce son Lachlan, his co-chair at 21st Century Fox. It was Lachlan’s show otherwise. He opened with remarks about excitement over an expanded Disney and a revamped Fox. Rupert’s son James Murdoch, the company’s CEO, was present, but did not speak. He’s grown a formidable beard, FYI.


Film Farewell

New Fox (it’s just “Fox” now, you’ll remember) was never expected to jump headfirst into the theatrical film business. Wednesday essentially confirmed that. The only capacity in which Fox’s film legacy was mentioned was in a victory lap at the top of Lachlan’s speech, where he praised the old company as the force behind “Avatar,” “Titanic,” “Home Alone,” “Life of Pi,” the “X-Men” series, and more. Also, rather ironically, the Murdochs welcomed shareholders with a medley of hits from “The Greatest Showman” soundtrack.

Now that 20th Century Fox Film and prestige label Fox Searchlight belong to Disney, it resurfaces an interesting question about the viability of those brand names surviving under Bob Iger’s roof. One theory floated on the ground by chatty meeting attendees: Disney could simply kill “Fox” in each title, leaving the labels as “20th Century” and “Searchlight,” respectively.
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A few years ago, Disney bought Lucasfilm, the company that made Star Wars. In buying Fox, they now own the rights to the original movies.
 
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/20/ama...tworks-including-yes-network-sources-say.html

Update Amazon is named as a candidate for getting the Fox Sports RSN's

Amazon is bidding for all of the 22 regional sports TV networks that Disney acquired from Twenty-First Century Fox.

The e-commerce giant's bid includes the New York-based YES Network, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. An unknown sovereign wealth fund, along with the Yankees, is also bidding for the New York network.

In addition to Amazon, Apollo Global Management, KKR, The Blackstone Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tegna also made first-round bids for the full slate of networks, the sources said.
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https://tvnewscheck.com/article/mor...an-resprt-company-sues-disney-fox-theme-park/

Now a Malaysian Company is suing Fox and Disney over a theme park naming rights in that country.

The theme park would have been Fox’s first.

According to Genting’s complaint, Fox issued a “notice of default” aimed at ending the agreement.

Despite disagreements over the specific terms of the deal, Genting said in a statement that Fox had no grounds to pull out. The complaint also alleges that Disney and 21st Century Fox interfered with the contract and caused Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising, part of Fox Entertainment, to breach it.

Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox raised issues because Genting’s resort includes a casino, which conflicts with Disney’s stance against gambling.

Genting says it has invested nearly $180 million in the Fox project. Its most recent quarterly report said the group was focused on developing its resort and on preparing to roll out the “highly anticipated 20th Century Fox World Theme Park” as well as another attraction, the Skytropolis indoor theme park.

The opening of the Fox themed park had been planned for the first half of 2019.
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https://nypost.com/2018/12/10/disney-plans-to-split-up-foxs-local-sports-networks-to-sell/

Here is an update on the Disney Fox Talks in regards to the RSN's like Fox Sports West in Los Angeles.

Disney’s auction of Fox’s chain of local sports TV networks has proven to be such a complicated process that the Mouse House has decided to offer up the networks piecemeal, The Post has learned.

Bankers for Disney had hoped to sell the 22 regional sports networks, or RSNs, to a single buyer in a deal to address antitrust concerns over Disney’s pending $71.3 billion merger with Fox, sources said.

A single deal would have made regulatory approvals simpler and quicker — a pressing concern given that the RSNs must be sold within 90 days of Disney’s closing on its Fox deal.

Nevertheless, concerns about continued cord-cutting among cable TV subscribers have forced the bankers, JPMorgan Chase and Allen & Co., to get creative as they scramble to fetch a solid overall price, insiders say.

As such, they’re now conducting management meetings with multiple suitors, including those interested in just a single RSN, sources said.

“The RSN business is not a growth business, but a declining business,” an RSN expert told The Post. “There are a lot of subscriber defections [along with the rest of cable] and the RSNs do not own the digital rights.”

Disney didn’t respond to a request for comment. Charter, Sinclair and Nexstar declined to comment.
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Major League Baseball is looking to acquire the Fox RSN's.
https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/11/29/mlb-amazon-among-suitors-for-fox-regional-sports-networks/
Acquiring the RSNs will not be cheap: the beginning bid will be $20 billion. From the New York Post:

“Candidly, we’re looking at the RSNs ourselves,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday at a March of Dimes luncheon in New York.

An MLB spokesman declined to comment on Manfred’s interest in the RSNs.

Sources said the MLB could attract financial backers for a bid — which it would clearly need, as Fox has set a floor price of $20 billion — with its claims on streaming rights to all MLB games.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...lair-to-bid-for-yes-network-wsj-idUSKCN1OR0SP

YES Network in Talks to go to Amazon or Sinclair for a deal as a result of the Disney/ Fox Talks.

Reuters) - The New York Yankees are in talks with Amazon.com Inc and Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc about a joint bid for the team’s regional sports network, Yes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.



The baseball team, which owns 20 percent of Yes, has also been talking to other potential partners, including cable and satellite TV provider Altice USA and RedBird Capital, about buying the remaining 80 percent stake from Walt Disney Co, the report said.




Disney is seeking a valuation of $5 billion to $6 billion for Yes Network, according to the report, adding that the talks are still in early stages and a partnership with either Amazon or Sinclair isn’t guaranteed.

Disney, which is buying Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s film and television assets, had said it would divest 22 of Fox’s regional sports networks, including New York-focused Yes Network, as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
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TheBigA said:
Not exactly true. The story says that YES is in talks with a group consisting of the Yankees, Amazon, AND Sinclair. So the three would be partners.
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The Yankees need funding to buy back the remaining 80%. I'm sure they are going to try to get a majority stake in the network.
 
TheBigA said:
Of course Amazon already has a partnership with MLB, so the new player here is Sinclair.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-amazon-web-services-continue-partnership/c-286242678
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Amazon would provide the backend for the video streaming. Sinclair would provide added capitol.

The Yankees are in a position of first refusal. It was written into the contract when they sold fo Fox. They got first rights on a buyback if the network was put up for sale. None of the other RSN's have that stipulation.
 
Don CT said:
Amazon would provide the backend for the video streaming. Sinclair would provide added capitol.
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The interesting part of this is that had Sinclair's purchase of Tribune gone through, Sinclair would own WPIX-TV in NYC, which is the Yankees VHF partner. Now Nexstar is the potential owner. Not sure exactly what Sinclair gets out of this other than equity.
 
https://nypost.com/2019/01/14/doj-may-allow-disney-to-spin-off-of-foxs-regional-sports-networks/

Another edition of the Disney/Fox talks over the Local Fox Sports net editions affecting Fox Sports West.

The Department of Justice is prepared to put the ball back in Disney’s court for unloading Fox’s regional sports networks, possibly saving Disney from a fire sale, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.

The Justice Department is poised to allow Disney to spin out the control of Fox’s 22 regional sports networks to complete its $71 billion deal for Fox, one of the sources said, as opposed to finding an actual buyer.

Disney would have to relinquish operational control of the new entity.

“They can certainly spin out just control, or spin it out to a separate board with a partial public company,” the source who has direct knowledge of the feds’ thinking said.

Disney has had a tough time finding a buyer for all of the RSNs, which it was hoping would fetch about $20 billion, sources said.

Late last week, Fox said it did not intend to buy back the RSNs from Disney, eliminating one of the few parties that seemed to be interested in acquiring all of the networks.

Fox’s dropping out likely lowered the sales price to between a five- and six-times-Ebitda multiple — $9 billion and $11 billion, a source said.

A spinout, however, would not guarantee a higher price.

It could even jeopardize the RSN business model in that the new majority owner would lack Fox’s clout to ensure cable companies carry the networks on their basic tiers.

That has BTIG analysts Brandon Ross and Rich Greenfield wondering if a five-to-six times Ebitda multiple might be overly optimistic.

“As the underlying RSN Ebitda will shrink if carriage shrinks, and in turn, the effective multiple is actually higher than it appears,” they wrote in a Monday update.

The feds to some degree are reversing themselves.
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