20th Century Fox is bidding for Time Warner

[Micromind]

It seems to me that Murdoch miscalculated earlier when he missed the opportunity of buying Marvel and Lucas Films and is trying to make-up for that by attempting to buy Time Warner.


For anyone who thinks that this is a good for creativity, business or movies (comic book movies included), I have to say that they are deluded.

 

[Lord]

Fox's more powerful due to everything else they oun, but when it comes to movie, Warner Bros is more successful and gets more money, i honestly hope Fox isn't able to buy Time Warner.

 

[Micromind]

Just posting these posts here.. I think they make valid points -

But at the same time, Warner just put in some new regulations to prevent a hostile takeover and won't have another shareholder meeting for a year. I doubt that there will be any merger.

And Fox does control the merch. Marvel just takes a cut of it. Marvel can also release a DOFP Omnibus and a game based on the comic DOFP to cash in without Fox seeing a single penny. Marvel also hasn't released any AAA movie games for their own films since Captain America TFA.

Marvel also made the X-Men anime series and Wolverine in the X-Men since they own the animated TV rights, while the live action TV rights require a co-production.

The takeaway here is that no matter who ends up owning the FF and X-Men film rights, Marvel/Disney wins.

And a Fox/Warner merger would be pointless because it would require assets being sold to avoid anti-trust lawsuits and laying off senior management.

That along with fewer tentpole films coming out due to two major studios merging and FX, FXX, TBS and TNT all competing with each other for ratings alongside either CW or Fox Broadcasting dying off and either CNN or Fox News being sold. Time, AOL, Time Warner Cable, Six Flags and Warner Music Group were all either sold or became their own companies. The only thing that Fox would gain would be DC Comics which isn't even that big of an asset since Fox owns Harper-Collins which already gives them access to publishing. That just leaves Fox holding onto all of Warner's IP when means fewer new properties, more TV cancellations and fewer sequels to mid-tier properties.

This merger would make no sense.

He'd probably sell CNN and the CW. CBS would most likely buy the former while the latter would most likely be sold to the Chicago Tribune. Warner was right to reject end ever more right to take extra precautions to ensure that a hostile takeover can never happen. This won't be a merger, it'll be a slaughter with thousands of people fired on every level and nothing being gained aside from IP rights at the cost of billions which would hurt Fox's stock price.

Now remember that Loony Toons and DC Comics may make a lot of money but we were talking nearly a hundred billion which Fox would have to earn again over the cost of several years and would require massive layoff just to handle the operating costs. That in addition to closing cable stations since there would be FOUR of them (five if you count Cartoon Network) owned by the same company competing for primetime. What'll happen is that TBS, CN and FX would stay on the air but FXX which Fox just launched and is now pouring money into to build will be shut down, as will TNT.

Nobody wins from this deal and everyone loses unless Rupert Murdoch REALLY wants to own Superman and Bugs Bunny. Consumers lose by having fewer outlets. Employees lose due to layoffs and restructuring. And the execs also lose since half of them will be laid off. That merger would be pure insanity.

And that parent company would definitely modify release plans for those independent subsidiaries, especially on the film side of things. It wouldn't make much sense to release, say, a new X-Men movie one week after the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sequel. They'd have to worry about one studio's release cannibalizing the other's.

 

[Mr_336]

I am glad that they rejected it. We dont need DC bad guys being turned into clouds

Remember Parallax?

 

[Tec15]

Good news that Murdoch has pulled out. Knew it wouldn't happen.

 

[psylockolussus]

I'm glad it didn't happen!

 

[dude stannis]

Remember Parallax?

I'd forgotten!

 

[spider-neil]

Why are people mentioning Disney? What do Disney have to do with this deal?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Thank Zod this crap is over.

 

[TMC1982]

To me, CBS buying Time Warner (assuming that have that type of money in the first place) seems to make much more logical since immediately than News Corp./Fox. I mean CBS has already had sort of a working relationship w/ The CW and CBS teaming up w/ Turner Sports on the NCAA March Madness basketball coverage. CBS also teamed w/ TNT back in the '90s to broadcast the Winter Olympics. CBS as it is, seems to be fairly short on established cable channels, unlike say NBC-Universal. For example, imagine if CBS News teamed up w/ CNN (I mean, wouldn't News Corp. have to sell off CNN anyway, since they already have their own news channel, due to anti-trust issues). It would also oddly, make things sort of go full circle since if I'm not mistaken, Ted Turner tried but failed to take over CBS back in the 1980s.

 

[Micromind]

To me, CBS buying Time Warner (assuming that have that type of money in the first place) seems to make much more logical since immediately than News Corp./Fox. I mean CBS has already had sort of a working relationship w/ The CW and CBS teaming up w/ Turner Sports on the NCAA March Madness basketball coverage. CBS also teamed w/ TNT back in the '90s to broadcast the Winter Olympics. CBS as it is, seems to be fairly short on established cable channels, unlike say NBC-Universal. For example, imagine if CBS News teamed up w/ CNN (I mean, wouldn't News Corp. have to sell off CNN anyway, since they already have their own news channel, due to anti-trust issues). It would also oddly, make things sort of go full circle since if I'm not mistaken, Ted Turner tried but failed to take over CBS back in the 1980s.

Time Warner's net worth is more than that of CBS.