The Rebooted "Keep Hope Alive" (that the rights can revert back to Marvel) Thread - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part 24

[Iceman]

From Bloomberg: Disney is said to accept divesting Fox Sports in Brazil, Mexico

 

[Cobalt Panther]

From Bloomberg: Disney is said to accept divesting Fox Sports in Brazil, Mexico

Nice. You got a source dude?

 

[Iceman]

Nice. You got a source dude?

Bloomberg is the source. Sometimes takes a bit of time before it is on the internet. It came out as a major headline on there

Disney Is Said to Accept Divesting Fox Sports in Brazil, Mexico

• Regulators demand sale of sports channels to approve deal
• Countries are among final hurdles to $71 billion transaction

By Mario Sergio Lima and Andrea Navarro

(Bloomberg) --
Walt Disney Co., on the brink of sealing its $71 billion takeover of 21st Century Fox Inc. entertainment assets, will agree to sell the Fox Sports channels in Brazil and Mexico to win regulatory approval there, according to people close to the discussions.

The companies earlier this week accepted the divestment recommendation of Brazil’s antitrust regulator, and at a meeting next week they’ll present an agreement to pursue the sale, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public. Competitors have already shown interest in the assets, said a third person.

In Mexico, Disney expects the country’s telecommunications regulator to require the sale of Fox Sports and is willing to agree to it, according to one person. In both countries, the final details of the agreements are still under discussion and it’s possible the situation could change, the people said. It’s unclear, for example, whether regulators will require the companies to sell the rights to sports programming, such as soccer games, in addition to the channels themselves.

The companies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, and the regulators declined to comment.

 

[Smurphftw]

From Bloomberg: Disney is said to accept divesting Fox Sports in Brazil, Mexico

From the perspective of most of those who frequent this particular thread, this sounds like very good news.

 

[Marvel united]

Well, that pretty much guarantees approval. The reason why this whole thing was dragged out was Brazil wanted the sports channels divested. Ditto for Mexico.

And if those are the final hurdles as Bloomberg states, the deal could indeed be complete by March

 

[First Avenger]

Getting so close, come on!

 

[Detective Conan]

Sounds like the Mouse is trying to to get this approved as soon as possible and isn’t wasting time.

 

[WeaponXCII]

From Bloomberg: Disney is said to accept divesting Fox Sports in Brazil, Mexico

Today just keeps getting better and better!

But what does it mean when they say that “competitors have already shown interest in the assets”?

Hopefully it’s nothing that jeopardizes the deal.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Today just keeps getting better and better!

But what does it mean when they say that “competitors have already shown interest in the assets”?

Hopefully it’s nothing that jeopardizes the deal.

That just means they already have people who want to buy the assets they're divesting. So they should be easy to sell.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Today just keeps getting better and better!

But what does it mean when they say that “competitors have already shown interest in the assets”?

Hopefully it’s nothing that jeopardizes the deal.

I think it's good for the deal - it means they'll sell them easily because there are other companies ready to buy.

 

[Darkprime]

Great news to wake up to. I think we all knew they would divest them eventually. Its not worth holding up the entire deal over and making shareholders nervous.

Thefly are also reporting the sale of Fox sports in Brazil in Mexico these guys confirmed china approval weeks in advance.

Disney agrees to sell Fox Sports assets in Brazil, Mexico, Bloomberg says FOX;FOXA;DIS - The Fly

I think the deal is closing in March!

 

[Marvel united]

Disney not taking any chances anymore.

 

[Iceman]

Today just keeps getting better and better!

But what does it mean when they say that “competitors have already shown interest in the assets”?

Hopefully it’s nothing that jeopardizes the deal.

Yes, as others have mentioned it's good news. Disney have agreed to sell assets to become less monopolistic in the eyes of these regulators, and this just means that there are buyers already interested in those assets. It would be more of a problem when you have assets to sell and no ready buyers, meaning you could be forced to take a heavy loss.

 

[Darkprime]

I cant imagine Iger would be too happy about losing Fox Sports in Brazil and Mexico but getting the deal done is more important. The amount of content and franchises they are getting still make the deal worth it. And long term value especially with the Marvel franchises and Avatar still make it a good deal.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

I've just never seen sports as Disney's key 'thing'. Sure, it's a good, steady money-maker, but what they do best is fantasy films, animation and theme-parks and merchandise related to those fantasy films and animation. Streaming fits that, because it's the future of distribution of the content they make, but sports has always seemed to me like a distraction that goes in a completely different direction and appeals to a different demographic than their key products.

If I were in Disney management, I'd be pushing to get rid of the sports networks (as long as they can get good value for them) so they can focus on the things that they really do well - even if the approval process wasn't forcing that divestment.

 

[Spider-Fan]

ESPN brings Disney in a lot of money.

 

[Dark Raven]

Why do Disney want to get into sports anyway? It's like Walmart getting into the computer market.

Alright, well do people prefer Windows, Apple or Walmart computers?

 

[Spider-Fan]

Why do Disney want to get into sports anyway? It's like Walmart getting into the computer market.

Alright, well do people prefer Windows, Apple or Walmart computers?

Disney already is into sports. They own ESPN.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

ESPN brings Disney in a lot of money.

But that's like having a chain of hardware stores and one porn store that makes a lot of money. If the porn store makes a lot of money, great, it has value, but sell it to someone else, get the value out of it and focus on what you do best.

 

[Darkprime]

Bloomberg article is up.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Walt Disney Co., on the brink of sealing its $71 billion takeover of 21st Century Fox Inc. entertainment assets, will agree to sell the Fox Sports channels in Brazil and Mexico to win regulatory approval there, according to people close to the discussions.



The companies earlier this week accepted the divestment recommendation of Brazil’s antitrust regulator, and at a meeting next week they’ll present an agreement to pursue the sale, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public. Competitors have already shown interest in the assets, said a third person.



Globo Comunicacao e Participacoes SA, which raised concerns over concentration in sports networks. Mexico’s Grupo Televisa SAB, the world’s largest producer of Spanish-speaking content, and Globo would be their countries’ sole competitors in sports networks if the divestments weren’t made, said the people. The U.S. Justice Department’s decision to demand divestitures also influenced the Brazilian and Mexican regulators, said one person.

Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger failed to get a better deal after flying to Brazil to meet the antitrust board. As a result, the companies decided hanging on to the sports channels wasn’t worth jeopardizing the takeover, said two of the people.

Mexico’s antitrust regulator also looked into the deal, specifically examining movie distribution and merchandise matters, and gave it a green light earlier this month.

 

[Marvel united]

This explains why the date was moved up to the 27th

 

[Spider-Fan]

But that's like having a chain of hardware stores and one porn store that makes a lot of money. If the porn store makes a lot of money, great, it has value, but sell it to someone else, get the value out of it and focus on what you do best.

But ESPN is not a small store. ESPN is the largest sports outlet in the world. This is closer to owning chains of fast food restaurants and Wal-Mart.

 

[Darkprime]

This explains why the date was moved up to the 27th

Yup I would have been concerned had it been delayed that would have been an indication they were going to trial but in this case it seems like Disney caved. And figured its not worth dragging it out. Especially while peoples jobs are at stake.

 

[Spider-Fan]

To put this into perspective:

Based on Kagan's 2017 estimates, and the subscribers last reported by Disney in 2016, ESPN could stand to make as much as $8 billion in TV-rights fees alone this year. Its biggest US cable-TV channels combined stand to make as much as $12.6 billion.

Aug 10, 2017

So ESPN/sports are not a small consideration for Disney.

 

[Dark Raven]

But that's like having a chain of hardware stores and one porn store that makes a lot of money. If the porn store makes a lot of money, great, it has value, but sell it to someone else, get the value out of it and focus on what you do best.

Are you saying Disney is getting into the porn industry now and it's not what they do best?