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Comcast Confirms Plan to try and Outbid Disney for Fox

Comcast has confirmed that the company hopes to outbid Disney in an effort to acquire most of the remaining assets of 21st Century Fox. In a statement, Comcast confirmed what the press has been reporting for months; namely that the company is "considering, and is in advanced stages of preparing, an offer for the businesses that Fox has agreed to sell to Disney." The acquisition would not include Fox's broadcast networks, Fox News, or other Fox cable media properties.

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The deal is still monumental, and would give Comcast majority ownership control of Hulu, a company that directly competes with Comcast's own video services. Conditions affixed to Comcast's 2011 NBC deal to prevent it from using its current minority stake to hamstring the competitor just expired.

It would also give Comcast ownership of the majority of regional sports networks around the country, the additional fees for which are already a point of contention for consumers and competitors alike.

A Fox acquisition would only strengthen a company already under fire for its terrible customer service, anti-competitive behavior and growing monopoly over faster broadband speeds.

Disney and Fox shareholders are will soon vote on their own deal. While Disney and Fox have agreed to a $52.4 billion deal, Comcast’s counter offer is expected to be somewhere in the $60 billion range.

"While no final decision has been made, at this point the work to finance the all-cash offer and make the key regulatory filings is well advanced," Comcast said of the looming deal.

The acquisition comes on the heels of Comcast's 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal, and its current $21 billion offer to acquire European pay TV giant Sky. Whether the deal moves forward largely depends on whether the government winds up approving AT&T's own $86 billion acquisition of Time Warner, a deal consistently criticized as being potentially harmful to consumers and smaller competitors alike.


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karpodiem
Hail to The Victors
Premium Member
join:2008-05-20
Troy, MI

7 recommendations

karpodiem

Premium Member

"It would also yield Comcast a monopoly over regional sports net"

This is what they're really after. This company knows only how to organize and conduct business in monopoly environments.