Chapter 939 Carve up Fox?

From the perspective of Disney, the main motivation for this acquisition is estimated to be to combine content and traffic, so as to counter the impact of streaming media such as Netflix.

Since entering the Internet age, the hegemony of the traditional American entertainment industry is being gradually disintegrated, and mobile video websites have gradually become the mainstream in the market.

In the field of streaming media, there is a "Big Mac" like Disney, that is, Netflix (Netflix). Disney's disadvantage is that the platform content resources are not rich enough.

Although Disney signed a cooperation agreement with Netflix, and the two parties have cooperated happily for many years, as long as the agreement is limited, their cooperative relationship will always end one day. After that, Disney will either establish its own streaming video platform, or He continued to look for cooperation with video sites. Obviously, with Disney's style, he was unwilling to hand over the initiative to others.

But in any case, if you want to get a piece of this digital battle, it is obvious that you cannot win alone.

As one of the oldest film studios in the United States, Fox's high-quality IP and huge number of consumers just meet Disney's needs, especially some of Marvel's classic characters. One step closer, think about it, adding Wolverine, X-Men, Deadpool, Fantastic Four and other characters to "Avengers" is undoubtedly an important factor that can stimulate the box office.

Of course, in addition to Fox’s IP resources, what Disney is most interested in is Fox’s video website traffic. Hulu video is backed by the supply of genuine film and television dramas from NBC Universal, Fox and ABC, and has more than 14 million in the United States. Paying users, this is undoubtedly the icing on the cake for Disney, which wants to build a streaming media service. If the acquisition is successful and Hulu video is included, Disney's entertainment empire will grow further.

As for Murdoch and his News Corporation, it seems that they have lost a pillar, but is it not a typical case of selling high and buying low? As early as a few years ago, when Murdoch separated News Corporation and Fox, he was probably planning to do this, and it was only today that the news was officially released.

However, compared to Disney's ambitions, Murdoch chose to personally dismantle the film and television drama company that had been working hard for half a century at this time. This courage is enough to make Yang Cheng admire.

In the past, Murdoch divided his business into two parts, the news industry and the entertainment industry. If the news industry made Murdoch famous, then entering the American entertainment industry really made him rich and famous. The media tycoon of the moment, now he has cut off an arm when he is not in a life-and-death crisis, does he believe that he has the ability to regenerate a broken arm?

But Yang Cheng believes that if the merger really happens, it seems that Murdoch will "hand over" the film and television industry, but in fact it is a harbinger of Murdoch's further big moves.

In recent years, affected by the decline of traditional media, the Fox Group’s advertising revenue has been shrinking year by year, and the box office of summer movies has hit a record low year after year. In the future market competition, Fox, which has a single business, is destined to build countless Disney's rival with a moat.

Rather than being beaten to death and having no power to fight back, it is better to survive with a broken arm. When Fox's market value reaches its highest point in history, sell most of its assets in exchange for cash and Disney shares that have become more valuable, so as to ensure that assets do not shrink. At the same time, there is still room to develop new businesses.

Of course, there may be important conflicts within the Murdoch family. This may be a power transfer. Even outsiders know that there are many differences between the youngest son James Murdoch, who is in charge of the Fox entertainment section, and his father. Murdoch It is believed that James failed to properly manage the Fox Group, which led to the continuous shrinking of the profitability of the entertainment business, and his status was constantly challenged and came from behind.

This Yang Orange also has a lot to do with it. Without the involvement of New Era Films, the Fox Group could continue to thrive for a few more years, but because of the strong entry of New Era Films, it was supported by Yang Cheng. The devil, Donna Round, by virtue of a large amount of funds and publicity advantages, set off a bloodbath in Hollywood, not only snatched the film distribution rights that originally belonged to Fox several times, but also achieved great success, causing fatal damage to Fox.

As for Lachlan, the eldest son who is in charge of News Corporation, I am afraid that Murdoch has tacitly regarded him as the heir to the empire. He sold the assets in charge of the younger son, gave some money away, and left the core assets to the eldest son. In order to complete the inheritance of the family business in a short period of time, Lao Mo played a very beautiful hand.

However, the above is just Yang Cheng's analysis in a very short period of time, and no one knows whether it will develop as he predicted.

On the other end of the phone, Riz Khan is still looking forward to it. If he can personally manage a century-old merger and acquisition of more than 50 billion US dollars, he should have no regrets in this life. No one wants to miss this opportunity, even if he is an Indian CEO who is recognized by the outside world as a low-key and indifferent CEO.

But Yang Cheng has too much to consider. First of all, the acquisition is impossible. Let alone New Times Media, even if Yuanshan Group is tied up, it will not be able to come up with tens of billions of dollars in cash flow at once. It doesn't work if you take it out. Yuanshan and New Times Media, which have been emptied, will undoubtedly be targets in the eyes of opponents, or fixed targets.

Then we can only take the road of mergers and acquisitions. In the case of mergers and acquisitions, the volume of New Era Media is not large enough. Counting the premium part of the competition with Disney and Comcast, the market value of Fox may reach 70 billion U.S. dollars. Now New Era Media How much is the market value of the media? It's only one-third of Fox's full budget. Who will acquire whom?

Even if the merger is successful, New Era Media will change, and the surname will no longer be Yang but Murdoch.

But the cake of the Fox Group is too tempting. Whoever eats it will become one of the giants affecting the global entertainment industry in one fell swoop. If it is swallowed by Disney, it will completely establish its dominance. No one can challenge Disney. authority, unless the remaining few major companies are merged together.

No, absolutely can't let this happen. Yang Cheng is still thinking about creating a storm in Hollywood. If the ship encounters an aircraft carrier before it goes out to sea, what's the point of playing?

Thinking of this, his eyes suddenly became sharper, and he said to the phone, "Contact Universal, Time Warner, and Columbia. We have divided up Fox together. No matter what, we must not let Disney monopolize it."

Although this is different from the order Ryze expected, it is a good start, isn't it? Ruiz also knows that it is impossible for New Era Media to swallow Fox, but dreams can still be dreamed.

Ruiz said, "Boss, let me know first, which part of Fox's business do you like?

After Mr. Murdoch split up his business a few years ago, he established a new 21st Century Fox Group. The new company mainly has two main businesses: film and television.

Specifically, 21st Century Fox Corporation owns Fox Entertainment Group, a company that owns multiple assets including 20th Century Fox Film Company and Fox Television Network;

STAR, a pan-Asian premium channel operator;

As well as Sky Italia, Sky Germany and Sky British Broadcasting Corporation, they own 39.14% of Sky Italia and Sky British Broadcasting Corporation, and also own 54.5% of Sky Deutschland.

As for the asset portfolio of the TV broadcasting network business, it includes 28 TV stations in the United States, including Fox, Fox Sports, Fox News, and National Geographic Channel. "

As soon as the words fell, Yang Cheng couldn't help joking, "It seems that you are well prepared?"

Ruiz smiled sheepishly, "This is my duty."

Yang Cheng hummed, frowned and thought about it, "To be honest, I don't value the resources of the film part, and I'm afraid we can't compete with Disney, which we are determined to win, but the TV part of the assets can be worked hard.

Sky Sports, Star TV, National Geographic Channel, and Fox Sports will be the targets we focus on. If we can take down these four, CW TV will stand firm on the foothold of the four major TV stations. Of course, FOX Channel will be used as an alternative. It would be better if it can be won, but it doesn't matter if it can't. I guess Universal NBC will place a lot of emphasis on FOX channel. "

Ruiz knew it well, "I'll go talk to those companies right now, I need Ms. Donna Round's cooperation on this matter."

Yang Cheng nodded in agreement, "Of course, I will notify her."

Hanging up the phone, Yang Cheng felt that it was necessary to return to the United States. Disney acquired Fox, and Robert Iger was 100% behind the scenes. The contract had to be extended, and now that he was in his 60s and heading towards 70, it was time to fulfill his dream of running for president, but in the end, there was such a big mess, and Yang Cheng had to admire his skill in doing things.

Of course, Iger's retirement time has been postponed repeatedly and his term of office has been extended many times. This is also related to his repeated success, which has caused no one to take over from Disney.

After all, for an entertainment empire with a market value of hundreds of billions, choosing a successor is a very complicated matter. Generally speaking, there is a long transition period of at least 5-10 years. One is to give the successor time to adapt; It is used for the inspection of the board of directors. After all, Disney is no longer a family business. The major shareholders who have joined the board of directors are the real masters of this huge empire.

However, controlling the power of a company for a long time may have a destructive effect. The monopoly of power will not only make the controller become confident and even conceited, but also cause unpredictable losses, such as a change of dynasty!