Wednesday, December 6, 2017

FOX Networks Group set to lose National Geographic channels if Disney and 21st Century Fox deal goes through.

Reporting from America is that The Walt Company and 21st Century Fox are in negotiations about the possible sale of several of 21st Century Fox's assets to Disney, including its movie studios, stake in the United Kingdom's Sky - but also some of its pay-TV channels like FX and National Geographic.

What it means is that if the deal goes through - with reports saying it could happen as soon as early next week - Fox's international business, the FOX Networks Group - will lose the National Geographic channels like National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD that will become the property of Disney.

The National Geographic Channels group is headed by Courteney Monroe, with Fox that currently owns most of the joint venture with the National Geographic Society.

21st Century Fox just want to keep the FOX channel, as well as its news and business channels, FOX News and FOX Business News, that generates the most revenue, as well as FOX Sports.

Besides the National Geographic channels, Disney would also get Fox's film and television production studios (including Blue Sky Studios, FX Productions and Fox Searchlight) and FX Networks.

Disney would also get Fox's 30% stake in the American streaming service Hulu (giving it majority control when this 30% is added to Disney's existing 30%).

In terms of film studios, Fox owns and produces film franchises like The X-Men, Deadpool and Fantastic Four, and co-produces and distributes film franchises like Ridley Scott’s Alien prequels, James Cameron’s Avatar and its sequels, Planet of the Apes, Kingsman and Maze Runner.

All of this will become Disney's.

Fox and the FOX Networks Group will keep its FOX channel (because 21st Century Fox doesn't and can't sell it - Disney already owns a broadcast TV network in the form of ABC and can't own another, and FOX is too lucrative for Fox to sell.)

Yet, if the deal goes through, Disney will become the new owner of a lot of the shows that is on FOX because it will own the studio company (20th Century Fox Television) that produces, co-produces or distributes many of the TV shows and series made for FOX.

This include shows seen on FOX in South Africa and in Africa on MultiChoice's DStv and StarSat like EmpireThe Simpsons, Legion, American Horror Story, American Crime StoryBob’s Burgers and The Exorcistas well as some shows that appear on other channels like This Is Us and Modern Family on M-Net (DStv 101).

There's also shows like The Gifted and The Orville from Fox that's not been picked up and shown yet on South African television.

Then Fox will also offload its share to Disney in things like its stake in India's Star group, a 50% stake in the global production company Endemol Shine Group, and its interest in the Sky pay-TV service in the United Kingdom.