Murdoch has sold off virtually all of his TV and movie interests to Disney for $52.4 BILLION. He has retained Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports, Fox Television Stations Group, and sports cable networks FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes and Big Ten Network. The sale includes Murdoch’s satellite TV businesses, Sky in Europe and Star in Asia. The move may well be a recognition by Murdoch that the regulators in the UK would refuse his attempts to buy 100% of Sky, an ambition he had long held.
Fox's plan to take full control of Sky, acquiring the 61% it does not currently own in a bid for greater scale, has run into trouble with UK regulators. Selling the firm's Sky stake to Disney distances the Murdoch family from the deal, which could make the takeover less politically fraught.
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The BBC identify four other factors that likely contributed to Rupert’s decision to agree the deal.
- Changes in the media market mean that it is more advantageous to have content that is difficult to stream or copy by non-subscribers. That accounts for his decision to retain in particular the live sports channels.
- The deal gives Fox shareholders, including the Murdochs, a 25% stake in Disney. Disney want the Fox catalog to bolster their suggested alternative to Netflix and Amazon’s streaming services. The move also reduces the Murdoch’s exposure if the venture fails.
- There is a suggestion that the various ambitions of the Murdoch’s spawn have led to internal dynamics which favor the deal.
- Finally, Disney made an offer he could not refuse.
Taking Murdoch’s company out of direct control of Sky News in the UK was a clever move. The phone tapping scandals at the News of the World newspaper and his appearances before parliamentary select committees cast considerable doubt on whether he is a “fit and proper person” to be given a licence to operate if he had the complete control he wanted. Combined with his newpaper interests in the UK, his media holdings could also fall foul of monopoly regulators both in the UK and at EU level.
Unlike Fox, Sky News is seen as a trustworthy news channels and has won several Royal Television Society awards for their coverage. One of the arguments against his complete takeover was that he would be tempted to “Foxify” Sky News.