The Justice Department announced a new condition for The Walt Disney Company to complete its acquisition of certain aspects of Twenty-First Century Fox.
The federal government’s antitrust division requires that Disney divests from 22 Regional Sports Networks, according to a press release from the department.
The statement confirmed that Disney agreed to the settlement in order to streamline the acquisition.
The antitrust agency argued that without divestments, Disney would have too much control over sports broadcasting, which could result in price surges for consumers.
“American consumers have benefitted from head-to-head competition between Disney and Fox’s cable sports programming that ultimately has prevented cable television subscription prices from rising even higher,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s settlement will ensure that sports programming competition is preserved in the local markets where Disney and Fox compete for cable and satellite distribution.”
On June 20 Disney upped its offer for Fox assets to $71 billion after Comcast rivaled the bid with its own for approximately $66 billion. Comcast has not yet announced another bid or withdrawn from the dealings.
The potential merger could spell exciting plans for superhero plans.
Fox studios owns the right to key characters in the Marvel cannon such as the X-men and Deadpool, which raked in nearly $600 million as of June 3.
Disney, which owns the Marvel Cinematic Universe, could potentially cross franchises in future films, with superhero teams teaming up like they do in the original comics.
The acquisition would not involve the Fox television network, including Fox News Channel, though some shows will move in the deal.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.