A federal judge on Tuesday approved the blockbuster merger between AT&T and Time Warner, rebuffing the government’s effort to stop the $85.4 billion deal, in a decision that is expected to unleash a wave of corporate takeovers.
And nobodies wasting any time folks!
Comcast, the giant cable operator today formally announced a $65 billion bid for large parts of 21st Century Fox, putting it into direct competition with Disney, which already has a $52 billion deal for Fox's entertainment assets.
"The media landscape is changing very rapidly," Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal, said on a call with analysts after Comcast announced the bid. "It's difficult to predict the future, but one thing we know today for certain is there is more video being consumed across more platforms than ever before. We think that's likely to be the case for many years to come. Adding Fox assets will allow us to better compete by enhancing our already strong portfolio and building important scale."
The Comcast offer sets up a battle with Disney, which has plans to create a streaming media service to rival Netflix and wants Fox TV shows and movies to lure subscribers. Fox shareholders and media watchers will now wait for Disney to either increase its offer, walk away, or negotiate a split of the assets with Comcast. (Comcast has a separate offer on the table to acquire satellite broadcaster, Sky.)
Whichever company wins the Fox assets will gain majority control of Hulu, which is the third-biggest player in the growing subscription streaming market behind Netflix and Amazon. Right now, Disney and Comcast each own 30 percent of Hulu. Either company could, however, offer to sell their stake in Hulu as part of the deal.
AND WHAT'S THE END RESULT OF ALL THESE MERGERS, YOU ASK?
Eventually it will be one giant media company that takes the place of government and controls everything, every-where, every-how and every-when.
I believe this has been referred to as "BIG BROTHER!"
The way I see it anyway!
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