Bob Iger is on Apple's board of directors which may have an effect on Apple's future steaming partnerships.
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Disney Outbids Comcast for Fox's Assets With $71.3 Billion Cash and Stock Deal
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Bob Iger is on Apple's board of directors which may have an effect on Apple's future steaming partnerships.
Disney needs to find money to pay their CEO half a billion dollars for four years of work. So they need some financial trickery to make it seem justified. Meanwhile they fired all their American IT workers.
If you are worried about Disney being too strong don’t. They’ll likely start falling apart in a few years. The kind of things corporations do in times like these is make choices that have a short term benefit for a very high long term cost. It all seems great until it suddenly isn’t.
Apple's (or any company's) cash isn't actual cash, for the most part. It's largely held in marketable securities, which return a certain non-trivial percentage. Bean counters for biggest company in the world know better than to let cash sit idle.
Also, there's no evidence to say $71.3B would be worth it to a company like Apple. Disney can get much more out of Fox's assets than Apple, and so they are willing to pay the big bucks.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
"Marketable securities" can pay for such an acquisition like cash. It happens all the time.
Apple is strongly rumored to be getting into the production company business. What Disney can do with Fox's assets, Apple could theoretically do too. Disney may be able to do it faster with long-long-long term expertise in this space but Apple could "buy" expertise (would actually get it as part of such an acquisition) if Apple wanted to push the accelerator.
Apple is strongly rumored to be getting into the production company business. What Disney can do with Fox's assets, Apple could theoretically do too. Disney may be able to do it faster with long-long-long term expertise in this space but Apple could "buy" expertise (would actually get it as part of such an acquisition) if Apple wanted to push the accelerator.
For the record, I was saying a few years ago that Apple should have bought out Disney if they wanted to get into the content production and distribution business. Still isn't the worst idea in the world, but it will be a lot more expensive now than it was then.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I agree. In the now many years since stronger rumors of an Apple subscription service hatched, there has been many opportunities for Apple to use its huge cash to buy whole libraries of desirable content and/or desirable programming exclusives. But Apple doesn't even bid for such stuff.
Instead, Apple seems to be plotting that original, apparently white-washed programming exclusively created by Apple can compete with giants owning upwards of hundred year libraries of content (time warner, fox, disney, universal) that also continue to create original. already-desirable content.
In my head, Apple should be a major player here. It shouldn't have let TimeWarner go to AT&T so easily. It shouldn't let Fox go to Disney or Comcast so easily. Etc. I have doubts that rumored original content will be good enough to complete with a DisneyFoxFlix or ComcastFoxFlix and AT&TimeWarnerFlix streaming service, especially when the owners of the hoards of desirable content may decide to start keeping more and more of the content they own for their own streaming service offerings (just like Apple will very likely do with their owned content).
It's not hard to think this through. If you are Disney or Comcast what do you do with all of your existing content plus this acquired content? I know what I would do. Bundle it up, make desirable parts of it exclusive and basically out-Netflix Netflix. Conceptually, Apple Productions is then just a bit player that might have a single hit show or two for consumers to consider vs. my mountains of hit shows and movies I could offer them. I can't be forced to keep selling/renting my content through Netflix or iTunes, etc. just as I can't force an Apple to sell/rent their original content through my subscription service... which makes me wonder again: why is Apple NOT a player here?
Instead, Apple seems to be plotting that original, apparently white-washed programming exclusively created by Apple can compete with giants owning upwards of hundred year libraries of content (time warner, fox, disney, universal) that also continue to create original. already-desirable content.
In my head, Apple should be a major player here. It shouldn't have let TimeWarner go to AT&T so easily. It shouldn't let Fox go to Disney or Comcast so easily. Etc. I have doubts that rumored original content will be good enough to complete with a DisneyFoxFlix or ComcastFoxFlix and AT&TimeWarnerFlix streaming service, especially when the owners of the hoards of desirable content may decide to start keeping more and more of the content they own for their own streaming service offerings (just like Apple will very likely do with their owned content).
It's not hard to think this through. If you are Disney or Comcast what do you do with all of your existing content plus this acquired content? I know what I would do. Bundle it up, make desirable parts of it exclusive and basically out-Netflix Netflix. Conceptually, Apple Productions is then just a bit player that might have a single hit show or two for consumers to consider vs. my mountains of hit shows and movies I could offer them. I can't be forced to keep selling/renting my content through Netflix or iTunes, etc. just as I can't force an Apple to sell/rent their original content through my subscription service... which makes me wonder again: why is Apple NOT a player here?
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Yeah X-men need to be a part of MCU if only for a take on Marvel’s always epic A vs X stories.
As for FF.... they really don’t need to do anything gimmicky as time travel. As the MCU tv has shown us.... the MCU is bigger than just the Avengers. Reed Richards could’ve been working on his theory of cosmic power for sometime now. And has finally been able to solve the equation (or so he believes) decides to prove it by private space exploration.
Just say they were always there, just not as the FF. just like they did with Antman Spiderman Luke Cage...and other heroes.
I am all about this as long as we don't lose 4K support for FOX movies after this on the Apple TV LOL.
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You do know Bob Iger sits on the Apple Board of Directors right? I am sure this plays into it.
In addition Tim Cook sits on the Board of Directors for Nike. Why did the Apple Watch have an exclusive deal with Nike? Hmmm I wonder lol.
But one thing bothers me. If Bob Iger is on the Apple board and there is a cordial relationship between the tqo companies why in the world can we not get 4K Disney movies on Apple TV? Sounds like the relationship is a little one sided.
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A 4K remaster that you will never be able to watch on your Apple TV lol
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You do know Bob Iger sits on the Apple Board of Directors right? I am sure this plays into it.
In addition Tim Cook sits on the Board of Directors for Nike. Why did the Apple Watch have an exclusive deal with Nike? Hmmm I wonder lol.
But one thing bothers me. If Bob Iger is on the Apple board and there is a cordial relationship between the tqo companies why in the world can we not get 4K Disney movies on Apple TV? Sounds like the relationship is a little one sided.
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A 4K remaster that you will never be able to watch on your Apple TV lol
Honestly thank God. At least Disney produces content so it makes sense. Where Comcast is more of a media conglomerate.
ALSO, as a comic book fan, let's get this going with xmen and FF. Let's get cyclops back in charge and let's have avengers 4 end with Richards purchasing the Baxter building and Jen Walters as his lawyer. Disney pls.
ALSO, as a comic book fan, let's get this going with xmen and FF. Let's get cyclops back in charge and let's have avengers 4 end with Richards purchasing the Baxter building and Jen Walters as his lawyer. Disney pls.
That’s funny because other members on this forum have complained that Apple is an SJW company that only panders to minorities.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Doubtful. Board members are not the boss. They just have a say as counsel for the boss. If Apple wanted to do it and Iger really, really did NOT want them to do it, they could just boot Iger off the board if necessary (and it would not be necessary).
And look at it the other way. With Iger on the board, he probably has a pretty good sense of where Apple is going with this original content, rumored streaming service. Maybe he can see Apple's aspirations as a threat to Disney in the long term. Perhaps that's even part of the motivation in Disney trying to make this acquisition (besides getting the rest of Star Wars, almost all of the rest of Marvel, a boat load of other franchises, movie & tv content, etc... all the while also eliminating a key competitor.
And as you say...
...if Iger can't play friendly with Apple, why should Apple NOT be interested in acquiring Fox here? If it was "favors" to a board member, those favors should definitely go both ways.
Based on the past disinterest in owning content libraries (and bits & pieces leaked from content negotiations with Apple), my guess is that Apple values content about like many of us consumers value it... expecting to somehow get up to all of it for next to nothing. Else, Apple would have been in the bidding for the huge library and original content, etc that just was acquired by AT&T, they would have at least bid for the semi-popular Thursday Night Football, they WOULD HAVE aggressively bid for NFL Sunday Ticket and they'd be a third bidder for Fox here.
Imagine a new AppleTimeWarnerFoxFlix service, exclusively available on
TV, iDevices and Macs... possibly with NFL Sunday Ticket too. Would that make TV much more popular? iOS and macOS ecosystems?Instead, let the likes of AT&T, Comcast, Disney etc gobble it all up and then hope they'll sell/rent it all through the Apple store at a favorable rate. Already one wonders where the 4K Disney content is via iTunes. If Disney acquires Fox, do we really think 4K Fox content will be served through iTunes?
It's not hard to see where this goes if Apple doesn't get in this game. And I don't think a handful of original "squeaky clean" programs created from scratch gets them much in the game relative to monsters scooping up libraries of content built up over 100+ years.
Google's Eric Schmidt was in Apple's Board of Directors, let's say it didn't turn out exactly well...
It does if you consume content on Apple TV and want to know what yet another Netflix sized power player means for how you use it.
Honestly, Fox should accept Disney's deal, as Comcast is pure evil and will stab them in the back the second they get the chance.
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There is probably more truth to this than you know, remember Disney is planning on establishing its own streaming service that will have access to most Disney Movies and TV Shows, imagine if they can add all of Fox's catalog to the mix, they would be a must have subscription service at that point.
Uhh... We're talking about Disney vs Comcast. As far as I'm concerned, Comcast can suck it. I hope this bidding war bankrupts them!
If Disney gets Fox, the Last Man Standing will be cancelled again......
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Fox News is not part of the deal, nor the Wall Street Journal.
The movie/tv industry is a convoluted mess of rights per region. Apple is out of it element in that market. Buying a content company like TWC still doesn’t allow them to have exclusive rights to content. There are already many agreements in place for rebroadcasting and even first rights to broadcast.
Apple went the route of original content specifically to avoid this mess. Disney, ATT, Hulu etc are all better equipped to handle buying content companies.
My hope (and it rally is just a hope) is that the T-Mo/Sprint merger will give the combined company th critical mass it needs for a robust 5G rollout. This will force a race between AT&T, Verizon and T-Mo/Sprint to see who can deploy 5G fastest and farthest.
5G has the potential to make Comcast and other cable providers irrelevant.
Perhaps my hope is what Comcast fears which is why they want to get into the content creation so bad.
Apple is developing a movie/TV service with a large number of products produced by Apple. So Disney and Fox are competitors. And as much as cellphone plans are of interest to iPhone (as well as cellular iPad and Apple Watch) users, so is fixed internet service (and thus what Comcast does).
Disney already owns ABC, ESPN, LucasFilm, and Marvel Entertainment.
I see regulatory issues with this.
Combining Fox TV (not the news assets) and ABC under a single owner will be a tough sell.
I see regulatory issues with this.
Combining Fox TV (not the news assets) and ABC under a single owner will be a tough sell.