The Big Picture: Why Bob Iger Bought Fox: Disney's long, hard fight for 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets was driven by five considerations, Disney and Fox sources tell me:
• Scale: The future of media will be defined by "time spent" -- the amount of time people spend engaging with a media company's content -- and that requires a large portfolio of popular titles that keep people engaged hour after hour, day after day.
• Distribution: Disney needs to control distribution to compete with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook. The Fox acquisition gives it direct-to-consumer platforms in the US (Hulu), India (Hotstar) and possibly Europe (Sky).
• Executive Talent: Iger wanted to add talented execs who can improve Disney and are capable of replacing him at the helm. In Fox, he gets 21st Century Fox President Peter Rice, Fox Television chief Dana Walden and FX chief John Landgraf. (More below)
• Competition: Acquiring Fox hinders Comcast's efforts to quickly build out its content portfolio and become the biggest pay-TV provider in the world. Iger also dislikes Roberts and did not want to lose to him.
• Legacy: The Fox deal cements Iger's legacy as a bold leader who set Disney up for success by acquiring Pixar, Marvel, LucasFilm, BAMTech and Fox and did not cede the game to tech and telecom.
The Fox shareholder vote on Disney's offer is one week from today ... | | | PACIFIC
The Agenda Good morning. Fun fact: Bob Iger's acquisition timeline goes in the same chronological order as your kids' viewing interests: Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Fox. Now, when a ten-year-old who grew up on "Finding Nemo," "Captain America" and "The Last Jedi" graduates to "The Simpsons," he or she will still be living in the Disney universe. | | Sky Wars
Not done with Comcast
Bob Iger has two motivations for asking Rupert Murdoch to make yet another bid for Sky Broadcasting in Europe:
1. Iger still wants Sky:
• Sky has 23 million direct-to-consumer customers in Europe:
• If Sky was worth $32.5 billion to Iger and Murdoch, surely they can best Comcast's $34 billion offer.
2. Iger wants to get back at Roberts for driving up the price of Fox:
• Todd Klein, a mergers and acquisitions expert at Revolution Ventures, tells The Hollywood Reporter: "Disney might support Fox raising its offer just for the sport of doing to Brian Roberts what he did to Disney." | | Fox & Mouse
The new Disney TV
Bob Iger is planning to put 21st Century Fox President Peter Rice at the helm of the Disney/ABC Television Group, sources familiar with the matter tell me:
• Rice would lead of all of Disney's television assets, minus ESPN.
• Rice would become a potential successor to Iger, alongside Bob Chapek (parks and resorts) and Kevin Mayer (direct-to-consumer and international).
Dana Walden, the Fox Television Group chairman, is also in talks to take a top position on Disney's television side, possibly including ABC and Freeform, the sources said. FX chief John Landgraf will also join Disney.
What does that mean for Ben Sherwood?:
• The Disney/ABC TV President will relinquish his portfolio and transition to a new role, sources familiar with the matter said.
• Sherwood is likely to stay with Disney for a long time in a position of influence, they said.
• One source posited that Sherwood, who served for years as ABC News chief, could oversee a global news effort combining ABC News and Sky News.
The Big Picture: Disney bought Fox for scale and distribution, but also for talent. With one acquisition, he added three of the biggest names in Hollywood right now to Burbank's executive suite. | | Game Unchanged
What Disney does next
What will Disney do now that it has Fox? Same as always, only more so.
My colleague Brian Lowry writes that those seeking to understand Disney's strategy should "take a look around the colorful halls of Comic-Con," the festival for fantasy, sci-fi and comic book fans currently underway in San Diego:
• "Over the past dozen years, Disney has assiduously pursued a plan built on tapping into the most passionate fan bases, with multi-billion-dollar acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm."
• "Those deals provided the foundation for blockbuster movies, but also merchandising and theme-park tie-ins, feeding the company's coffers on a variety of fronts."
• "Disney is [now] positioned to add ... Fox's "Avatar" and other Marvel titles ... that the company had let slip away years ago.
The Big Picture: "Disney's guiding philosophy is ... that in a world overflowing with entertainment options, there's no substitute for possessing brands in which audiences feel personally invested." | | What Burbank Is Really Talking About How Manny Machado's move to the Dodgers gives L.A. another shot at the World Series. "Two months ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers were a wreck at 10 games under .500 and ravaged by injuries," NYT's Tyler Kepner writes. "On Friday, they will start the second half of the season in first place in the National League West, with the American League's starting All-Star shortstop on their roster." | | | Paramount Issue
Why Amy Powell was fired
Paramount Television President Amy Powell was fired this week for inappropriate comments she made in a meeting, studio chief Jim Gianopulos said Thursday.
The Details, via LAT's Ryan Faughnder:
• "In a memo obtained by The Times, Gianopulos told staff multiple people raised concerns about Powell's unspecified comments last week, sparking an internal investigation by the company."
• "It was not immediately clear what Powell said that led to her ouster, but a person familiar with the matter said she made racially charged remarks in a meeting attended by multiple people."
• "Powell has denied making the insensitive comments: 'There is no truth to the allegation that I made insensitive comments in a professional setting — or in any setting,' she said in a statement. 'The facts will come out and I will be vindicated.'" | | Bird's the Word
Scooters take Hollywood
Fun one from THR's Peter Kiefer: "The lightweight, matte-black electric scooters by Los Angeles-based startup Bird Rides Inc. ... are populating — or infesting, depending on your view — much of the city":
• "Outside the Sony lot in Culver City, and the Fox lot and CAA and ICM offices in Century City, scooters by Bird and rival company Lime litter the sidewalks, left by a growing contingent of mostly millennial employees opting to 'Bird' their way to work."
• "More and more [are] turning up in West Hollywood, the Miracle Mile and downtown L.A. as they migrate eastward from the year-old company's base in Santa Monica."
• "In theory, the scooters fulfill a number of progressive desires: They help reduce traffic, they're environmentally sound and they're inexpensive. ... [But] the lack of docking stations and overall consideration has annoyed drivers, pedestrians and homeowners."
Top Quote, via talent manager David Steinberg: "Giving a motorized scooter to a kid is a moronic thing to do. It's like giving somebody in West Virginia a gun." | | What Next: The Best Burgers in Los Angeles, according to top chefs and restaurateurs, via Bloomberg. Debate away.
See you Monday. | | | | | |
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