Comcast and Disney are on the verge of a head-to-head bidding war for Fox’s entertainment properties.
The potential battle for Twenty-First Century Fox comes as traditional entertainment companies try to amass more properties to compete better with technology companies such as Amazon and Netflix for viewers’ attention – and dollars.
FILE – This March 29, 2017, file photo shows a sign outside the Comcast Center in Philadelphia. Comcast says it’s considering making an offer to buy Twenty-First Century Fox, which would put it in a head-to-head bidding fight with Disney. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)Comcast said Wednesday that it’s in the “advanced stages” of making an offer. The company did not provide details, other than to say that its all-cash offer would have a higher value than Disney’s current, $52.4 billion, all-stock offer. The Wall Street Journal and others reported earlier that Comcast had lined up $60 billion in cash to challenge Disney for media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s company.
Larry Downes, project director at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy, said Comcast’s interest highlights the fact that content is becoming more important as ways to deliver content proliferate. Cable companies like Comcast are no longer competing only with satellite alternatives such as DirecTV, but also stand-alone services such as Netflix and cable-like online bundles through Sony, AT&T and others.
“Those categories mean less and less all the time – who is a distributor and who is a creator,” he said. “Content is king, the most important thing. Distribution can happen over a variety of mechanisms.”