I wonder what impact this will have on the next round of college football rights bidding.
DISNEY HAS AGREED TO SELL OFF 21ST CENTURY FOX'S 22 REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS TO SECURE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT APPROVAL OF ITS ACQUISITION OF MAJOR 21ST CENTURY FOX ASSETS.
The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a complaint in federal court seeking to block Disney from acquiring 22 regional sports networks but announced a settlement agreement with Disney that calls for the divestitures. Anti-trust chief Makan Delrahim and other DOJ officials argued that Disney's ownership of the national sports powerhouse ESPN created anti-competitive conflicts if it were to also acquire Fox's regional channels, which serve some 61 million subscribers around the country.
"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 Delrahim, assistant attorney general and head 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."
In its complaint, the DOJ asserted: "Disney's proposed acquisition of Fox's assets would combine two of the country's most valuable cable sports properties-Disney's ESPN franchise of networks and Fox's portfolio of Regional Sports Networks ("RSNs")-and thereby likely substantially lessen competition in the multiple Designated Market Areas ("DMAs") throughout the United States in which these two firms compete."
If Fox's RSNs are the Justice Department's major concern about the Disney-Fox transaction, an divestiture agreement could clear the way for swift approval of the larger transaction. That approval would put Disney in a more advantageous position than Comcast, which is also vying for key Fox assets. Disney last week raised its offer for Fox to $71.3 billion in cash and stock, topping Comcast's latest all-cash offer of $65 billion, fielded on June 13.
Reps for Disney, Fox and Comcast could not immediately be reached for comment.
DISNEY HAS AGREED TO SELL OFF 21ST CENTURY FOX'S 22 REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS TO SECURE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT APPROVAL OF ITS ACQUISITION OF MAJOR 21ST CENTURY FOX ASSETS.
The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a complaint in federal court seeking to block Disney from acquiring 22 regional sports networks but announced a settlement agreement with Disney that calls for the divestitures. Anti-trust chief Makan Delrahim and other DOJ officials argued that Disney's ownership of the national sports powerhouse ESPN created anti-competitive conflicts if it were to also acquire Fox's regional channels, which serve some 61 million subscribers around the country.
"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 Delrahim, assistant attorney general and head 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."
In its complaint, the DOJ asserted: "Disney's proposed acquisition of Fox's assets would combine two of the country's most valuable cable sports properties-Disney's ESPN franchise of networks and Fox's portfolio of Regional Sports Networks ("RSNs")-and thereby likely substantially lessen competition in the multiple Designated Market Areas ("DMAs") throughout the United States in which these two firms compete."
If Fox's RSNs are the Justice Department's major concern about the Disney-Fox transaction, an divestiture agreement could clear the way for swift approval of the larger transaction. That approval would put Disney in a more advantageous position than Comcast, which is also vying for key Fox assets. Disney last week raised its offer for Fox to $71.3 billion in cash and stock, topping Comcast's latest all-cash offer of $65 billion, fielded on June 13.
Reps for Disney, Fox and Comcast could not immediately be reached for comment.
