Narrated by Natalie Gadeikis, Staff Writer
Written by Darrel Washington, Staff Writer
We all grew up watching Disney movies and shows, The Little Mermaid, Hannah Montana, and much more. We memorized the songs. We memorized the stories.
As we grew, Disney did as well, expanding its empire by creating a streaming service, expanding its parks, adding another channel to television, and purchasing more companies and franchises.
Back in December of 2017, Disney announced it would expand yet again by acquiring rights to most of The Fox Entertainment Group, and merging the two companies at the cost of $52 billion. After Comcast made a higher bid, Disney raised its offer to $71 billion. The merger deal closed Wednesday, March 20th, giving Disney ownership of many of Fox’s assets. Once the companies are merged, Disney will hold rights to 20th Century Fox, Fox’s sports networks, Hulu, and more.
What does this merger mean for Fox’s shows and movies, such as American Horror Story and Deadpool? Well, not too much. Fox’s content that is already less family friendly will remain that way. Family Guy creator and star, Seth MacFarlane, conversed with Disney chief, Bob Iger, and was told that the less child-friendly content will not have to change. While much of the content will stay the same, Marvel will finally have the ability to add much more to its expanding movie universe.
After facing bankruptcy in the early ‘90s, Marvel sold the rights to characters such as the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and much more to Fox. Now that Disney, which owns Marvel, is buying Fox’s movie studio, it’s just a matter of time until we will get to see the Avengers fighting alongside the X-Men or Deadpool going on adventures with one of his best friends, Spiderman.
With this new company purchase, Disney and Fox fans will see changes. Fox/Disney related media will start to merge, new areas in Disney Parks could be added (such as the new Pandora – The World of Avatar themed area in Disney World), and more. Because it is unclear what will happen with the Fox related properties at other parks but it is unlikely that any Fox properties will be added to Universal Studios instead of Disney World.
On top of buying out entire companies, Disney has two water parks, six resorts, and 12 theme parks across the world. One of these parks includes the largest resort and one of the largest tourist attractions in the world, Disney World. The resort is currently as large as 40 square miles, which is almost the size of San Francisco. In fact, Disney World is not just a giant resort the size of a city. It is a city. It has its own power plant, fire department, and even its own government.
Once all of this is taken into account, it’s no wonder why Disney is not just a large company, but one of the six companies that owns all media. The company will likely grow larger and larger in the years to come, producing more movies, toys, games, buying companies, and more. Disney has solidified its place in history as one of the largest and well known media companies.