Disney could end up owning Sky as part of its Fox deal
Disney could end up with "full ownership of Sky" as part of its deal to buy 21st Century Fox.
Earlier today (December 14) it was announced that the ever-expanding Disney had bought Rupert Murdoch's Fox in a deal worth $52.4 billion.
As well as acquiring Fox's film and TV studio and several other assets, the deal includes full ownership of Fox's 39% stake in pay TV giant Sky; which is where things get considerably more interesting for UK consumers.
In case you missed it: while Disney has been busy trying to buy Fox, Fox has been equally busy trying to buy Sky.
Indeed, Fox has actually made an multi-billion pound offer (roughly £18.5 billion) to Sky to increase its stake from 39% to the full 100%, thus owning the TV provider outright.
The offer is still on the table and currently being examined by the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK regarding its potential impact on the media industry.
And following the news of the Disney/Fox deal Disney has confirmed that Fox is "fully committed to completing" its Sky deal.
It also confirmed that, if its acquisition of Sky was successful, Disney would "assume full ownership" of Fox's 100% stake of the television provider.
In essence: Disney would have complete control of Sky.
Disney also noted today that Fox hopes to close its deal with Sky by June 30, 2018 - meaning the takeover could happen within the next six months.
"The Walt Disney Company would assume full ownership of Sky, including the assumption of its outstanding debt, upon closing," it said in the press release confirming the deal.
"21st Century Fox remains fully committed to completing the current Sky offer and anticipates that, subject to the necessary regulatory consents, the transaction will close by June 30, 2018."
And this could have all manner of consequences for UK TV viewers.
For one, Disney owning Fox AND Sky could potentially mean NOW TV eventually merging with DisneyLife, though the latter isn't due to arrive in the UK until 2019.
Sky and HBO have a deal which runs through to 2020 for shows like Game of Thrones and Westworld to run on Sky Atlantic - and NOW TV.
Whether or not that deal would be renewed should Fox complete its acquisition of Sky is open to speculation.
But, hey: at least we *probably* have that Avengers/X-Men/Fantastic Four crossover to look forward to now, right?
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