Disney and Fox Are Merging. Why Is Sky Still in Play?

What began as a simple bid in late 2016 by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc. for the part of Sky Plc it doesn’t already own sparked a transcontinental bidding war when Walt Disney Co. and Comcast Corp. joined the chase for Sky, a British broadcaster. Fox soon found itself in a tug-of-war between rival bidders, Disney and Comcast. Disney won -- its shareholders have approved a $71 billion merger with Fox’s entertainment assets -- and while Comcast threw in the towel on Fox, it still covets Sky. In one of the more intriguing climaxes to a global media battle, Comcast is facing off against Disney/Fox in an auction for the European pay-TV company on Saturday. The Disney-Comcast-Fox-Sky drama is coming to a close, but few expect it to be the final act in a rapidly shifting media landscape.

Two entertainment giants, Disney and Comcast, had been fighting over Fox for one big reason: internet streaming. Movies, TV shows and other entertainment offered by Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Hulu have grown so popular that Americans are abandoning cable-TV subscriptions in droves, eating into media companies’ profits. Owning Fox will give Disney iconic entertainment assets -- from “The Simpsons” to the “X-Men” franchise -- that could make its own streaming TV services more compelling. Fox’s 30 percent stake in Hulu would also give Disney majority ownership over one of the few real Netflix competitors, since each already owns 30 percent of Hulu.