21st Century Fox president Peter Rice has moved to clarify elements of the planned Fox / Disney merger, and the timetable it is likely to follow at a Town Hall meeting of staff this week.
While there had been some optimistic early estimates that the deal, announced last December, could go through regulatory approval faster, Rice told Fox employees that the transaction will most likely be completed by spring-summer 2019 and end of summer 2019 at the latest. That would fall within the conservative 18-month initial projection (The original expectations were that the deal would close in 12-18 months).
The remaining Fox assets, including Fox Broadcasting Company, national sports cable networks FS1 and FS2, Fox News Channel and the Fox stations, will form a new company, previously referred to by Rupert Murdoch as New Fox. Today Rice jokingly called the slimmed-down post-merger group “Diet Fox” in response to a comparison an attendee made between New Fox and New Coke. He noted that the new company will likely be called Fox. Rice expects that management changes at Fox would be announced first — over the next 12 months — because that company has to be up and running on the day the Disney transaction comes through.
The post-deal Fox will remain based in West LA and Disney will be leasing offices on the Fox lot for the next 7 years. For those moving to Disney, the transition should be seamless, while for those staying, it will be an “exciting time” as the new Fox would be a focused, nimble and well capitalized company set up for the future, Rice said.
The merger has major ramifications for the Star Wars franchise around the world in terms of broadcast partners, networks, and the future streaming service.
