Disney concludes deal to acquire Fox for $71.3 billion

Disney has just concluded the deal to acquire for a jaw-dropping $71.3 billion, making it one of the largest acquisitions in the media and entertainment industry. Even though this mammoth deal was announced almost a year ago, it has taken all this time to get all of the required approvals from regulators. This marks the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one, with one of the big six American film studios (Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner bros., Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox) having acquired another.

Media consolidation at such staggering cost is clearly an attempt by Disney to gain a firm foothold in the rapidly emerging streaming market which is currently dominated by Netflix. There is no doubt that online streaming is the future of entertainment, as more and more people continue to switch over to a streaming service from the usual cable TV. Disney has already launched its ESPN+ streaming service and is set to launch Disney+ later this year and it will contain all the movies from Marvel Studios and the Star Wars universe, not to mention Disney’s entire library of movies.

Disney acquisition of Fox has now added lots of ammunition to its arsenal of titles to stream, with all the movies from 21st Century Fox, which is an impressive list containing some of the most critically acclaimed and awarded movies and TV shows.