So I’m sure many of you are losing your minds over the recent Disney-Fox Merger.
Trust me I have too. I’m still sitting here imaging how Deadpool is going to crossover into the PG-13 movies, when we’ll see the X-Men meet the Avengers, and even the fact we might finally have a good Fantastic Four movie!!
The thing is as much as the nerd in me is absolutely ecstatic, the intellectual in me is well aware that Disney is on it’s way to a monopoly. No, I’m not talking about the board game. For those of you who aren’t aware of the word outside of the board game, a monopoly is when a company pretty much buys up all the competition and they gain complete control over the supply or trade of it. Now while there are a few exceptions to the rules, for the most part, monopolies are illegal.
Well, it seems like us nerds aren’t the only ones watching the Disney-Fox merger closely. It looks like The Government is also keeping a close eye… and I don’t think they are watching to see if Deadpool will make an appearance in Infinity Wars. Some of the top Democrats on the Senate and House antitrust subcommittees are discussing the possibility of this merger breaking antitrust laws.
Just to give a quick history of Disney and it’s acquisitions to truly see how much control they have over the industry:
2006 Disney buys Pixar
2009 Disney enters 30 film deal with Dreamworks
2009 Disney buys Marvel
2012 Disney buys Lucasfilms
2017 Disney buys 21st Century Fox
As you can see here Disney now pretty cranks out a majority of the TV and Film we watch nowadays. I’m sure most of you are asking, “how is this a problem? I still get to see all the stuff I love and now it’ll be even higher in quality!”. Well, Representative David Cicilline (D-R.I.) was interviewed by Variety and he has a great answer to that question: “Disney’s proposed purchase of 21st Century Fox threatens to put control of TV, movie, and news content into the hands of a single media giant. If it’s approved, this merger could allow Disney to limit what consumers can watch and increase their cable bills. Disney will gain more than 300 channels, 22 regional sports networks, control over Hulu, and a significant portion of Roku.”.
We only see 5 studios on that list but the thing about each one of those companies is the own a ton of other smaller studios. When Disney acquired all 5 of those studios, they also acquired a bunch of others in the process. I’m sure you can see now how this is truly a problem. Without competition, Disney will eventually have control over what we watch and how much we pay to watch it… and let me tell you Disney knows how to make some Money.
I know I’m excited to see the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool in the MCU…
But is it worth the cost it might come at? A full takeover of the industry by Disney? I for one am all about options and I think competition in that industry is needed for it to thrive. With the bigger guy in control, the little guy is going to struggle to climb to top because Disney can easily just buy them out or shut them down.
How do you feel about the Disney-Fox Merger? Do you think the possible monopoly Disney has on the industry is illegal? Let us know in the comments below!
