Disney closes its $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox

The New York Times

The deal that become official this morning transforms Disney from a "mere behemoth" into an "entertainment colossus the size of which the world has never seen," says Brooks Barnes. Disney CEO said Bob Iger, in an internal memo to his staff, said today was "a historic day for our company.” As Barnes explains, "Disney now owns most of Rupert Murdoch’s former empire, including the 20th Century Fox movie and television studio, which includes the X-Men, Avatar and Simpsons franchises; Blue Sky, the Ice Age animation studio that is based in Connecticut; the National Geographic and FX cable networks; most of the streaming service Hulu; and Star, a fast-growing television-service provider in India." The Fox assets will put Disney in better position to compete with Apple and other tech giants making aggressive moves in Hollywood. "Disney is now trying to become less dependent on cable channels like ESPN, which are in slow, steady decline owing to cord-cutting," says Barnes. "Instead, Disney has decided to move into the rapidly growing realm of online video, a direct-to-consumer business defined by Netflix. Mr. Iger believes that the Fox assets will enhance that plan, which includes a streaming service called Disney+ later this year." ALSO: The Simpsons boss Al Jean welcomed Disney with a tweet of Homer Simpson choking Mickey Mouse.