Latest in Disney-Fox Deal

Disney has shifted streaming programming from Hotstar U.S. to ESPN+ and Hulu, notably Indian Premier League cricket matches, Bollywood film and TV titles and Hotstar specials. As part of the programming realignment, existing streaming service Hotstar U.S. will disappear, likely by late-2022, the company said. The…

Fox Corp. has informed its employees that the earliest date they will be returning to the office will be September 7, right after Labor Day. The previous forecast issued last fall was for a return no earlier than April. While coronavirus infection and vaccination rates are moving in positive directions, conditions…

A veteran media analyst has resumed his coverage of Fox Corp., assigning a “market perform” (neutral) rating to its shares due to what he calls “secular challenges.” Doug Creutz of Cowen & Co. had long covered 21st Century Fox, the entity that existed before the $71.3 billion sale of most of its assets to Disney. Fox…

Fox Corp. has bought three TV stations from Nexstar, the top U.S. owner of local stations, in a $350 million transactions that will give the company a position in 14 of the top DMAs. Under the deal, Fox has also agreed to sell Nexstar two stations in Charlotte, NC: Fox affiliate WJZY and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYT…

Asked in a BBC radio interview about whether Disney has pumped out too many Marvel and Star Wars films over too short a timespan, CEO Bob Iger reaffirmed plans for a Star Wars slowdown. While Marvel is “doing sensationally well,” the Star Wars pipeline is getting a closer look, Iger said during a wide-ranging…

Veteran Wall Street media analyst Michael Nathanson got straight to the point in his latest note to clients of his firm, MoffettNathanson. “Fox's early life as a new company has been nothing short of disappointing,” he wrote in the note, which is titled “Please Turn the Page.” Cord-cutting and the associated softening…

Chris Ripley, CEO of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, offered some of his most extensive public comments Thursday about the Disney-run auction of the former Fox regional sports networks. He described it as a “very difficult” process that resulted in a final price tag that “way underachieved expectations” — happily for…

The sale of the YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, to a consortium including the Amazon, the Yankees and Sinclair Broadcast Group, was finalized Thursday. At $3.47 billion, the transaction is the largest piece of turf in the larger landscape of the formerly…

Fox Corp. beat Wall Street estimates in its first full quarter as a stand-alone company, with affiliate revenue and digital licensing powering the performance. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 62 cents, which was 3 cents greater than Wall Street analysts’ consensus but 7% lower than the 67 cents reported in the…

UPDATED with more executive commentary. Disney reported third-quarter results significantly short of Wall Street analysts’ estimates on Tuesday, sending shares in the media giant sharply lower in after-hours trading. Earnings per share came in at $1.35, which was below the $1.74 expected by the Street. Total revenue…

Several dozen staffers have been let go at Disney’s film and visual effects units, including the Fox studio being absorbed into the company. About 250 workers have been let go to date, a studio source tells Deadline. Those exiting Fox include John Kilkenny, who headed visual effects; Fred Baron, EVP of feature…

Disney is combining its media sales and channel distribution into a single group to be led by longtime ESPN veteran Justin Connolly, who has been given the new title of President of Media Distribution. Based in New York, Connolly will report to Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney's Direct-to-Consumer and International…