Tuesday night, FX debuts its newest drama, “Mayans M.C.,” a spinoff of Kurt Sutter’s hard-edged biker drama “Sons of Anarchy.” While “Mayans” should fit snugly alongside fellow FX series like “Fargo,” “American Horror Story” and “Legion,” the network is about to become part of Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets.
The merger, which should close early next year, will put FX under the same corporate umbrella as Disney’s family-friendly fare like “Aladdin” and “Toy Story.” “You can’t put the FX and the Disney brands together,” John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions, told TheWrap during the Television Critics Association press tour this summer. “Disney’s the best family brand on the planet, but FX is not a family brand.”
FX is part of a deal that also includes the Fox film and TV studios, U.S. cable network NatGeo, international properties including Sky PLC and Star India as well as Fox’s one-third stake in the streaming service Hulu. Disney is already a content behemoth with Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar in its stable. And each of those properties have one thing in common: They fit inside Disney’s brand of being family-friendly.
This is one of the more interesting wrinkles of Disney’s upcoming acquisition of Fox: How will the company integrate such a large swath of intellectual property, some of which falls outside of its well-curated brand? “Mayans M.C.,” for example, centers on a new recruit to the Mayans biker gang, and as anyone who is familiar with Sutter’s work on “Sons of Anarchy” can attest, these probably aren’t the shows you want to watch with Grandma.
Disney is not the only media giant to have its toes in many different smaller brands. Comcast owns NBCUniversal and film studio Universal; AT&T, already owners of DirecTV, just purchased Time Warner for $85 billion. But Disney, more than any other major media company, has taken great pains to craft a specific image of itself.
“I think they just have to make that switch into Disney the Company vs Disney the Brand, and hope that consumers can figure that out,” said Alan Wolk, co-founder and lead analyst at media consulting firm TV[R]EV. But he adds that the average viewer may not even be aware of the corporate strings that are being pulled behind the curtain: “I don’t know how many people realize that Disney owns ABC and ESPN and a bunch of other networks.”
TheWrap has reached out to a Disney spokesperson for comment on this story. During an August earnings call, Disney chairman Bob Iger said, “We have always believed we have the brands and content to be extremely competitive and to thrive alongside Netflix, Amazon and anyone else in the market, and adding the Fox brands and creative assets such as Searchlight, FX and National Geographic to Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and ABC will make our DTC products even more compelling for consumers,” Iger said at the time.
For Landgraf, the fact that Disney and FX appear so diametrically opposed to each other is a good thing: each covers a blind spot the other has. “It’s kind of thrilling for us, to be honest, to be contemplating the thought of becoming a part of a company that doesn’t do what we do and really wants what we do,” he said. “I assume they’ll keep them separate.”
Wolk argues that, if Disney fans for some reason started to get turned off by having their favorite company be associated with the edgier fare of an FX, the company could easily turn right around and sell it off.
“It’s not like there would be a shortage of buyers for FX,” he said. “In the scheme of things, it’s a small company.”
9 Biggest Billion-Dollar Entertainment and Media Deals in 2017 (Photos)
While all eyes were on AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, announced in late 2016 but facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department, there were plenty of other megadeals in media, tech and entertainment that kept investment bankers busy in 2017.
Here are some of the biggest deals of the year:
Getty Images
Disney to acquire most of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion
In a massive deal that could change the entertainment industry even more than AT&T-Time Warner, Disney announced plans to acquire Fox's film and TV studios and much of its non-broadcast television business, including regional sports networks and cable networks such as FX, FXX and Nat Geo. Disney would also pick up Fox’s stake in the European pay-TV giant Sky — and be better positioned to win regulatory approval to complete the acquisition of the 61 percent of the company it does not already own.
Discovery Communications agrees to buy Scripps Networks Interactive for $11.9 billion
The merger of two cable powerhouses brings together channels including Discovery, Science, Food Network and HGTV – and could give the combined company a stronger position as pay-TV continues to migrate to the internet.
Discovery/Scripps
Sinclair Broadcast Group agrees to buy Tribune Media for $3.8 billion
This deal, if approved, would give conservative-leaning Sinclair control of 223 stations in 108 markets, including 39 of the top 50, covering 72 percent of households in the country. And it's only possible under rule changes implemented by new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
Sinclair/Tribune
Cineworld offers to buy Regal Cinemas for more than $3 billion
After a string of movie theater mergers last year, the sector has quieted down -- along with the box office. And while this isn’t yet a done deal -- or even an accepted offer -- British chain Cineworld made a late November bid of $23 a share for the U.S.’s No. 2 cinema chain.
Cineworld/Regal
Meredith Corp. acquires Time Inc. for $2.8 billion
The magazine megadeal is a sign of changing times in the publishing industry, with the owner of esteemed brands like Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated selling to the parent of Better Homes and Gardens and Country Life – backed by $650 million from big-time conservative donors the Koch brothers.
Meredith/Time
Verizon acquires Straight Path Communications for $2.3 billion
Straight Path may not be a household name, but it was the subject of a bidding war between AT&T and Verizon. The company is one of the largest owners of millimeter wave spectrum, seen as key to the buildout of 5G networks, which should power much faster mobile internet -- better for video -- in the near future.
Verizon/Straight Path
Disney buys the rest of BAMTech for $1.6 billion
The Mouse House jumped into internet TV in a major way in 2017, announcing upcoming Disney and ESPN-branded streaming services and acquiring the rest of streaming tech company BAMTech to power those products.
Disney/BAMTech
Entercom buys CBS Radio for $1.5 billion
CBS Radio was intended to be spun off from its broadcast parent in an IPO, but instead it was scooped up by a competitor. The combined company, now the second largest radio business in the country, owns and operates 244 stations in 47 markets.
Entercom/CBS Radio
MGM buys the rest of Epix for $1 billion
The independent studio went all in on the pay-TV business, buying the rest of the premium cable network from Viacom and Lionsgate. And that's paid immediate dividends, as MGM's media networks division propelled it to a strong third quarter.
MGM/Epix
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Rewind 2017: Media and content consolidation continued this year
While all eyes were on AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, announced in late 2016 but facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department, there were plenty of other megadeals in media, tech and entertainment that kept investment bankers busy in 2017.