Comcast Could Spike Disney/Fox Deal With All-Cash Offer

Deadline is reporting that the latest roadblock to the Disney/ Fox deal could come in the form of an all-cash offer from Comcast. If it happens, it looks like it could be one of the only things possible to keep Comcast relevant as a big media player according to Media analyst Rich Greenfield.

“With AT&T acquiring Time Warner and Viacom/CBS highly likely to merge in the coming weeks, there is no other obvious way for Comcast to scale their content assets, expand their distribution presence globally and stymie Disney beyond renewing their efforts to acquire Fox at a meaningful premium to Disney. If AT&T-Time Warner is ruled legal and closes, we expect a new Comcast bid for Fox immediately.”

This would not be the first play that Comcast has made for FOX. They had previously offered a better financial deal than Disney had last fall, but Fox’s board chose to go with Disney due to the larger regulatory hurdles that could accompany a deal with Comcast.

As to what this means for the Marvel franchises that are currently sitting on the FOX side of the wall (Fantastic Four, X-Men, Wolverine, Deadpool, Silver Surfer), according to many experts, it wouldn’t change things. It appears that the licensing deals between FOX and Disney are non-transferable. That means that FOX can’t sell them to another studio. So, even if Comcast was able to buy all of FOX, all of the Marvel licenses would still revert back to Disney.

Source: Deadline