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Disney monopoly grows with purchase of Fox (Opinion)

Thoughts on this historic expansion

February 2, 2018

As a kid, I loved watching old Disney movies and cartoons. They were such an integral part of my childhood and have influenced my animation as well as my writing. I once dreamed about working at the Disney company as an animator, but I don’t know anymore. Late last year, Disney began to work on a deal to buy most of Fox for $52.4 billion. This deal doesn’t include Fox News or Fox Sports, but it does include most of the film industry. While some people might see this as good news, others will see this as a dark fate for the film industry.

On a positive note, Disney now owns the rights the film rights to Fantastic Four and the Sliver Surfer. Fox has been neglectful of these properties for years and the only reason they made movies out of them was because the studio needed to renew the film rights every 10 years. Now that Disney owns the film rights to both of these comic book stories, we can finally get the Fantastic Four and Sliver Surfer movies we deserve. There, however, is a much more terrifying side to this deal.

Disney isn’t just buying Fox, they are also buying everything Fox owns. Every single film Fox has ever made, from Dante’s Inferno in 1935 to Murder on the Orient Express in 2017, is now a Walt Disney film. More than half of the films ever made are in the palm of their hand. Not only does Disney have a monopoly on the film industry, they also have a monopoly in the video streaming industry as well as the cable industry.

Next time you go on Netflix or Hulu, count the number of movies and TV shows owned by Fox. Now combine that number with all the films and TV shows created by Lucas Film, ESPN, Marvel, Pixar, and Disney. If you compare this number to rest of what is available to stream, you will see the problem. Disney now possesses the majority of movies on these sites and makes money whenever someone watches one of them. Fox also recently acquired both Sky and Star Media, so whenever someone tunes into one of Star Media’s 58 channels, Disney adds more riches to their treasure trove.

In a way, I respect this business strategy, because no matter what happens Disney gains more money. All of their corporate executives are probably swimming in all the money they gained in this deal and I couldn’t be happier for them, but at the same I believe no company should have this much power. It’s likely that thousands of workers at Fox will lose their jobs because of this deal. So much of the entertainment industry is already owned by the Walt Disney Company and now we have to ask ourselves what will happen next. The truth is that we will never know. There is no way of knowing how much of the media this company still plans to conquer and when it will be enough for them.

What hurts me the most isn’t that Disney is a now corporate monopoly or that the fate of the entertainment industry is so uncertain, but it is still all too agonizing to hear. The thing that hurts me the most is that I don’t know what to think. I find it important to note that the Walt Disney Company wasn’t founded by rich corporate executives. The company was founded by a man named Walt Disney (who you may have heard of) and before he helped create Mickey Mouse, he was a nobody. Now everyone knows his name. He grew up in poverty, but now there are several theme parks named after the guy. He has the greatest success story ever. A story that taught me to never give up and to follow my dreams as well as my heart. A story that taught me if some random dude can become rich and famous, then I can as well if I try hard enough. It’s the story that kept me going despite all the adversity that life had to throw at me. A story that taught me that I could accomplish all my farfetched dreams. When I heard that Disney bought Fox of course I was upset, however I also couldn’t help but wonder what Walt would’ve thought of this. I guess we will never truly know.

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