20th Centry Fox looking to buy Warner: Good or bad for blu-ray?

[AgentOrange]

Saw this on the news this morning. Fox has made an offer. How might this effect blu-ray releases going forward? It's a little worrying.

If they just took FOX's people and let them run the show, it might not be so bad. At least they have relationships with Twilight Time, Criterion, etc. So there are at least some potential fruits for U.S. blu-ray buyers. In a way, this could open up the vaults from Warner.

Of course it could also be disaster if the companies simply get too large to even care about blu-ray, there's always the possibility that through any restructuring their film preservation and distribution of physical media becomes an afterthought - or even a direct target of downsizing.

[Blu-ray Neo]

I think it would be good for US.... The BD consumers.

Overall, 20th Century Fox is great when it comes to catalog releases and those releases tend to have pretty good transfers.

There are a lot of WB titles that haven't been released due to someone's infinite logic . Maybe with 20CF in charge, there is a possibility of those releases seeing the time of day.

[MifuneFan]

The offer was rejected, and rightfully so.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

The offer was rejected, and rightfully so.

+1

It's already old news.

[fatediesel]

Even if Time Warner agreed to the sale the combined company would struggle getting approval from regulators. The combined company would create such a mammoth media conglomerate that would surely cause concerns that it would be bad for consumers. It's unlikely News Corp. will give up after one rejection, so this isn't over yet, and it will be interesting to see if anyone else jumps in the bidding. I've seen some speculation that Time Warner could be a target of Google or Apple if they decide to make a major push into the entertainment business.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Blu-ray Neo

I think it would be good for US.... The BD consumers.

Overall, 20th Century Fox is great when it comes to catalog releases and those releases tend to have pretty good transfers.

There are a lot of WB titles that haven't been released due to someone's infinite logic . Maybe with 20CF in charge, there is a possibility of those releases seeing the time of day.

Warner releases way more catalog titles than Fox.

One thing to note, this failed merger wouldn't have joined the studios together. They'd still run separately, as they do now, but with both being under the same company, who knows what impact it would have. Rupert Murdoch is apparently fixated on taking over Warner, so this probably won't be the last we hear about this. Its likely going to get ugly.

[klauswhereareyou]

Not just bad for blu-ray, but the film industry in general. One less major studio means one less avenue for new film and television projects.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

+1

It's already old news.

Ha. The fact that it was "rejected" means nothing. The first offer is always rejected.

Warner's stock wouldn't be up $10+ today if everyone expected that to be the end of it. These things usually take months to play out - FOX will surely come back with another higher offer, maybe they try hostile takeover (simply acquiring as many shares as possible so they gain more control), etc. Basically it's not over until FOX comes out and says they give up trying to acquire Warner. Very rarely does it end after the 1st offer.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Even if Time Warner agreed to the sale the combined company would struggle getting approval from regulators. The combined company would create such a mammoth media conglomerate that would surely cause concerns that it would be bad for consumers. It's unlikely News Corp. will give up after one rejection, so this isn't over yet, and it will be interesting to see if anyone else jumps in the bidding. I've seen some speculation that Time Warner could be a target of Google or Apple if they decide to make a major push into the entertainment business.

I agree with what you say

But it's technically not NEWSCORP trying to aquire Warner, it's 20th Century FOX. (yes, they were the same company, but they split up into separate entities last year). Of course I'm pretty sure Murdoch controls huge stakes in both of them, so I don't know how that works for regulators.

[Slasherob]

All i can think is how amazing it would be to get some Warner titles in a Fox Connect sale

[dsman71]

I cant help but picture the Warner execs going *PFFFT* and having a good chuckle...

[Musicguy]

Originally Posted by dsman71

I cant help but picture the Warner execs going *PFFFT* and having a good chuckle...

Don't be so sure. The way things are over at Warner this could very well become fact.

[Slasherob]

Originally Posted by dsman71

I cant help but picture the Warner execs going *PFFFT* and having a good chuckle...

a good chuckle over $80 Billion? Hard to picture that, shareholders are going to pressure them to take the next one very serious

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

Ha. The fact that it was "rejected" means nothing. The first offer is always rejected.

Warner's stock wouldn't be up $10+ today if everyone expected that to be the end of it. These things usually take months to play out - FOX will surely come back with another higher offer, maybe they try hostile takeover (simply acquiring as many shares as possible so they gain more control), etc. Basically it's not over until FOX comes out and says they give up trying to acquire Warner. Very rarely does it end after the 1st offer.

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by Musicguy

Don't be so sure. The way things are over at Warner this could very well become fact.

They rejected the offer.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by Slasherob

a good chuckle over $80 Billion? Hard to picture that, shareholders are going to pressure them to take the next one very serious

Not going to happen due to antitrust regulations and corporate pride.

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by Slasherob

a good chuckle over $80 Billion? Hard to picture that, shareholders are going to pressure them to take the next one very serious

Yes a really good chuckle, as if Warner would sell out - 80 billion to billionaires is small change - Warner is a huge industry giant and not just in the DVD world..theyre even buying studios libraries such as Paramount. Honestly, no chance this happens.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by dsman71

They rejected the offer.

Public companies rarely accept the first offer. Time Warner is not opposed to being acquired like many companies that reject sale offers and doesn't have any poison pills in place to prevent a takeover. It's likely 21st will continue to negotiate with Time Warner, and Time Warner will likely try to get other companies involved with the bidding to try and spark a bidding war.

[dsman71]

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/t...d-eb593846c946

Read the quote that says
*Time Warner has rejected a takeover bid worth about $76 billion from Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox and said it has no interest in further discussions about a combination of two of the world's largest media and entertainment companies.*

[WorkShed]

Warner may also be biding some time for 2016's beginning onslaught of DC films, if they can wait that long. As long as they can keep Nolan under their wing, Warner can stay above water.

I would have no problem with Fox taking the Warner catalogue, though. Warner is very much half in, half out when it comes to Blu-ray and have taken many shortcuts with the format. Several TV shows have yet to see the light of day and the ones that were released often have seasons without HD audio. Their disc packaging leaves a lot to be desired and they've all but given up on interesting menu design.

Fox at least appears to care with their discs, save for a few glaring releases.