10 Reasons Why Disney's Fox Takeover Is Terrifying
6. It Will Create A Streaming Monopoly
When the Fox deal goes through, Disney will double its stake in Hulu to 60%, and control NowTV through its majority stake in Sky, effectively giving them control of three streaming services once their own platform launches in 2019. This is already an incredibly worrying statistic, but it only gets worse when you consider what Disney would be able to put on their service.
There are already plans to pull Disney content from Netflix like the last chopper out of Saigon, but the real problem is the Fox assets that will pass over to Disney. How I Met Your Mother is on Netflix, but as it was produced and distributed by Fox, it is now Disney's and will either end up on their streaming platform or Hulu.
The same goes for The Simpsons, 24, Family Guy, and the hundreds of other movies and shows in Fox's back catalogue, giving Disney a library of shows ready for streaming that no other company can match, and that are theirs without the need for future payments or contract negotiation.
Netflix is one of the great success stories of modern business, but so many popular movies and TV shows not only becoming off-limits to them but passing over to a major competitor will be a serious blow, as it would be a reason for subscribers to jump ship. That joke about Disney owning our childhoods is becoming distinctly less funny.