Disney agrees to buy 20th Century Fox, other 21st Century Fox film and TV assets for $52.4 billion

(Image credit: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

On Thursday, the Walt Disney Co. agreed to buy a passel of 21st Century Fox's movie and TV assets for $52.4 billion, giving Disney the 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight film studios and Fox television studio, FX, and the National Geographic Channel. Disney CEO Robert Iger will stay on as head of the combined companies through 2021, Disney also announced. The acquisition will require Justice Department antitrust approval. Analysts say that Disney wanted 21 Century Fox's content for its upcoming video-streaming services. The deal also gives Disney a 60 percent stake in Hulu. "It gives them a little more leverage to compete against new studios such as Netflix," says Boston College Law professor Dan Lyons, and "against cable companies to try to figure out they are going to continue to make money off the declining traditional cable bundle."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.