There has been significant consolidation in many industries — airlines, beer, grocery stores — but one you might want to keep an eye on is media companies, capped by the Walt Disney Co.'s proposal to buy 21st Century Fox movie and TV assets for $52.4 billion. Giant media companies that produce the TV you love are trying to get the cable and satellite TV companies that bring that content into your home to pay more, Axios media reporter Sara Fischer explains in the video below, and larger media companies have more bargaining power. If they are successful, the cable companies will add the costs to your bill.
One of the reasons your bill might go up is that the TV you love is becoming more expensive to produce — each of the last six episodes of Game of Thrones, for example, cost $15 million to make, Fischer notes, adding: "If you're not careful about watching your cable and internet bills, the costs could creep up on you." Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why is the threat of stagflation rising?Talking Points Inflation is sticky. Trump's tariffs won't help.
-
How should you navigate debt when dating?The Explainer Three steps you can take to ensure your credit card or student loan debt won't become a dating dealbreaker
-
'It's not hard to imagine how such an arrangement can go wrong'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US SteelSpeed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
