Sources claim Disney and Fox are close to reaching a deal, might announce plans next week

WDWNT.com

We reported earlier last month that Disney and 21^st Century Fox have been in talks for the former to acquire Fox’s studio and television production assets, with Fox retaining its news and sports arms. And report has it the two are close to reaching an agreement, even with Comcast in the picture, and sources claim the deal could be announced as early as next week. The deal will have Disney owning entertainment assets like 20^th Century Fox film and TV studios, FX Networks and National Geographic Cannels cable groups, regional Fox Sports and 39% interest in Euro satcaster Sky, as well as international channels like Star India outlet. Disney is also supposedly buying out Fox’s 30% interest in Hulu, which is seen as Disney’s initial step to building its standalone streaming service. The deal is expected to be an all-stock transaction with Fox’s assets valued at around US$60 billion.

The move is also seen as a way to resolve Disney’s CEO succession issue. Bob Iger has had to extend his contract twice since setting his retirement back in 2015. But with the likes of 21^st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and 21^st Century Fox President Peter Rice in the mix, they’re seen as possible candidates to replace Iger.

Source:  Variety + CNBC 

Disney CEO says streaming service will be priced ‘substantially below’ Netflix when it launches

Some of the current Disney offerings on Netflix

We know that Disney plans to pull out its titles from Netflix when it launches its own service in 2019. What we don’t know is what pricing will be like. Now, we get a bit of an idea straight from the company’s chairman and CEO. Bob Iger mentioned at Disney’s latest quarterly earnings call that the monthly subscription cost for Disney’s streaming service will be “substantially below” Netflix’s price because they have “substantially less volume” in terms of the amount of content they will have as compared to Netflix. Although we don’t know which tier of Netflix is referring to as there are a number of them. But we have a bit of a wait before we find out.

Source: MacRumors

21st Century Fox reportedly in talks with Disney to sell most of its company

If we were honest, this is what we thought of when we heard the news. (Image courtesy of: Marvel.com)

There are reports going around claiming Disney and 21^st Century Fox are currently in talks about the latter selling off most of its company to the multimedia production giant. According to CNBC, it has been happening in the past few weeks but there aren’t any guarantees that it’ll lead to a deal. They describe the talks as being “on again, off again.” If the deal pushes through, it’s said Fox will give up most of its properties except those that revolve around news and sports. It seems senior management at Fox see that they can’t compete in the changing media landscape and sees Disney and its big machine capable of competing against the big internet companies that are leading the charge now (e.g. Facebook, Netflix, Google, and Amazon, to name a few).

For Disney, this deal would be advantageous as it preps its own streaming service. They’d gain access to more movie and TV productions to add to their own streaming offering. And if you’re thinking what we’re thinking, we might finally get that X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four crossover that we’ve been waiting for. (Even Ryan Reynolds is wondering what this deal could mean for his character Deadpool.) At the moment, nothing is for sure yet but we’re keeping our eyes out for this.

Garmin vivofit jr. 2 reaches out to the kids with Disney-themed design

Garmin wants to help keep your children active with its newest wearable. The Garmin vivofit jr. 2 features Disney-themed designs that’ll surely appeal to any kid, they have one for Minnie Mouse, Captain America, Avengers, Star Wars First Order, BB-8, and The Resistance. The wearable is designed to track your child’s activity and it encourages them to be active for at least 60 minutes a day. It’s built to be worn 24/7 and promises a one-year (or longer) battery life. Its coloured display is fairly simplistic so the kids can understand what’s being shown on the screen.

The vivofit jr. 2 displays things like the number of steps taken, time and date, and that move bar to remind them to be active. It also shows how long they’ve been active as well as some information on their sleep. And since it incentivizes them to move, new adventures will be unlocked when your child stays active. There will be things like step icon characters, too. One of the challenges your kid can engage in is the Toe-to-Toe step challenge, which they can do with nearby friends who own the fitness band. Parents can track your kid’s progress through a free companion app and even assign chores and send reminders through the band. The Garmin vivofit jr. 2 retails for US$99.99 (around CA$125) with each band retailing for US$29.99 (around CA$38).

Source: Garmin