After weeks of mounting speculation - and a rumored competing bids by rivals Comcast Corp. and Verizon that never materialized - Disney and 21st Century Fox announced early Thursday that the former would acquire most of the latter's entertainment assets in a deal worth $52.4 billion, according to the official press release.
Here's what Disney is buying, according to the release:
As the NFL continues to try to address the ongoing civil war between Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Commissioner Roger Goodell, not to mention the intermittent hostile fire from the White House, viewers are increasingly deciding they've had enough and are abandoning professional football viewership altogether. As the NY Post points out today, the embattled league saw ratings dip 6.3% in Week 11 meaning 1 million fewer people tuned in to see players take a knee during the national anthem versus last year.
ESPN’s decision to suspend host Jemele Hill last month after her second violation of the company’s social media policy (she tweeted that people should boycott advertisers of the Dallas Cowboys after its owner sided with President Trump) did little to stanch the steady bleed of paying customers that is threatening the erstwhile “World Leader in Sports.”