Disney ruled 2018 with the three biggest movies of the year: “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Incredibles 2.” In 2019, it’s likely to repeat its dominance and could even surpass its record 2018 with expected hits like “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Lion King,” and “Star Wars: Episode IX.”
But beyond the box office, Disney’s biggest test yet could lie ahead in 2019.
Disney bought Fox’s film studio and many of its television assets last year in an industry-shaking deal worth $71.3 billion. It raised its offer from $52.4 billion after Comcast swooped in with its own $65 billion offer. After a brief bidding war, Comcast ended its bid in July, and shareholders quickly greenlit Disney’s purchase of the assets.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an earnings call in November that the merger would close in early 2019 (it had previously been expected to close by January 1). At that point, Disney will officially own the Fox assets, including popular film franchises such as “Avatar” and Marvel’s “X-Men.”
Now the biggest challenge facing Disney is how to integrate Fox leadership and assets into the company, as the Mouse House also prepares to launch its streaming service, Disney+, which is expected later this year. But some longtime Fox executives have already been positioned in key roles throughout Disney.
They include 21st Century Fox President Peter Rice, who has been named chairman of Walt Disney Television and will be in charge of the companies’ combined television assets as well as finding content for Disney+ to compete in the streaming war; and Dana Walden, a Fox veteran who will transition from Fox Television Group chairman into her new role as chairman of Disney TV Studios and ABC Entertainment.
But as with any company shake-up, there will be casualties.
Among the high-profile executives leaving: 20th Century Fox Film chairman Stacey Snider was not asked to join Disney; Ben Sherwood, Disney Media Networks co-chair and president of Disney-ABC Television Group, is set to leave the company after the closing; and Channing Dungey, former ABC Entertainment president, already departed and accepted a role at Netflix as vice president of original content.
Fox executives reportedly make 20% more in salary than those at Disney and are not expected to take pay cuts once they join Disney, according to Deadline (we’ll see whether this forces salary bumps for current Disney execs staying with the company).
We rounded up the key players in the Disney-Fox deal, who will lead Disney post-merger and be tasked with overseeing some of the most lucrative properties in Hollywood and the world.
Below are Business Insider’s power players of the Disney-Fox merger:
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