One of the biggest things in the media industry right now is streaming.
The Walt Disney Company has Disney+ and most of Hulu. (Also, 20th Century Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Muppets, ABC, National Geographic, etc.)
Warner Discovery has HBO Max. (Also, DC, TLC, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, TBS, Turner Classic Moves, etc.)
Paramount has Paramount+ (Also, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, VH1, CMT, Showtime, etc.)
Comcast has Peacock. (Also, NBC, Universal, Dreamworks, etc.)
Legacy movie studios have been challenged by relative newcomers, including:
Netflix
Alphabet (Google/YouTube)
Apple (Apple TV)
Amazon (Prime)
Those four companies can either buy their content from the other companies, Sony, (and smaller companies), or finance-produce their own content, or both.
Alphabet, Apple, and Amazon have the incentive and the means (provided government regulators don't prevent them) to purchase a legacy studio company that already has a large, proven library of movies, television shows, etc. and a fully functioning studio to supply their streaming services and other aspects of their business. In fact, Amazon purchased MGM, which was the smallest of the legacy studio companies.
Comcast being an enormous telecom might prevent it from being acquired or merged. Maybe, maybe not. Let's assume Comcast is going to stay Comcast.
So there's Disney, Paramount, Warner Discovery, and the entertainment assets of Sony. Buying any of the first three automatically eliminates a streaming competitor, as well.
One thing that makes Disney different is that it has a large division that includes Walt Disney World, Disneyland, cruise ships, timeshares, and more, which companies like Alphabet, Apple, and Amazon may have zero desire to keep. If one of them purchased The Walt Disney Company, they might spin off that division or sell it outright. If the Oriental Land Company, which owns and operates Tokyo Disney Resort, was the buyer, that might not be a bad thing. There is also the possibility of selling that division off in chunks, like selling the original Disneyland Resort to one buyer and Walt Disney World to another, or even splitting up Walt Disney World and selling different parts (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, etc.) to different buyers. Let's hope not!
If neither Alphabet, Apple, nor Amazon wants to deal with that, they might stick to going for Paramount, Warner Discovery, or Sony Pictures.
I'd prefer The Walt Disney Company remain independent, rather than becoming a division of a larger corporation. I can't help but think back to the AOL Time Warner mess. But my preference doesn't matter a hill of beans if the shareholders of Disney are made a good offer. The institutional investors will take it, and unless regulators block it, it will happen.
Let's not forget how Bob Iger, the former and again CEO of The Walt Disney Company, originally came to the company. He was with ABC when the Company acquired it. Since then, he has overseen the company's acquisitions of many other companies, including Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel, and the non-broadcast assets of 20th Century Fox. If the Company is going to be acquired, ending a 100-year era, he might be the person to be in charge when it happens. But does he want that to be his legacy?
"Disney" works best being a combined media and resorts company, and my guess is that it will work better if not answerable to a larger corporation. There is also the issue of clashing corporate cultures, structures, etc. What looks good on paper can be problematic in reality.
Are there good (meaning, not self-destructive) things the Company can do to make it less likely to be acquired? I'm genuinely asking. Not being of the MBA set, my guess is it can do so by becoming a bigger company through doing more of what it already does, by doing something like acquiring a hotel company, acquiring a video game company (it's bizarre to me that the Company with Pixar, ILM, Imagineering, Marvel, etc. doesn't have a successful in-house game division), acquiring a major toy company, acquiring another theme park company, acquiring cinemas, buying or building Broadway-style theaters, buying restaurants, buying music, buying land, etc.
Disney being acquired, especially if the theme parks/resorts/cruise ships are separated out, would be the end of an era and the end of the Company as we know it.
We'll just have to see what happens. It is also possible that Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet won't outright buy a legacy studio company, but could make deals, perhaps exclusive deals with them.
What I'm most sure about is that the streaming industry isn't settled yet. Some of what are currently the major names (Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Paramount+, HBO Max, Apple TV, Peacock) are likely to disappear either through shutting down or merger/acquisition.
[This post has been bumped up from November 23, 2022.]
