Talking About the Disney/21st Century Fox Deal: If The Walt Disney Company acquires Fox, will Disney own the TV rights to Batman?

If The Walt Disney Company acquires Fox, will Disney own the TV rights to Batman?

The purchase of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) was finalized in the spring of 2019 after the relevant government agencies in various nations, including the U.S. and China, signed off on it. It’s therefore no longer a hypothetical question (“if”); it’s a done deal.

However, your question from 2017 reflects quite a few misconceptions that need to be cleared up.

Let’s begin, shall we?

First, you have to understand that before the Disney purchase of 21st Century Fox was set in motion, Rupert Murdoch and his fellow owners had to spin off several divisions from the company that was the parent of the legendary film studio 20th Century Fox and its in-house labels, Fox Searchlight and Fox 2000.

None of the “Fox”-branded TV networks that were formerly part of Murdoch’s old News Corporation/21st Century Fox were included in the deal. TWDC already owns ABC and ESPN; it can’t own another major network that competes with ABC (in this case, Fox Television). Nor did it want the taint of owning Fox News Channel, which had already been spun off by Murdoch and his team into a new entity called “New Fox.”

There were some issues with TWDC’s purchase of “old Fox” cable channels, particularly the sports-related ones, and the government insisted that “Disney” divest itself from some assets, but that’s not relevant to the question you’re asking.

Basically, though, TWDC does not own the Fox Television Network or Fox News Channel.

As for the ownership of the TV rights to Batman….

I’m assuming you’ve asked this because Fox (which is now a part of “New Fox”) was the home for Gotham, the Batman prequel series that ran for five seasons from 2014 to 2019.

No, TWDC will not own the TV rights to Batman or any DC character. Fox aired the series, but it did not produce it on its own. Instead, Primrose Hill Productions (producer Bruno Heller’s company), DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television were responsible for making the series; Warner Bros. Television Distribution negotiated the broadcast airing rights with Fox.

Therefore, since Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment own Gotham, as well as Batman and all of the characters in the show, Disney does not get ownership rights to anything in the series.