Murdoch had discussions about merging Fox with Warner Bros Discovery
Rupert Murdoch was reportedly considering a major media merger last year that would have seen Fox and Warner Bros Discovery become one company, but the prospect of CNN and Fox News being under one roof undid any potential deal.
This is according to an interview with the Financial Times given by John Malone, chair emeritus of Warner Bros Discovery, whose autobiography is set to be released next week.
Malone told the publication he and Murdoch had “serious discussions about merging Fox into Time Warner, into Discovery” during the Sun Valley conference in July, 2024. According to the FT, Warner chief executive David Zaslav and News Corp chair Lachlan Murdoch were also present at the talks.
Malone noted that a deal between Fox and Warner Bros Discovery “would potentially give Warner’s US sports position a huge strengthening”, but the deal fell through due to conflicts regarding its clashing news products.
The deal “probably would have happened if we thought that Fox News and CNN could live under one umbrella”, according to Malone.
Malone also commented on the Murdoch family’s current succession battle, saying it would be “very disruptive” if James Murdoch — rather than eldest son Lachlan — ended up with control of Fox News.
Rupert Murdoch was blocked by a court in December from changing his family trust to give Lachlan full control of the media empire.
In 2020, the younger son stepped away from the News Corp board of directors citing “disagreements over certain editorial content” and “other strategic decisions.”
That same year, during the bushfires, he blasted “the ongoing [climate change] denial among the news outlets in Australia, given obvious evidence to the contrary.”
In February 2024, The Atlantic published an expose titled ‘Growing Up Murdoch’ that featured a series of interview with James, which took place over a year. In the piece, he stressed numerous times he would implement corporate and editorial governance reform if he took over the Fox news network.
“I know Rupert would hate the thought,” Malone told the Financial Times.
Read the full interview at the Financial Times.
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Got a tip?
Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
Linkedin
Have your say