It's official - Disney buys Fox Family Channel

[don Jaime]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010723/re/media_fox_dc_2.html

Not much info yet, except the price of $3 billion. That's a lot for a channel that's almost solid garbage.

[Psycho Fox]

Be cheaper to just start a new one from scratch

[RockItShipper]

But anything built from scratch won't have an established name. That's one of the things that make it this a better option.
Plus, new cable stations don't start off as basic cable options.

[James Harvey]

Well, that's alot of money that Disney just blew on a channel. If it becpomes a PLAYHOUSE DISNEY channel, then it really is a waste of money.

[don Jaime]

Anything would beat 700 Club. Lord, I hope they bury that thieving reactionary mess.

[RockItShipper]

Originally posted by don Jaime
Anything would beat 700 Club. Lord, I hope they bury that thieving reactionary mess.

Never seen that one... My little sis watches lots of Fox Family, tho'. Like this thing with a Alicia Silverstone-voiced girl hitting puberty, with cramps being part of the episode I saw. It was weird, that's for sure.

[don Jaime]

700 Club is the bastion of televangelist Pat Robertson. It's a church show that masquerades as a news hour. Hard to imagine it'll stay at gay-friendly Disney.

[DR. BELCH]

I quit watching them after they nixed Toonsylvania and Space Goofs. Actually, I was pretty disenchanted when FOX bought the Family Channel and killed The Three Stooges (thank God for AMC) and Carson's Comedy Classics in favor of chick flicks, kiddie movies, and lame new cartoons. Disney can do what they want with FOX FAM; you can't make a stagnant feces-filled swamp worse.

[James Harvey]

BRACE FACE? Ah yes, the cartoon that Silverstone is so proud of, and I don't see why. It's a poor, poor show. I wonder what'll happen to some of the shows there...

[Calhoun07]

Couldn't they just deport 700 Club to Paul Crouch's network (WHAT ARE THE CALL LETTERS??)?? It's not TBN....it's all these big haired, fake evangelists, and the place that made that God awful Carman movie the Champion. WHAT IS THAT CHANNEL?

Anyway, now that I will be racking my brain trying to remember that, I suppose it's too early to ask how Disney will shake up the line up at Fox Family?

[bushnader666]

You mean the "Send us $700 (and more) club?"
...And it's not just $3 billion, there's also $2.3 billion in debt. Gotta hand it to Murdoch, though. They must be reeeeaaalllly good salesmen. I mean, they show "Never Say Never Again" like TBS reruns "Dirty Dancing!"

Remember PAX? It too was supposed to be a "Family Channel." Now it mainly shows "Remington Steel" and "Supermarket Sweep."

I wonder what Eisner would call the channel? FAUX family is nice, but the name is still owned by Murdoch and FAUX News (fair and balanced, people!)

[Calhoun07]

Remember PAX? You say it like it's gone! It's still around, and I thought it must be doing rather well, as it is coming up with original programming. I can't say I watch it, but it does have its audience, and I am not going to dog on the network because it doesn't air my kind of programming. It has lasted longer than I expected.

[don Jaime]

Every time I see PAX, they're running Little Men or Touched By an Angel, which sounds like the Lifetime movie of the week. The one I want is Odyssey, because they have The Muppet Show. Nope, can't have that on the 300+ option pack, let's throw in another couple hundred HBOs.

I'm not bitter.

[Calhoun07]

I feel for ya, man, I really do. I want just two ore three new channels (Boomerang and BBC America for sure. I'd take Noggin for the fun of it) but my local cable provider can't give me them unless I sign up for digital cable, which is basically a butt load of movie channels. What do I want with those when I have over 300 DVDs and work in a video store? Not to mention they would charge me eighty bucks a month for the whole deal. Forget it.

[I.R Joey]

It is called Trinity Broadcast Network or TBN. My mom watches it sometimes, I don't think "all" the people are fake, but yes the make up on some of them is a little over the top. Oh well who am I to judge.

I never saw the Carmen movie, but I heard from my sister (a fan of his) that her Pastor hated it, and that it wasn't all that good.
On the other hand I really did like The Omega Code.

As for Braceface, I've seen two episodes. The art style by my own admission is very nice, but the stories seem kinda...eh. I did see the one where she had her period, and the pad flew into the persons drink and sucked it up like a spunge. Horrible but funny.

[The Mad Hatter]

Here's more info from an AP article on the buyout of Fox Family:

--Disney's paying $3 billion in cash... and is aquiring $2.3 billion in debt.

--Disney's going to re-name it ABC Family.

--Fox Family's ratings are truly crap.

--Disney execs said they'll try to boost ratings with "programming based on ABC shows such as Good Morning America and productions from the Disney studios." I'm assuming that they might air all the direct-to-TV movies Disney made for ABC's "Magical World of Disney."

--Investors are REALLY nervous about this move. Some of them might even lower Disney's credit rating because of this.

--Disney gets Fox Family's library of children's shows, and apparently a lot (if not all) from Saban, since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was mentioned.

--The 700 Club will still be broadcast.

[Psycho Fox]

Originally posted by The Mad Hatter
Here's more info from an AP article on the buyout of Fox Family:

--Disney's paying $3 billion in cash... and is aquiring $2.3 billion in debt.

That is totaly messed up. Why would anyone aquirie debt plus pay more? Why didn't Disney offer to take it off their hands by paing off the debt ie they pay 2.3 billion for the debt. Fox gets nothing but they are nolonger in debt. It is the golden rule that you never pay more then their debt if they are that far in the red.



--Fox Family's ratings are truly crap.

--Disney execs said they'll try to boost ratings with "programming based on ABC shows such as Good Morning America and productions from the Disney studios." I'm assuming that they might air all the direct-to-TV movies Disney made for ABC's "Magical World of Disney."

Yhea the only good show Fox Family had was Sam&Max and they got a good deal for it but it never aired since near the end of the talks when they were just hammering out the details they went with Angela Anaconda instead which shows they are complete morons. Sam&Max had far better rating then that piece of garbage.

I don't think ABC Family will do any better then Fox Family


--Investors are REALLY nervous about this move. Some of them might even lower Disney's credit rating because of this.
They should be

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by I.R Joey
It is called Trinity Broadcast Network or TBN.

So I was right the first time. For some reason, when I saw the letters TBN on my screen, I thought, "Wait, that's Turner Broadcasting Network."

Champion, Carman's movie was totally lame. There is one bit in there where he gets knocked in the head hard by some gang members and it has a lasting effect on him, where he can't get hit in the head anymore or he will die. Of course, he gets hit in the head several times at the end of the movie, and lives. No repercussions for disobeying doctors or those in authority above him. Yeah, great "Christian" message there, Carman. Hallelujah.

[batboy2001]

My mom also whatches some shows on TBN .

[DR. BELCH]

So I actually watched this cartoon today out of perverse curiosity, as there was a five-ep marathon on Fox Family--and capping it off was the menses episode Rocky mentioned. Boy, I've heard of a period piece, but that's getting ridiculous. :D Cravings for greasy food? Is that normal? Salt, maybe, since all that hemhorraging would throw a girl's body fluid level out of whack...anyway....

The stories are your usual teen angst fare like misunderstandings between friends and urequited crushes, and the animation is very reminiscent of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Even the (very dodgily-named) heroine Sharon Spitz looks like an older Sabrina. Very "chick flicky" and dull. But what intrigued me was the electromagnetic braces. There's fertile ground for a sickfic there--remember the scene in Zapped where Scott Baio uses telekinesis to pop open a girl's blouse? Imagine young Miss Spitz at a school assembly popping open the brassieres of every girl in the first three rows...sort of like Carrie meets Darkwing Duck's Megavolt... :p

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by Psycho Fox

That is totaly messed up. Why would anyone aquirie debt plus pay more? Why didn't Disney offer to take it off their hands by paing off the debt ie they pay 2.3 billion for the debt.

Well, actually they are. The real purchase price is $5.3 billion, of which $3 billion is cash and $2.3 billion is assumed debt.

Put it this way: Disney was willing to pay $5.3 billion for the network, and if Fox Family had no debt the Mouse would have forked over that much cash to get it. But because FF carried $2.3 billion in debt, Disney got it for "only" $3 billion.

BTW: No one has mentioned a really interesting detail buried in the murk. Fox Kids! was part of the Fox Family capital structure, but FK is not part of the deal with Disney; instead, Fox is going to keep it. This apparently puts to rest rumors that Fox was looking for ways of shutting FK down.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by don Jaime
Anything would beat 700 Club. Lord, I hope they bury that thieving reactionary mess.

As Clayface noted, 700 Club will still appear. That's because when Robertson sold CBN to Fox it was written into the deal that the network would still have to carry the show. (For how long I don't know.) The same conditions attach to subsequent buyers.

I'm sure the Mouse would LOVE to shut down 700 Club (and Fox was just as eager) but Robertson's got a crafty eye to go with that cheese-eating grin.