Reconsidering the Disney-Fox Merger Following the A+E Divestiture

Executive Summary: The Case for a $7.5 Billion Buyback

As of August 2026, The Walt Disney Company has finalized a major strategic shift by selling its 50% stake in A+E Global Media to Hearst Communications for north of $1 billion. This landmark deal proves that Disney is actively divesting assets to reduce its linear television exposure and streamline its portfolio. 

Now is the precise time to demand that Disney applies this same logic to the former 21st Century Fox assets. We call on Disney leadership to negotiate a $7.5 billion buyback deal with Fox Corp, reversing the consequences of the merger initiated seven years ago.

The Proposed Deal & Corporate Reconfiguration-

We urge Disney executives—including Josh D'Amaro, Dana Walden (who holds deep roots within the original Fox executive team), and David Greenbaum—to initiate formal talks with Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch to return the following divisions to Fox Corp: 
Film Studios: 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.
Family & Animation Units: 20th Television Animation, Fox Kids/Saban, and 20th Century Animation.
Digital & Gaming: 20th Digital Studio and 20th Century Games.
Television Studios & Networks: 20th Television, FX Networks, National Geographic, and Star. 

Restructuring Disney's Independent Legacy-

To compensate for the departure of these brands, Disney can maximize its existing legacy infrastructure:

Revive Legacy Banners: Fully restore Touchstone Pictures, Touchstone Television, and ABC Studios to serve as Disney's premier engines for adult-targeted and prestigious broadcast content.

Re-establish Buena Vista: Relaunch Buena Vista Pictures to handle art-house, independent, and academy-focused films in place of Searchlight Pictures.

The "Spidey-Style" Licensing Compromise
This proposal is designed as a win-win strategy modeled after successful Hollywood co-production and licensing frameworks:
The Marvel Precedent: Marvel Studios will permanently retain 100% of the cinematic rights to Deadpool, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, keeping them firmly integrated within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The Streaming Framework: Much like Sony's Spider-Man deal or Paramount's Indiana Jones agreements, Fox content and IP would remain available on Disney+ and Hulu through a long-term, multi-billion dollar licensing registry.

Theme Parks: Existing Fox intellectual property can remain fully operational within Disney Parks globally through ongoing licensing royalties paid back to Fox Corp.

 Correcting the Streaming Era Volatility
The original 2019 acquisition was driven by former leadership's ambition to accumulate blockbuster content and aggressively scale Disney+ to monopolize the streaming landscape. However, this hyper-expansion fundamentally destabilized the entertainment industry, triggering severe streaming-era volatility, structural deficits, and mass linear consolidation throughout the 2020s.
With the A+E divestiture to Hearst setting a clear precedent for unwinding joint ventures and linear liabilities, returning these historic assets to an independent Fox Corp will restore healthy theatrical competition, protect thousands of creative jobs, and allow Disney to return to its core foundational strengths. 

Sign and share this update to make our voices heard by the boards of Disney and Fox Corp!