Ripple effects from the Time Warner-21st Century Fox revelation • 1:29 PM
Though Time Warner (TWX +16.7%) CEO Jeffrey Bewkes posted a video on the company's blog in which he resoundingly rejects the offer from 21st Century Fox (FOXA -3.5%), there's a line of thought amongst media analysts that the response is part of a choreographed song-and-dance.
Deadline.com notes former Murdoch confidante Gary Ginsberg is now a top lieutenant for Bewkes and could be the key man in brokering a deal.
Ripple#1: A combination of the two companies could light a fire under M&A activity in the media sector between content producers (DISCA, LGF, AMCX, SNI, VIA, VIAB) and tech heavyweights such as Google, Apple, or Sony which haven't pulled the trigger yet on a mega-content deal.
Ripple #2: Two companies in the cross-hairs of a TWX-FOXA combination are Disney (DIS -1%) which could see ESPN lose a little bit of leverage with TNT and TBS linked with Fox Sports and Netflix (NFLX -1%) where a challenge from HBO in more global markets would be likely.