Disney to Buy Fox. Was The Repeal of Net Neutrality A Factor?

On the same day the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal its 2015 network neutrality rules, the Walt Disney Company announced a deal to buy most of 21st Century Fox. The all-stock transaction is valued at roughly $52.4 billion. If approved, Disney would go from being “a juggernaut to being a megajuggernaut.” Disney hopes the acquisition of Fox’s sports and entertainment content will give it new market power in the growing online distribution market (streaming services). The FCC’s move is not unrelated. The repeal of net neutrality empowers internet service providers; a Disney colossus will have the heft to negotiate favorable terms with any broadband carrier. But how will the Department of Justice view the deal?