Twenty-First Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, will help Disney with the transition of the Fox assets that Disney agreed to buy, Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger said Thursday.
Iger spoke "Good Morning America," on Disney-owned ABC, shortly after the media giant announced it would acquire many parts of Fox in a deal worth $52.4 billion in stock. The transaction gives Disney a wide range of properties including Fox's movie studios, Nat Geo, Asian pay-TV operator Star TV, stakes in Sky and Hulu, and regional sports networks.
"James and I will be talking over the next number of months. He's going to be integral to the integration process, and he and I will be discussing whether there is a role for him or not at our company," Iger added.
Iger said the new company doesn't expect to reach the "scale of Netflix quickly," but aims to be a major competitor. Disney plans on creating its own digital platform and will pull its movies off Netflix starting in 2019. The company has said the platform will be "substantially below" Netflix's prices.
"To the consumer, not only will they be getting more great content, high-quality content, but they'll be getting it in ways that they demand. Innovative ways that today's consumer requires really in terms of increasing their consumption and enjoying their consumption," Iger said.
Prior to the completion of the Disney deal, Twenty-First Century Fox plans to spin off the Fox Broadcasting network and stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2, and Big Ten Network into a new public company.
As part of the Fox deal, Disney said Iger would remain chairman and CEO through 2021. "I've had one of the greatest jobs in the world," he said. "This combination makes it even more exciting."
There had been speculation by media outlets, including CNBC, that Iger could be considering a presidential bid. CNBC reported earlier this month that Iger would likely abandon any plans for a presidential run in 2020 in the event of a Disney-Fox deal. "I hadn't made any decisions on what my future was going to be," he said on "GMA."