The U.S. entertainment giant Walt Disney is close to sealing a 60-billion-U.S.-dollar deal to buy a large chunk of 21st Century Fox, media reported Wednesday.
Disney will take on a large amount of entertainment assets of the media conglomerate, including the FX Networks, National Geographic, 22 regional U.S. sports networks, and the company's stake in the streaming platform Hulu in the United States, according to BBC.
Fox News and Fox Sports will still be controlled by the Murdochs.
If the deal is closed, the purchase would be one of the largest media deals in recent years.
Industry insiders said the deal is a brilliant move by the Murdoch family since the traditional cable business is declining.
"The whole cable bundle could collapse. Trying to get out now is absolutely the right move," BTIG media and technology analyst Richard Greenfield told CNN.
For Disney, the purchase could enlarge its film and TV library, making it a powerful rival to popular video-streaming platforms such as Netflix.
