Fox says it may stream its own content, too

CEO: ‘We remain very open-minded’

Just one day after Disney proclaimed its plans to stream movies and TV directly to consumers, another media giant, Fox, chimed in that it might just join in on the fun.

Such a development could mean more challenges for Netflix, which stands to lose access to new Disney and Pixar films that hit theaters beginning in 2019, under the strategy announced Tuesday by Walt Disney Co. CEO and Chairman Robert Iger.

“We remain very open-minded about an independently-priced, direct-to-consumer offering as well,” 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch said Wednesday, “and we are certainly mindful of what we are seeing in the marketplace and are mindful of how these things are progressing for some other firms out there, as they experiment with packaging as well.”

Fox already is a player in the streaming marketplace as an investor in Hulu, along with Disney (ABC) and Comcast (NBCUniversal), which like Fox own 30%, and Time Warner (10%).

Last month, Fox moved about 3,000 hours of programming — including Bones, Glee and M*A*S*H — previously exclusive to Netflix, over to Hulu.

Such a move fits with Fox’s strategy of licensing programs in a way “to make things more available and not less,” Murdoch said during a conference call with analysts Wednesday. “Monolithic, global exclusive deals with Netflix are troublesome with that strategy,” he said.