Iger's `Sweet' Call Has Ryan Murphy Weighing Disney Future

(Bloomberg) -- Bob Iger doesn't leave much to chance.

Shortly after Walt Disney Co. agreed to pay $52.4 billion for much of 21st Century Fox Inc., the Disney chief executive officer got on the phone with Ryan Murphy, creator of Fox hits including “American Horror Story” and “Glee.”

The transaction has unsettled Hollywood's creative community because it combines two of the top forces in the television industry, leading to speculation about the futures of showrunners such as Murphy.

Murphy told Iger “point-blank the stuff I do is not Disney” and that he's “concerned about that.”

“Am I going to have to put Mickey Mouse in ‘American Horror Story?'” he recalled Thursday at a Fox event for television critics. “He was very sweet and transparent and kind. He said no, the reason that Disney was interested in buying Fox is they believed in the assets and the executives and their creators.”

Murphy is negotiating a new contract, and had been expected to renew his deal at Fox before the Disney deal was announced, Bloomberg reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter. Now he's giving more thought to a potential jump to a rival when his deal expires in mid-2018, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.

The Disney deal emboldened other companies bidding for Murphy's services.  A move to an online service such as Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. is possible, and at least two other parties are pursuing Murphy, the people said last month.

“It is an interesting thing to feel suddenly your family could change and be separated,” Murphy said Thursday. “I've decided to wait and sit back and talk to my friends who are my bosses and see what's happening to them, and make a decision once we see what's happening.”

Murphy, 52, and his representatives are asking for a deal that equals or tops the one Netflix gave to producer Shonda Rhimes, valued at more than $100 million, according to the people. Rhimes shocked Hollywood when she jumped to Netflix from Disney, where she produced hit shows “Grey's Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder.”

Murphy is close to Dana Walden, the co-head of Fox's TV studio and broadcast network. She and Gary Newman, the other executive overseeing those divisions, said Thursday they're planning to stay until the Disney deal closes in the next 12 to 18 months. The transaction, in which Disney will also acquire Fox's stake in European satellite provider Sky, Indian TV network Star and American regional sports networks, will have to pass muster with the U.S. Justice Department and other regulators.

“I have been surrounded since 2003 at Fox with an incredible group of executives who have always allowed me to follow my interests and passions, and they believed in me,” Murphy said. “I'm interested to see what company is going to look like before I make any decisions.”

Disney shares were little changed at $112.23 at the close Thursday. Fox rose less than 1 percent to $36.82.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net.

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