Reborn in 2010, the AI ​​in my mind is too powerful.

In 1963, Ralph Roberts bought a small cable television system with only 1200 subscribers in Tupelo, Mississippi, for several hundred thousand dollars.

Fifty years later, the company had become the world's largest media empire. After Ralph's son, Brian Roberts, took over, in 2002 he acquired the largest cable television network in the United States from AT&T, gaining nearly 2100 million cable television customers in 38 states.

Comcast is not as well-known worldwide as Disney.

However, in the United States, its fundamental strength is very strong. Its core business is cable television lines, providing television signals, broadband, and telephone services. It holds a 23% share of the total US pay-TV and broadband market, firmly ranking first.

Many people believe that Disney is the world's largest media company, and Disney itself also considers itself to be so.

However, Comcast would not agree, as they also consider themselves the leader. In 2011, Comcast's annual revenue was $558.4 billion, while Disney's was only $408.9 billion.

By 2012, despite the support of Marvel, Disney's revenue exceeded 422.8 billion in the first three quarters, but it still failed to surpass Comcast's 466.3 billion.

However, Comcast cannot compete with Disney in terms of profit. In 2011, Comcast's net profit was $41.6 billion, $8 million less than Disney's, and its profit margin of 7.5% was far less than Disney's 12%.

Comcast knew this was because content IP was easier to monetize, so in 2011, they filled that gap by officially acquiring NBCUniversal.

This is a massive content asset package. NBC is one of the three major wireless television networks in the United States, with more than a dozen local affiliated stations covering all markets across the country.

MSNBC is a left-wing news channel that speaks 24/7 to progressive voters and Democratic policymakers. USA Network is the highest-rated basic cable channel in the United States. Bravo produces reality TV, Syfy produces science fiction, and Telemundo is the second-largest Spanish-language television network in the United States.

Then there's Universal Pictures, one of the six major Hollywood studios. Universal Studios theme parks are also a super theme park IP, second only to Disney and Six Flags, and are a huge cash cow.

Comcast didn't stop there; they set their sights on Time Warner Cable.

This is a comprehensive service company with 1100 million households, covering core areas of the East and West Coasts of the United States, including New York and Los Angeles, providing cable TV, broadband internet, and IP telephony services.

Having just been completely spun off from Warner in 2009 and already a fully independent company, Comcast hoped to gain more subscribers and solidify its position in the US television network market by acquiring it.

However, during one of the negotiations, an executive inadvertently revealed that Disney was going to acquire Time Warner.

Comcast panicked immediately. For them, anyone could buy Warner Bros., but not Disney.

Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure features a themed area that cost $2.65 million to build and only opened on June 18, 2010.

Park attendance surged 68% in the first year, and Q1 profits increased several dozen times in the following year. Butterbeer, a magic wand, a Hogwarts scarf—all were imported from China for ten or twenty RMB, but could be sold for forty-five dollars.

In its first year of operation, the park helped Comcast's resort division turn a loss into a profit of several hundred million dollars. By 2012, Comcast's market share in Orlando had jumped from 16% to 20.8%, while Disney's had fallen from 74.9% to 71.3% during the same period.

This park is, of course, the famous Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Warner Bros. only owns the portrait rights to the Harry Potter films; the actual copyright still belongs to J.K. Rowling.

In 2004, Disney first obtained a letter of intent from Rowling, planning to place a Harry Potter area in the Wizarding World of Magic. Rowling then made several conditions: Hogwarts must be built to full scale, the same size as Cinderella Castle; she retained all creative approval rights; and Disney's imagination engineers could not arbitrarily modify any of her designs.

Disney's then-CEO, Michael Eisner, was out of his mind. He was unwilling to let a witch's castle compete with his own Cinderella castle, and he was also unaccustomed to anyone saying no to his own creative team.

In 2007, Universal Pictures happily accepted all of Rowling's conditions and obtained exclusive global theme park licenses, getting a super IP for free.

If Apple acquires Disney first, and then Time Warner, the Harry Potter theme park licensing contract held by Warner Bros. will fall into Apple's hands.

Apple only needs to wait until the contract expires and then not renew it. Comcast will then face huge losses, and that time is not far off; the contract they signed in 07 is only valid for ten years.

Then there were two five-year priority renewal options, but now Disney may very well become the referee and could renege on these renewal options for various reasons.

Brian Roberts acted decisively, disregarding the so-called editorial independence of news, and instructed all his columns to launch a media attack in order to create momentum.

Comcast’s entire network of television stations went into overdrive, taking a subjective stance and beginning to criticize Disney.

Not only general news channels like NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo, but even entertainment channels like USA Network, E!, and Bravo, which broadcast movies and TV series every day, have started airing negative news about Disney. Even the science fiction channel Syfy has not been spared.

Not to mention sports news networks, which cover eleven regions and have a total of 3900 million subscribers, all of which have started to spread alarmist rumors about the negative impact of the acquisition on sports broadcasting.

As one of the most important financial channels in the United States, CNBC had a very serious discussion about the various aspects of this transaction just two days ago.

Now, the content of the programs directly uses the negative impact that Disney and Apple will have on the overall US entertainment market.

This is American television. The independence of news editors is a very abstract concept, and it depends heavily on the pressure from above.

If the pressure isn't too great, the heads of various editing and television stations can very firmly refuse to cooperate.

However, if the authorities directly threaten people with their jobs, most people would find it difficult to say no.

Moreover, this isn't about covering up some outrageous news or doing anything morally reprehensible. It's all about capital transactions, and journalists generally have a flexible moral bottom line. Saying a few insincere words is enough; you don't even need to go to church. Just pray at home, and God will forgive you.

They began adjusting the guest topics, changing the focus of the themes, and carefully editing the interview materials.

On the seventh day, NBC News aired a special report on its evening program. While the viewpoint wasn't particularly sharp, the angle was carefully chosen. The reporter went to the entrance of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and interviewed a family waiting in line for Space Mountain.

The reporter asked the mother, "If Disney is acquired by Apple in the future, do you think ticket prices will increase?"

The mother thought for a moment and said, "Maybe, apples are always more expensive."

This footage was then widely disseminated by all Comcast-owned television stations that same day.

Fortunately, at the most critical moment, it was already the end of October.

So while it's true that in business battles, there are times when everyone is just a makeshift operation, most of the time things are still reliable, and everything is calculated. That's why Apple and Disney announced their merger at this time.

Because the US presidential election is coming on November 6th!

All the negativity subsided for the time being, and attention was diverted. Chen Yiran took this opportunity to quickly consult with Ellison and contact several lobbying groups.