That was Apple’s US cash on hand. They’ve got a ton more earned offshore that they don’t bring back in due to the tax laws.
It’s not just ABC/ESPN/Disney. That group owns or has significant interest in a lot other networks, plus radio, movie and music distribution, and publishing. If Apple wants to control the media market, they could hardly ask for a better place to start.
Plus, Apple (and specifically Jobs) has long had a good relationship with Disney, so that makes a merger/buyout idea make more sense for them rather than another media group.
Still... trying to figure out Apple’s strategies has been the bane of many a pundit, so if I’m way off base, at least I’ve got a lot of company. ;)
I’m not saying they wouldn’t get their money’s worth, just that it’s a very expensive company to buy even with Apple’s cash on hand, and if they really wanted to get into that end of the business they could get into it for a lot cheaper and with a lot less complications. It’s a rough business to get into because now you have to deal with FCC requirements, the whole affiliate structure, the cable company deals, and of course 2 dozen “different” movie companies. It would be paying a lot of money to suddenly enter a lot of different business worlds you have no experience in, and enter them in a big way. If they wanted to go that route a smaller company to buy involves not only dramatically smaller cash out lay but a lot fewer headaches, and if they proved to be good at it THEN they buy Disney.