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Disney's Star Wars Films to be Aired on Time Warner's Turner

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Time Warner Inc.’s Turner unit has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with media behemoth, The Walt Disney Company (DIS - Free Report) . Per the agreement, Time Warner has acquired the basic cable right to broadcast Star Wars movies including the Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which created quite a stir in the entertainment world when it was released in Dec 2015, and the upcoming  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

The agreement also includes five out of the six previous Star Wars movies as well as three more forthcoming films that will be broadcast on the Turner channels. However, the financial terms of this deal were not disclosed. But per sources, the value of the deal stands at nearly $275 million.

In a separate agreement, Time Warner has also acquired the licensing deal to broadcast the original “Star Wars” film whose rights belong to Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (FOXA - Free Report) .

Star Wars, with its presence of almost 40 years, has gained an iconic status. A space saga, the franchise was the brainchild of George Lucas, made under the Lucasfilm banner and distributed by Twenty-First Century Fox. The two trilogies gained phenomenal worldwide success. Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012 for an estimated $4.1 billion and announced plans to revive the franchise with new movies as well as spin-offs.

In Dec 2015, Disney released its first Star Wars movie called Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. The seventh installment from the Star Wars line-up touched the $1 billion mark in its first 12 days of release, setting the record for reaching the mark in the shortest span of time and managing to beat Jurassic World, which crossed the figure in 13 days. The movie has collected more than $2 billion globally.

Disney has high hopes from the upcoming film "Rogue One," which will hit theaters on Dec 16, 2016.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Both Disney and Time Warner currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock worth considering is Cable ONE, Inc. (CABO - Free Report) , which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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