With CNN already moving hard right, will Fox News Control CNN

Time Warner Inc. has turned down an $80-billion (U.S.) takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. that would have joined two of the world’s most powerful media conglomerates, but there is reason to believe Time Warner could still field further offers in the near future.

Both companies confirmed that Fox tabled a formal offer last month, responding to a Wednesday story from The New York Times. The bid was worth $85 a share with 60 per cent in stock and the remainder in cash, according to Reuters, and Mr. Murdoch predicted $1-billion in cost savings. He also planned to sell the CNN network to avoid regulatory concerns over competition.

It’s merger mania, with AT&T going after DirecTV and Comcast looking to gobble up Time Warner Cable—not to be confused with Time Warner Inc., another cable company that is now the object of Rupert Murdoch’s appetite.

The media mogul, who owns numerous cable channels, TV stations, newspapers and the most successful movie studio in Hollywood, has reportedly offered $75 billion.

Bloomberg has a source that says Fox would sell off CNN (the company already owns Fox News) to appease regulators, but that probably won’t be enough. The combined company would give Murdoch a huge negotiating advantage with content providers (the aforementioned Comcast and AT&T) and theater operators (Time Warner Inc. owns Warner Bros., the second-most successful studio this year).

Fox is expected to argue that it must gain leverage if it is to contend with even more massive cable providers, but it would be easier to just say no to all the deals on the table and let competition rule. Perhaps Murdoch’s bid is a brilliant maneuver to scuttle those other mergers.