21st Century Fox is worried the proposed deal could hurt its business and give telecommunications giant AT & T a huge foray into the changing media market by gaining access to Time Warner's prized content.

It has raised regulatory concerns about the merger.

Mr Murdoch's 21st Century Fox launched a brazen $US80 billion takeover of Time Warner in 2014, before abandoning the bid because the target refused to engage and Fox shareholders opposed the deal.

Mr Murdoch will be hoping Mr Trump, who has backed away from some campaign vows, keeps his promise on killing the AT & T-Time Warner tie up.

US President-elect Donald Trump vowed to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger. AP

Third, Mr Murdoch no longer has to worry about Mr Trump, a former celebrity TV star, setting up a rival right-wing television network to compete for viewers and on air talent with Fox News.

Only a few weeks ago, Mr Trump was reportedly eyeing starting a pay TV or online program to thrill his legion of followers in the event he lost the election.

Mr Trump has close ties to Fox News stars Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly and it was possible they could have followed the sacked Fox News boss Roger Ailes out the door to link with Mr Trump.


Fourth, with Mr Trump as president Fox News and News Corporation's The New York Post, both vigorous supporters of the Trump campaign, are likely to attain better access to the 45th president than almost any other media outlet.

Tellingly, it was Mr Murdoch's The Wall Street Journal which was granted the first post-election interview with Mr Trump.

Indeed, former New York mayor Giuliani, a frontrunner to be secretary of state and outspoken defender of Mr Trump, sat between Mr Murdoch and News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council on Monday night.

Mr Murdoch, who originally supported Barack Obama for president in 2008 before turning against his leftist policies, was originally circumspect on Mr Trump's bid for president.

He assailed Mr Trump on Twitter in July last year for demeaning Mexican immigrants as rapists and murderers.

But like many Republicans, Mr Murdoch is said by sources to have eventually changed his mind to later back Mr Trump for president, although his presence during the campaign was unusually low profile as he stopped tweeting.

Mr Murdoch and his influential conservative media outlets were highly critical of Hillary Clinton.

In contrast James Murdoch, the politically moderate chief executive of 21st Century Fox, appeared to hedge the media family's political bets last December when he joined the board of a Washington think tank, Center for a New American Security, which has close ties to Mrs Clinton.

For at least the next four years, the Murdochs won't have to navigate a Democratic presidency. They will deal with a president Trump.