This Friday, Hollywood news was shaken by something that would change everything: Netflix had taken precedence over its competitors and had acquired Warner Bros. by $82.7 billionincluding the portion of debt that afflicted the company David Zaslav.
What is the company streaming specifically acquired were the divisions most intended for audiovisual fiction (i.e. Warner Bros. And HBO/HBO Max) so that Zaslav’s plans to separate Discovery Warner Bros. They could continue their journey.
Warner Bros. Discovery, let us remember, was born from the merger of Warner with Discovery Max: an operation which did not yield great results and which had led the conglomerate to consider this split to clean up its accounts: also to put itself up for sale to the highest bidder. What, outside of Netflix, could have been Comcast and, in particular, Paramount Skydance.
Other major of historic Hollywood, like Warner, which is under the control of the mogul David Ellison after having absorbed Paramount a few months ago at the head of Skydance.
Paramount enters the game
Ellison wanted to consolidate his power in the industry by adding Warner Bros. Discovery to its properties, also focusing on the television part (which includes a brand as prestigious as CNN).
To do this, he had absolute economic influence and, above all, the favor of the Trump administrationwhich, for example, facilitated the creation of Paramount Skydance this summer. The fact that Ellison initially lost the bid has already sparked a reaction from Ellison himself. Donald Trump.
“Netflix is a great company. They have done a phenomenal job,” declared the American president, warning that “could be a problem” that Netflix has amassed so much power. “I have a lot of respect for Ted Sarandos“, he added, referring to one of Netflix’s owners, “but it’s a significant market share, so we’ll have to see what happens.”
Trump, for now, appears to be wiping his hands, but Ellison isn’t going to let Warner fall into Netflix’s hands without a fight. So this Monday we learned that he was preparing a hostile takeover bid.
Buyback opportunity
That is, Ellison is going to present another offer outside of the designs of the Warner board: now that amounts to $108,400, and Ellison wanted to fuel the fear that currently exists in the industry due to the prospect of a Warner under the domination of Netflix, which is therefore the number one entertainment company (easily surpassing disney Yeah Amazon MGM Studios).
Ellison is aware of the pushback Netflix is getting among the traditional film industries, and in fact the first thing to come out of the deal is the opposition of the main unions in the sector.
He Administrators Union (directed by Christopher Nolanwhich should meet Netflix soon) sounded the alarm at the same time as the SAG-AFTRA (actors union) and the WGA (by screenwriters), accompanied by United Cinema bringing together the union of cinema chains and exhibitors. Which, naturally, would be the sector most affected if Netflix were to consider integrating Warner production into its exhibition model.
Ellison’s new statement feeds on this concern and aims to turn public opinion against Netflix. “We deeply believe in the future of the film industryand we want to help preserve and promote it. Films are one of the United States’ top exports. We want to build on this legacy, not diminish it. Ellison says he respects the “Healthy traditional windows”.
“This transaction aims to build more, do not cut. “More opportunities for industry, more choice for consumers, more value for shareholders and more support for creative talent.”
Netflix’s response
Netflix, as we well know, is a company focused on streamingwho until now had never been interested in historic assets of Hollywood. It comes out in theaters from time to time, yes, but in a very limited way and only when we talk about certain phenomena, like the productions for which it wishes to be nominated. Oscar (and that, according to the Academy’s regulations, they must have passed through rooms to do so).
Sarandos’ initial statements when the acquisition was finalized last Friday were not particularly encouraging.
Well, he said that for now they will continue to keep Warner films in theaters, but that “the storefronts will evolve to be much more consumer-friendly and reach audiences more quickly.” where it is locatedSince on other occasions Netflix management has maintained that traditional exploitation is a “outdated idea”the alarmism seems justified.
Faced with Paramount Skydance’s hostile takeover bid and Ellison’s arguments, Sarandos wanted to come forward and insist that he would not change his model with Warner films. “We did not buy this company to destroy this value. “We are deeply committed to releasing Warner Bros. films exactly as they are released today…”
In this sense, Sarandos is aware of the good year that Warner Bros. has had, in terms of the box office of its latest films. “If we had made this deal 24 months ago, every Warner Bros. movie would have been released. that we saw this year and which had great success at the box office would have been released the same way: Minecraft, Superman, Weapons, Sinners…All these films.
“With the Warner operating entity, we think it’s really important how they create and run this value“. Sarandos also assures that no one will lose their job because of the Warner acquisition and that his priority is to “create and protect jobs in the entertainment industry.
Finally, he assures that he is not worried about Ellison’s new offer and is convinced that the sale is sealed. “To have a done deal and we are very happy with it. We are confident that we will achieve it and close it.
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