What to say about the Netflix deal for Warner Bros., and the subsequent hostile bid for the whole of WBD by Paramount, that has not been said already?
Yet developments reverberate across the media ecosystem, and it’s not hard to see why. A historic movie studio being acquired by a streamer, a company that once went to Blockbuster with its begging bowl, tells us everything about the modern media age.
The backlash from David Ellison and Paramount feels like an episode of Succession. (Ironically, an HBO show.) Buckle in, because there are months, maybe years, more of this to come. That’s all, folks? No chance.
US President Donald Trump has already poked his nose in, suggesting there may be antitrust concerns surrounding the Netflix deal. At a White House roundtable on Monday, he insisted that “none of [the bidders] are particularly great friends of mine.” The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is one of the parties backing the Paramount bid, along with some sovereign wealth funds.
The president is obviously no fan of CNN either, which would be included in the Paramount deal. There was previously some discussion that Paramount’s move for The Free Press was done, at least in part, to appease the White House and demonstrate how the company could adjust news coverage. (I’m not sure I have that much sympathy for the CNN staffers reportedly upset at the idea of answering to Bari Weiss. Let’s see how things go at CBS.)
Paramount’s Political Power
Armed with more money and (probably) more political backing, Ellison and co. could yet win out. It’s arguably a cleaner option than the Netflix one, which leaves the WBD split in motion, with the less sexy parts still to sell. Shareholders might want to take the extra cash. Also, who really wants an extensive antitrust process?
There are also Hollywood concerns that Netflix picking up the studio will diminish WBD’s theatrical releases. I guess that Netflix will play nice for a bit before returning to what it does best – streaming stuff. It will want to meet the basic requirements for the Oscars and other awards, but beyond that, why should it bother?
That will all be a side issue if this deal gets really political. Per Lucas Shaw at Bloomberg, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos headed to the White House last month. The bid was obviously on the agenda. However, it is Paramount that may yet be proven to have friends in the right places.
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