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Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

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Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#461

Post by enragedcacti »

josefresco wrote: post #395
dclowd9901 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're starting to up their quality. Frankenstein and Death by Lightning were two standout successes recently. That said, I'm more uncomfortable with the continued consolidation of media ownership and more outsize influence of FAANG tech over media.

> Frankenstein and Death by Lightning were two standout successes recently. IMHO Frankenstein" was pretty terrible. The makeup was awful, the effects were cheap, the monster... wasn't a monster! The entire premise depends on him being a monster, not some sort of misunderstood, sympathetic EMO.

> The entire premise depends on him being a monster, not some sort of misunderstood, sympathetic EMO.

This is a misconception on a similar level to thinking the monster's name is Frankenstein: "As depicted by Shelley, the creature is a sensitive, emotional person whose only aim is to share his life with another sentient being like himself."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein%27s_monster#Perso...

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#462

Post by hnben »

smallerfish wrote: post #449

I'm a fan. Injecting a huge catalog into Netflix is a win for consumers who want just one subscription. And injecting studio talent into Netflix (assuming the merge gives WB creatives influence) can only help. HBO's tech sucks. Apple is (in my experience) hard to get running in the Android ecosystem. Most of the other options are too narrow in catalog, or ad ridden. Consolidating streaming services down to a handful…

> Consolidating streaming services down to a handful of offerings will make price competition more fierce because they'll have richer catalogs to do battle with.

this is not how markets usually work.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#463

Post by mrits »

wiseowise wrote: post #139
mrits wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can hardly blame a company for not supporting a product almost nobody wants to go back to.

> I can hardly blame a company for not supporting a product almost nobody wants to go back to. But that logic we should keep only insta, tiktok and youtube shorts.

Remind me in 20 years when we have old people complaining nobody is supporting traditional social media

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#464

Post by mortos »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #348
moolcool wrote: post #169

https://theonion.com/just-six-corporations-remain-1819564741...

Lockheed-Northrop-Boeing-Pepsico is an excellent joke all on its own damn.

Also a pretty subtle one, this article was written after Boeing and McConnell Douglas merged a year prior.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#465

Post by sega_sai »

On one hand it is good that the maybe the streaming will be split into less subscriptions, but on other hand, I think the only way forward is to simply prohibit exclusive streaming rights. I.e. any movie streaming rights should be sold to anyone who wants to buy them for the same price. That is only way to enable competition in streaming.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#466

Post by afavour »

Mindwipe wrote: post #350
afavour wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine it’ll end up looking very much like the Disney + Hulu + ESPN bundle. Minor savings but still more expensive than an individual subscription. > traditional TV business This was actually excluded from the deal. CNN, TNT, Discovery and the rest are being spun off into their own company. Presumably to wither and die.

No, that was going to happen next year, but it never did and this deal has been agreed for the whole company. WB pitched that to make it easier for them to be acquired by shunting all the debt to the channels entity - but it was unlikely the debt owners were ever going to go for that as presented, there would have been quite a significant chance of the channels group going under and them losing all the money. But ult…

FTA:

> In June 2025, WBD announced plans to separate its Streaming & Studios and Global Networks divisions into two separate publicly traded companies. This separation is now expected to be completed in Q3 2026, prior to the closing of this transaction.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#467

Post by aerostable_slug »

ryandrake wrote: post #450
meowface wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe there are licensing restrictions or other things that prevent it, but wouldn't it make more sense to combine HBO Max and Netflix into a single app? Or at least make all HBO Max content also available in Netflix (and then eventually sunset HBO Max). That would make a Netflix subscription a much more compelling purchase for a ton of people.

Not attacking you in particular, but I've always hated how we talk about "licensing restrictions" as if they're some kind of vague law of nature, like gravity. Oh, Studio X can't do Y... Because Licensing. "Licenses" are entirely conjured up by humans, and if there was an actual desire by the people who make decisions to change something, those people would find a way to make the "licensing restrictions" disappear. R…

The issue is that Netflix doesn't control those restrictions, the content creators (well, rights holders) do, and their incentives don't always align.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#468

Post by devrundown »

jandrusk wrote: post #391

This is going to be an off the wall statement given this audience, but WWE signed an exclusive deal with NetFlix for 10 years I think in an effort to counter their main competitor AEW, which signed a deal with HBO Max shortly before that. Now they'll both potentially be on the same platform, which WWE will hate as it will be interesting in having two competitive pro wrestling promotions on the same platform.

I'm pretty sure WWE would have an exclusivity clause that would prevent another pro-wrestling program on Netflix. But who knows!

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#469

Post by theragra »

ayaros wrote: post #364
dzink wrote: post #286

In 2009 a Turner Broadcasting executive stood in front of employees and said they are not worried about Online streaming because it only covered 15 minutes of watching time among consumers. TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, HBO, Time Inc were all under the same ownership umbrella along with the entire MGM catalog Ted Turner had acquired at the cost of losing control of his company. There were executives who knew what they w…

Everything is now re-consolidated under different media companies now. Instead of Ted Turner we have Larry Ellison, and Netflix, and Disney. So I think the biggest question is, what form of entertainment will eventually supplant streaming services? Whatever it is (or will be) will almost certainly be disregarded by most people.

AI generated by demand, most likely. Or AI generated by indie creators who have a vision but not a budget, and are provided with a platform to create content easily.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#470

Post by bigstrat2003 »

wiseowise wrote: post #139
mrits wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can hardly blame a company for not supporting a product almost nobody wants to go back to.

> I can hardly blame a company for not supporting a product almost nobody wants to go back to. But that logic we should keep only insta, tiktok and youtube shorts.

Unfortunately, that may yet become a reality.
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