Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros • Hacker News Board

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#601

Post by nemomarx » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:21 PM UTC

raddan wrote: post #595

mlsu wrote: post #581

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix was still competing with blu-ray/DVD/cable at that point. "why should I watch TV on the fiddly computer when I can just pop a disc in?" or "why should I turn on Netflix when there's clearly stuff on cable TV?" -- that was Netflix's competition in those days. Because there was competition, they had to lower prices and improve service to win consumers. Now, that competition is being destroyed. Rest assured, Net…

Netflix is still "competing" with discs at this point, although I would accept that discs aren't exactly winning. Most of the content I watch comes from blu-rays, and with a few exceptions (The Americans, grr), most of the things I want to watch have been released on disc. In fact, there is a small community of film enthusiasts who continue to purchase media outright, e.g., https://www.blu-ray.com . I started using N…

I think the main reason they aren't competing as much now is that blu ray players / computers with disc drives / consoles with disc drives are getting more scarce?

I don't even know where I would get a good blu ray drive. The videophile subreddits keep suggesting very specific models with flashed firmware, which is not exactly accomodating to the public.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#602

Post by trunnell » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:22 PM UTC

Commenters here seem to be missing the larger David vs. Goliath story...

Netflix was a silicon valley start-up with a tech founder (Reed) who teamed up with an LA movie buff (Ted). They tried to solve a problem: it was too hard to watch movies at home, and Hollywood seemed to hate new tech. The movie industry titans alternated between fighting Netflix and making deals. They fought Netflix's ability to bulk purchase and rent out DVDs. Later, they lobbed insults even while taking Netflix's money for content licensing. Here's Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner, in 2010:

"It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world? I don’t think so." [1]

Remember: this was the same movie industry that gave us the MPAA and the DMCA. They were trying to ensure the internet, and new tech in general, had zero impact on them. Streaming movies and TV probably wouldn't exist if Netflix had not forced the issue.

Netflix buying HBO is significant, but also just another chapter in this story of Netflix's internet distribution model out-competing the Hollywood incumbents. Even now in 2025, at least 12 years after it was perfectly clear that streaming direct to the consumer would be the future, the industry is still struggling to turn the corner. Instead, they're selling themselves to Netflix.

I was at Netflix 2009-2019. It was shocking how easily our little "Albanian army" overthrew the empire. Our opponents barely fought back, and when they did, they were often incompetent with tech. To me, this is a story about how competent tech carried the day.

Netflix has been rapidly buying and building studio capacity for a decade now. Adding the WB studio production capacity is a huge win for Netflix. It makes those studios more productive: each day of content production is now worth more when distributed via Netflix's global platform.

Same with WB and HBO catalog and IP: it's worth more when its available to Netflix's approx 300 million members. Netflix can make new TV and films based on that IP, and it will be worth more than if it was only on HBO's platforms.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/business/media/13bewkes.h...

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#603

Post by NoGravitas » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:22 PM UTC

IncreasePosts wrote: post #511

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just have one subscription at a time and then pirate the rest of it. They all had their chance. They blew it.

Or...don't pirate and rotate streaming services. Just because a new show drops doesn't mean you need to watch it next week

There are certainly people who do this with free trial subscriptions when a show they want becomes available.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#604

Post by badmonster » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:23 PM UTC

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Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#605

Post by lossolo » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:23 PM UTC

phartenfeller wrote: post #52

I don't like this. Netflix rarely creates excellent content; instead, it frequently produces mediocre or worse content. Will the same happen for Warner? Are cinemas now second behind streaming? Edit: I agree Netflix has good Originals. But most are from the early days when they favored quality over quantity. It is sad to see that they reversed that. They have much funding power and should give it to great art that re…

I just checked and I've rated 1,788 movies and 326 TV series so 2,114 titles total on IMDB.

I agree with this take. Netflix has some good originals, but it's not in the same category as HBO/WB. Most (not all) of their series feel cheap, shallow, unoriginal. The quality and hit rate just aren't the same.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#606

Post by oatmealcookie » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:27 PM UTC

chipotle_coyote wrote: post #400

nonethewiser wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Any consolidation like this seems like a negative for consumers This is a very common narrative to this news. But coming into this news, I think the most common narrative against streaming was essentially "There is not enough consolidation." People were happy when Netflix was the streaming service, but then everyone pulled their content and have their own (Disney, Paramount, etc.)

I think you're right, but I've always been a bit skeptical of that vision -- it implicitly relies on the assumption that "THE streaming service" will choose to make as much content available as technically and legally possible; they're imagining something like "Spotify but for movies and TV shows". But I was always worried about "Apple's App Store but for movies and TV shows": one company with ultimate gatekeeper sta…

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Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#607

Post by stevenwoo » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:27 PM UTC

jeremy_k wrote: post #411

Please Netflix, green light Westworld season 5

That's the exact opposite of Netflix most recent history, Westworld was an expensive production and viewing numbers on HBO were declining as seasons went on. Even relatively inexpensive looking Netflix shows got cancelled, i.e. GLOW, I Am Not Okay with This, Santa Clarita Diet, never mind shows that were less expensive than Westworld that had poor Netflix viewer metrics like The Residence, The OA, probably lots more I am leaving out. Early years maybe, like when they kept Orange is the New Black and House of Cards going to completion or resurrected Arrested Development.

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#608

Post by dasil003 » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:29 PM UTC

bko wrote: post #518

afavour wrote: post #182

Any consolidation like this seems like a negative for consumers. But at least it wasn’t bought by Larry Ellison, as was considered very likely (assuming this merger gets approved, in the current administration you never know). From a Hacker News perspective, I wonder what this means for engineers working on HBO Max. Netflix says they’re keeping the company separate but surely you’d be looking to move them to Netflix…

Why is this a negative for consumers? Doesn't everyone complain how they have to subscribe to 5 different streaming services, and plenty of people have to pay for a service just to enjoy one or two series? I don't think consolidation is necessarily bad. It makes sense from a cost perspective too. I guess they could just license out the content, but this will probably grow the catalog a lot.

The production side is the problem. Netflix churns out shovelware crap designed to be on in the background. Every once in a while they get lucky or stick their neck out to acquire something good, but the batting average is very low. HBO on the other hand has the highest batting average, and the brand actually still stands for quality.

Of course Netflix is saying all the right things now to keep anti-trust off their backs, but at some which culture do you think is going to win out?

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#609

Post by palata » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:30 PM UTC

paxys wrote: post #210

palata wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Someday a new startup will piggy bank on Netflix and probably buy it later. I think what history shows us is that the modern monopolies managed to destroy antitrust to the point where nobody will ever do to them what they did to others.

People said that a generation ago as well, and the one before that. Yeah monopolies make it hard, but every one of them eventually crumbles to the next wave of innovation.

I disagree. I strongly recommend this talk by Cory Doctorow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EmstuO0Em8

Re: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros

#610

Post by underlipton » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 5:30 PM UTC

PearlRiver wrote: post #244

jmkd wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cinema is indeed second behind streaming. The theatrical window is now so short (~40) days that audiences are happy to wait for the increased benefits and reduced cost of watching at home.

This was inevitable. Technology was bound to catch up. Hollywood actually panicked in the 1960s. But those screens were tiny. Nobody wants to see the Godfather on a cheap 1974 Panasonic. But TV today is at least 55 inch and in crisp 4k resolution. A modern TV is good enough for most content. It is not Netflix that killed the movieplex. They were just the first to utilise the new tools. The movie theater became the st…

I was flabbergasted to find that there are 100" TVs available for sub-$1500. Only a few years ago, they were five figures, minimum. Combined with a decent audio set-up, you really can have 90% of the theater experience at home.