Netflix’s $72B WB acquisition confounds the future of movie theaters, streaming
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If you think i'm paying for anything ever made by Netflix or Warner Bros after this, you're fucking mistaken. If there's going to be no trust busting, I'm just not going to take part in the economy.
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Theatrical has seen attendance decline for 30 years by this point it's not going to suddenly grow and come back.
Theatrical 'profits' are not why it continues to exist it's a halo product like a concept car or limited edition hyper cars. The legacy media companies made massive profits thanks to the cable TV bundle but that doesn't get column inches box office number ones and awards shows do. It's just about executive egos.
Netflix getting hold of not just a huge library of films and shows but experienced production studios for both means they have even less reason to deal with other legacy media companies who do overcharge with licencing fees to support their own streaming services.
Physical media is even worse it's basically dead at this point. Collectors still exist as does Magnetar ($3000 blu-ray player anyone?) but all the main consumer electronics companies have long abandoned physical media players.
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So Warner's been bought up by...AOL, AT&T, and now Netflix?
Has it ever worked out well for the acquirer?
Has it ever worked out well for the acquirer?
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chaos215bar2
Ars Praefectus
And the bad news is, neither one really cares any more about what used to make HBO great.
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It's actually much, much funnier than that.
AT&T bought Time Warner for over $80 billion and after just 4 years sold it to Discovery Inc for $40 billion now another 4 years later and Discovery is selling Warner to Netflix for $80 billion!
AT&T still has the CEO responsible for the above as well John Stankey who as COO pushed for AT&T buying Time Warner (and DirecTV as well).
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It depends. These days, the question is whether or not they have praised and paid Trump enough - it's pay to play.
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It's good thing the industry still has the Paramound Decree in place to prevent anti-competitive practices among studio and platforms, right?
Oh, right, the industry lobbied to get rid of it....
Oh, right, the industry lobbied to get rid of it....
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Discovery Inc bought it for $40 billion 4 years ago and is now selling for $80 billion so at least one company.
Netflix will probably handle it fine as they want the library and the experienced production studios to replace the hodge podge of outside production studios they currently use for all their originals.
Plus Netflix owns it's on CDN (content delivery network) and by transferring HBO Max to that they can save a fortune on transmission costs that have hamstrung most streamers ability to become profitable.
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I think the rest of the world might have something to say and I think its a big no , obviously we have no idea what the bribe will be to over come the USA regulator hurdles, but I see this as a non starter but enshittification wants what enshittification wants so maybe I'll be wrong again
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I really and honestly struggle with my feelings about this stuff.
I believe in paying and supporting content creators. I'm really grateful for all the subscribers we have, you make a difference in our existence. We are not Too Big Too Fail, that's for sure.
What we do depends on the support of our readers. It doesn't exist otherwise.
And yet when I see people posting
etc I not only get where they're coming from, but I also wonder at what point is it almost an ethical response?
3 companies owning every major piece of media is bad. Encouraging the failure of that model almost feels like it might be the best course at this point, since it's clear nobody with any power is going to be on our side.
When they cancel Jimmy Kimmel for speaking some really basic truth to power and the only response available is "cancel Disney+" that's incredibly unhealthy, we shouldn't even be in that position in the first place.
I believe in paying and supporting content creators. I'm really grateful for all the subscribers we have, you make a difference in our existence. We are not Too Big Too Fail, that's for sure.
What we do depends on the support of our readers. It doesn't exist otherwise.
And yet when I see people posting
etc I not only get where they're coming from, but I also wonder at what point is it almost an ethical response?3 companies owning every major piece of media is bad. Encouraging the failure of that model almost feels like it might be the best course at this point, since it's clear nobody with any power is going to be on our side.
When they cancel Jimmy Kimmel for speaking some really basic truth to power and the only response available is "cancel Disney+" that's incredibly unhealthy, we shouldn't even be in that position in the first place.
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Actually, I think they are. The plan was for David Ellison to acquire WB and complete the takeover of American media by Trump loyalists. Netflix threw a wrench in that plan. They'll be punished.
Is this because there's some sort of renewed interest in regulation? Ha, no. It's just a matter of the US picking favorites in the marketplace, and Paramount is the favorite, not Netflix.
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It's amazing how they keep trotting this stuff out and people keep accepting it. Microsoft said very similar things before its acquisition spree in gaming, and it's mostly resulted in piles of cancellations & closures.
Like every giant acquisition, this will result in higher prices, less competition, and less content being made.
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If Ars Technica or Conde Nast was acquired by Paradance, you know the subscribers would fall off a cliff in response. That's not piracy, that's proportional response.I really and honestly struggle with my feelings about this stuff.
I believe in paying and supporting content creators. I'm really grateful for all the subscribers we have, you make a difference in our existence. We are not Too Big Too Fail, that's for sure.
What we do depends on the support of our readers. It doesn't exist otherwise.
And yet when I see people posting
3 companies owning every major piece of media is bad. Encouraging the failure of that model almost feels like it might be the best course at this point, since it's clear nobody with any power is going to be on our side.
When they cancel Jimmy Kimmel for speaking some really basic truth to power and the only response available is "cancel Disney+" that's incredibly unhealthy, we shouldn't even be in that position in the first place.
Boycotting isn't even an EFFECTIVE protest means due to how integrated businesses are, but its only remaining means of protest left before forcing social collapse/conflict. We are no longer in an era of trustbusting, and I think we're never going to recover in my lifetime. Why bother even going on when it just means the cost of living will be even harder for the modest upper middle class, and especially the middle and lower classes which are just, well, fuck they're just non-people at this point to Corporate America and this Administration
View: https://www.tiktok.com/@crafts_and_crimes/video/7151851043624865070?lang=en
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Netflix has been shutting down their gaming efforts because they're not any good at it. So much more likely, they'll just fold all of WB games...
Maybe they'll keep licensing out the IP if we're lucky...
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It was this Time Warner CEO quote.
( 2010, Jeff Bewkes, then CEO of Warner Bros. parent Time Warner, famously compared up-and-coming streaming and DVD-by-mail company Netflix to the military of a small country in Southeast Europe. “It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world?” Bewkes said when asked whether Netflix was a threat to Hollywood giants. “I don’t think so.” )https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...eal-albanian-army-hollywood-gates-1236443118/
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I just desperately hope that Netflix doesn’t doo anything too egregiously corrupt or fascistic in order to get regulatory approval. I like Netflix and I want to not have to be disgusted by them.
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Shouldn't there be antitrust laws preventing giant corporations to syphon up entire industries into one big entity? "Oh, but there is also Disney" well congrats, there are two. That's not a free market. Disney should be divided up too by the way. And Microsoft, Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple and all the rest.
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Yes, it will because Ellison is buddy-buddy with Trump. Trump could sink this deal if his bribe isn't big enough or if Netflix hasn't groveled properly.
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I beg to differ. Cheetolini's cronies lost out on the bidding, and are asking Orange Foolius to intervene. They may wade neck-deep into Netflix's sh—, uh, affairs — as the administration drops its thumb on the scales.
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Groan.
The Paramount decree about splitting of film studios from owning theatre chains was a punishment after film studios ignored the ruling of the actual problem not the problem itself.
The problem was block booking where independent theatre chains had to buy reels of every film a studio produced to get access to reels of the films the theatre chains actually wanted. This was declared illegal but the studio's kept doing it so the punishment of banning it and forcing them to sell off their theatre chains was enforced.
TV channel owners owning TV show production studios never had the same restrictions and neither have streamers.
Hell Netflix only started making it's own shows because legacy media companies jacked up licencing fees to try to kill Netflix then refused to licence shows and films at all when they started their own streaming services.
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Do you think trump will get a billion for this?
At first i thought 50million. But that seems a pittance.
So maybe 500 million.
But the guy likes round number with more zeroes than he can count....
And astonishment is the order of the day, of course
At first i thought 50million. But that seems a pittance.
So maybe 500 million.
But the guy likes round number with more zeroes than he can count....
And astonishment is the order of the day, of course
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I haven't been to a movie theatre in almost 10 years and less than 5 times in like 15 years. Now, to be fair, I live someplace where it's "small town" theatres only. There is no IMAX or high-end / stadium seating or "no kids thatres" or "dinner theatre" available to me.
I have a "low-medium" end stereo setup with a 75" OLED 4K TV and my couch is comfy AF. The biggest problem I have is a 110lb puppy who likes to climb in your lap and give kisses in the middle of a movie and for 90% of TV / movies that is more than enough.
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The problem is the content creators also want to be the content distributors. There needs to be consolidation in streaming options, but that also means consolidation of the content creators (studios), which is bad for everyone.
I think music streaming has become long term successful because the artists and record labels are separate from the streaming platforms. Things were moving this way for movies and TV with Netflix, but then Netflix started producing their own content and all the other content creators wanted in on and, pulled their stuff from Netflix, and made their own platforms.
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No it will be about decreasing the debt.
The cost savings will come mostly from moving HBO Max from using third party CDN's (content delivery networks) to Netflix's own CDN.
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I figure this news will have Disney looking to acquire Paramount and/or Peacock. Moving us toward a Windows/MacOS type dichotomy with two major streaming services. To complete my analogy, I guess we could consider smaller offerings like AMC+ Linux.
Except I don't know where Amazon Prime fits into this. Maybe the best scenario we could hope for that this point is three major streaming services split between Netflix, Disney, and Amazon.
Except I don't know where Amazon Prime fits into this. Maybe the best scenario we could hope for that this point is three major streaming services split between Netflix, Disney, and Amazon.
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I doubt much of the rest of the world will care. Netflix isn't buying the TV networks and HBO Max is even less relevant internationally than it is in the USA.
Hell the biggest opposition would be France and the EU but this could cause fewer US films to be released theatrically in the EU and the EU and France especially would love that! the EU under pressure from France has considered copying China and allowing only 10-12 US made films to be released theatrically in the EU each year before.
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Isn’t that pretty much undoing the merger of Discovery and Warner Media spun off from AT&T?
Netflix would have been better off if they had tried to crash the party once the spin off became the plan and rode off with Warner Media without Discovery getting involved. And Warner Media would have been better off as well.
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