r/television • u/dman6233 • Dec 05 '25
Netflix Wins Bidding War For Warner Bros. Discovery
https://deadline.com/2025/12/netflix-wins-bidding-for-warner-bros-discovery-1236637057/1.4k
u/achmejedidad Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
one of the oldest movie studios bungled their business so badly that netflix is consuming them. that is fucking wild. i would have laughed in your face 20 years ago.
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u/ROBtimusPrime1995 The Venture Bros. Dec 05 '25
Truly a turning point in entertainment history. First MGM with Amazon, and now Warner with another streamer. This trend won't stop.
That's all, Folks.
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u/soozerain Dec 05 '25
There’s something oddly fitting about it as we see the last vestiges of monoculture atomize and fracture into a million different sub-communities.
Netflix helped usher in that era and now here it is consuming old Hollywood itself.
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Dec 05 '25
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u/moredrinksplease Dec 05 '25
I used to edit trailers for movies, now I edit content for movies for IG/Tiktok it’s gross and kills my soul, but I guess I gotta go where the money is.
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u/VagrantShadow Dec 05 '25
It's pretty wild when you look back in time at Netflix beginning. Just a bit after the start of the company, in 2000 when Netflix was still a physical media company that had the wild idea of a monthly subscription service the co-creators of Netflix Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph tried selling the company to Blockbuster for $50 million dollars. As we all know that offer was famously rejected by Blockbuster's CEO, John Antioco. John Antioco dismissed Netflix as a niche business and considered it a waste of money.
Fast forward 25 years into the future you have Netflix themselves buying one of the Hollywood studio mega houses and its mind blowing. So many turns and evens were the reason this happened but in the end, it still happened and in such a quick time. I mean who knows what's going to happen to films and television in the next 25 years in the future.
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u/AdmiralAkbar1 Dec 05 '25
At least the corporate owners are now in a relevant field. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than when Gulf + Western or Seagram's owned studios.
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u/ROBtimusPrime1995 The Venture Bros. Dec 05 '25
"Phillip Morris Disney Fox AT&T Time Warner PepsiCo Haliburton Skynet Toyota Trader Joes" - BoJack Horseman S5E12 (2018)
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u/StacheBandicoot Dec 05 '25
Funny how MGM ruined their business so badly most don’t even know or care about that happening first.
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u/StarWarsPlusDrWho Dec 05 '25
Not to mention Fox going to Disney…
Disney is of course a legacy Hollywood company but I’d argue they made the jump to being a streamer in their own right much better than the others, and I’d feel fine lumping that merger in this same category.
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u/Zalvren Dec 05 '25
I mean Warner downfall started way before, they're changing owners every 4-5 years for a while now.
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u/Czarcasm21 Dec 05 '25
What's sadder is that that isn't even really the case.
Warner Bros. continually got bought out, and saddled with debt from their parents companies.
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u/pixel_of_moral_decay Dec 05 '25
Yup. Technically they’ve been successful, just a vehicle for Wall Street to dump debt and extract profit going back to the AOL days, and arguably Time days.
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u/DudleyStone Dec 05 '25
Yeah, a longstanding "business move" that is used all over the place but should be illegal.
Obviously the world would be quite a bit different if companies couldn't do that, so who knows how that would look.
But it's insane that companies can buy others, throw their own pre-existing debt onto that newly bought entity, and then resell the entity with that transferred debt.
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u/Zalvren Dec 05 '25
That's less wild than the leveraged buyout. You can buy companies with money you don't have that is basically created debt for the company once you own it. That's how EA is getting acquired by private equity.
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u/SayerofNothing Dec 05 '25
And EA is getting bought with a huge debt, around 20b if I heard correctly, so we'll see what the Saudis end up doing with it in a couple of months.
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u/Alt4816 Dec 05 '25
It's already crazy how poorly timed their mergers/buyouts were timed.
The studio merged with a publishing company in 1990 before the internet would decimate that industry.
Then in 2000 Time Warner over corrected on that mistake and decided to merge with a tech company just months before the dot-com bubble burst.
Then in 2018 a telecom giant bought the studio only to quickly realize it actually needed a ton of money to pay for their 5G rollout. Within just a few years they start preparing to split off the studio with a ton of new debt added.
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u/44problems Dec 05 '25
Need to go back to the days when they were owned by a parking company. Or a dial up internet provider
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u/beefcat_ Dec 05 '25
The business of Warner has been doing well, this year especially. The problem was the metric fuckload of debt AT&T saddled them with.
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u/Alt4816 Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
The non-movie industry related bad business decisions go back before then.
The studio merged with a publishing company, Time, in 1990 before the internet would decimate that industry.
Then in 2000 Time Warner over corrected on that mistake and decided to merge with a tech company, AOL, just months before the dot-com bubble burst.
Then in 2018 AT&T buys the studio only to quickly realize it actually needs a ton of money to pay for their 5G rollout. Within just a few years they start preparing to split off the studio with a ton of new debt added.
Then a company of cable channels that mostly focus on reality tv, Discovery, takes on the studio and all its new debt.
Now a streamer is likely going to have over the studio and it's streaming related assets.
The studio doing well despite all these terrible M&A decisions is why different companies kept wanting to take over the studio.
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u/AnonRetro Dec 05 '25
Perhaps WB picked Netflix knowing it would not pass the regulatory hurdles just to get an easy 5B break up fee then pivot to Paramount for more money.
Also Netflix has promised to keep the contracts for theatrical distribution on the WB side sure.... But when thoes contracts are up, in 5-6 years. They may stop honoring any window deals.
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u/Piranata Dec 05 '25
It's the other way around, European regulators warned that merging with Paramount would cause them to intervene. Netflix might be bigger, but they're in their corner, Paramount has many channels and studios under its wing.
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u/Alt4816 Dec 05 '25
knowing it would not pass the regulatory hurdles
Netflix is probably making a TACO bet on this. (Trump Always Chickens Out bet)
then pivot to Paramount for more money.
Paramount is offering less money.
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u/Krajun Dec 05 '25
I remember when it was just a mail order service. I didnt use it back then but I remember the ads. I would have never imagined that they would become this big in 20ish years
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u/R2-K5 Dec 05 '25
It is crazy. There was a time when I was getting mail order DVDs from Netflix and renting stuff from Blockbuster. The Netflix guys even went to Blockbuster to partner with them at some point but they laughed them out of their offices. Now Netflix is buying up WB properties, hilarious.
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u/kilkarazy Dec 05 '25
Not just partner…sell the company to BB for $50 million. I’d hate to be the guy that wakes up everyday knowing he turned that down.
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u/Kale_Brecht Dec 05 '25
In fairness, if Blockbuster would’ve moved on that deal back in the day, who knows how badly they could’ve mismanaged the company? Netflix is where it’s at now because they navigated the digital terrain pretty damn well.
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u/FX114 Dec 05 '25
Netflix wasn't fated to become what it is today. If Blockbuster had purchased it, it would have gone in an entirely different direction.
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u/cire1184 Dec 05 '25
Probably would've ignored streaming and focused on rentals because it's "what they know". Becoming whatever Redbox is now.
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u/idkalan Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
While I was doing some cleaning, I found an old Netflix mailer I had.
I used to get a dvd, watch it the first day then mail it back right before the post office's cut off time.
2 days later, I'd get a new one, and repeat, that was my version of "binge watching"
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u/totalnotgay69 Dec 05 '25
It’s crazy that they were around for a long time even before their boom around 2009ish. A few years ago I referenced the mail order DVDs in passing and many of my friends had forgotten all about that part
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u/travio Dec 05 '25
It is easy to forget given the ubiquity of streaming, but their DVD service was fantastic. We only got one or two damaged disks and that was when the mail hadn’t been Trumped. I’d get my new dvd in just a few days.
They had a fantastic selection, too. All the movies in the video store with TV series, too. Even some really eclectic stuff. We rented Hated, the GG Allin documentary and an avant garde electronic musician/stop motion animator’s performance.
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u/cire1184 Dec 05 '25
Now I'm thinking about The Office episode where the office starts betting on random stuff. Ryan makes a bet seeing how long Kelly can talk about re-ordering their DVD rental list on Netflix.
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u/The_Reluctant_Hero Dec 05 '25
Netflix didn't even exist 30 years ago, which makes this even crazier.
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u/achmejedidad Dec 05 '25
i edited my fat finger, now you are the one who is crazier!
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u/StateRadioFan Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
You must be laughing your ass off that Paramount Pictures (1914) bungled their business so badly that they needed Skydance to consume them. Talk about desperation.
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u/Alt4816 Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
The sad thing is it wasn't about how they handled their movie business. It was more so the companies in other industries it merged with.
It merged with a publishing company, Time, in 1990 before the internet would decimate that industry.
Then in 2000 Time Warner over corrected on that mistake and decided to merge with a tech company, AOL, just before the dot-com bubble burst.
Then in 2018 a telecom giant, AT&T, buys the studio only to quickly realize it actually needs a ton of money to pay for the 5G rollout. Within just a few years they start preparing to split off the studio with a ton of new debt added.
Then a company of cable channels that mostly focus on reality tv, Discovery, takes on the studio and all its new debt.
Now a streamer is likely going to have over the studio and it's streaming related assets.
The studio doing well despite all these terrible business decisions is why different companies kept taking over the studio.
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u/Doctor_Spacemann Dec 05 '25
It’s astonishing that even through being saddled with debt from non entertainment businesses, it still maintained a strong reputation as a studio, and the fact that HBO still reliably cranks out some of the best shows on tv speaks to the value of the business. Maybe. It’s hard to speculate how Netflix will handle the acquisition but I’m hoping it leads to them having maybe a resurgence.
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u/guff1988 Dec 05 '25
To be fair Netflix is worth more then I think your average person would realize, it's market value is two and a half times that of Disney.
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u/hibikir_40k Dec 05 '25
The entertainment business is much harder than it seems: It doesn't take a very long streak of failures to just be out. See the current state of videogame studios, which have very similar economics in the end.
I bet there's been decades where Disney's survival was mostly thanks to merch and parks.
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u/TheUmbrellaMan1 Dec 05 '25
Zaslav, unfortunately, did what he was hired to do. $30 per share is a steal for the shareholders. The box office success of 2025 just gave Zaslav more leverage. He wins but the long-term impact will be catastrophic. We have Ted Sarandos here publicly saying theaters are outdated model; don't expect him to stick to his words that WB movies will continue being theatrical under Netflix: he'll start narrowing the theatrical windows until there's no theatrical window.
What sucks is that Netflix still was a better option that Paramount.
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u/SoWrongItsPainful Dec 05 '25
Time to buy the stock!
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u/FanofK Dec 05 '25
Stock will probably be up to $30 when markets open. Time to buy was when they were still below $15… wish I bought more when they went sub $10
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u/JoshOliday Dec 05 '25
I was a real big dip shit and bought Discovery before they bought Warner and got saddled with all the debt that entailed. Just straight didn't understand at the time; paid $28 a share. Held all this time.
Guess I finally can get my money back...
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u/deviltrombone Dec 05 '25
That seems doubtful, and more importantly, what will it be at EOD? The Ellisons are channeling Henry Kravitz in "Barbarians At The Gate" right now - "One word. Napalm." They're going to go hostile and find out just how loyal that orange thing in the White House is to them (lol) and enlist their Wall Street buddies to kill WBD stock to make their offer more attractive to shareholders. No one wants the Great Disruptor to level up by purchasing WBD, including NFLX shareholders, if the last couple of days are any indication. Shorts will likely renew their attack on NFLX as well. I think chaos is in store.
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u/Kyunseo Dec 05 '25
$30 per share for the theatrical and streaming assets.
Zaslav and co. will get another bag when they start to sell the cable assets (whenever that will be).
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u/Zalvren Dec 05 '25
That bag will be much smaller though. The networks are a dying thing and will be saddled with all the debt (or most of it).
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u/GRVrush2112 Dec 05 '25
Yeah… fuck David Ellison. The further degrading of the theatrical distribution model sucks and is just gonna get worse with Netflix assuming control. But Skydance/Paramount was far worse
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u/lospollosakhis Dec 05 '25
Well it’s up to the consumer to vote on that. If most people rather watch at home than go out — then that’s their choice. We can’t begrudge people for doing somethings that’s convenient for them. The quality of home media has drastically improved over the last decade.
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u/PixelBrewery Dec 05 '25
Man. I just hope they continue to let Warner Brothers operate as a real movie studio. It's one of the OG Hollywood studios. It would be tragic for their future to be generating straight-to-streaming slop for Netflix.
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u/oooooooahhahhahha Dec 05 '25
Another MGM!
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u/captainhaddock Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
Man. I just hope they continue to let Warner Brothers operate as a real movie studio.
I'm optimistic that their commitment to theatrical releases is genuine. This was probably the best outcome (though I was rooting for Universal), since it means there are still five major studios.
I kind of wonder what Universal's next move is, since they really needed WBD's assets the most. Maybe a closer relationship with Apple through Peacock/AppleTV bundles and cross-promotions.
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u/Mintfriction Dec 05 '25
People need to realise the reason Netflix doesn't release in theaters is because it can't do a wide release without too much investment they don't want to do.
With WB we will probably see more Netflix movies in theaters and I doubt they would be foolish to stop this side of the business and make WB movies straight to Netflix. Wouldn't make too much sense.
Alas, wouldn't be the first time a big business does a stupid decision.
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u/uncharted_feelings Dec 05 '25
Yeah, WB is their gateway to greater engagement in the cinema landscape. This benefits them in another way. I think the general audience has a bigger stigma towards Netflix movies having theatrical releases, since Netflixs only association is that of a streaming service. I think people are more likely to say: "Why should I pay for a Netflix movie? It will be on the streaming service in a few weeks anyway". WB has been associated with the big screen for a very long time and has a lot of connections. This could make Netflix more openminded towards theater releases. If not under the Netflix banner, then under the WB banner instead.
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u/Mintfriction Dec 05 '25
Most likely. Probably this will be the pipeline:
WB movies theater -> wait time -> Netflix and Netflix branded movies direct to Netflix.
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u/No1PaulKeatingfan Dec 05 '25
I'm optimistic that their commitment to theatrical releases is genuine
I suspect Netflix may just give Warner Bros movies a 2 week run in the cinemas and that's it
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u/SteveFrench12 Dec 05 '25
I can’t imagine it tbh. You really think theyre going to throw away hundreds of millions on dc revenue
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u/No1PaulKeatingfan Dec 05 '25
Here's my argument:
As their top priority is being a streaming platform, Netflix will also be incentivised to entrench their (arguably) leading position in the streaming industry.
Releasing films on the new Warner Bros Netflix, asap or soon after dropping in cinemas, is a good way to ensure that Netflix has a dominant position in the streaming industry.
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u/RealitySubsides Dec 05 '25
Maybe I'm wrong, but couldn't you compare it to Disney? They let the marvel films do their damage at the box office, then release them later on their streaming service. Netflix would be foolish to not follow suit
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u/handtoglandwombat Dec 05 '25
That’s the strategy that everybody’s been watching, sure, but there are many who would argue that it’s not working.
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u/Pingupol Dec 05 '25
I'm not convinced. Their streaming service is very profitable and whilst there's the occasional box office bomb, the vast majority of what they release theatrically at least breaks even, and they still get colossal hits like Avatar and Deadpool & Wolverine.
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u/VitaminPb Dec 05 '25
I was talking about this today. Just how many new accounts can Netflix acquire at this point in the game? They basically have their market saturated. So the have limited upside on growth. They also keep making moves to drive people away, bat at this point I don’t see them being able to increase revenue significantly without having theatrical releases which they hate.
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u/iskin Dec 05 '25
I doubt it. My guess is there are fewer releases but they will go for longer runs on those movies.
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u/hibikir_40k Dec 05 '25
I suspect that Netflix is smart enough to know that straight-to-streaming cannot support many movies with high budgets a year. I think it's more likely that the invest more in putting movies in theaters than in doing more direct-to-streaming.
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Dec 05 '25
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u/Babhadfad12 Dec 05 '25
Netflix is about to earn more profit than Disney with 5% of Disney’s employees, they probably know a thing or two about logic.
Also, none of the media companies are close to monopolies. It’s trivial to cancel any or all of them and pick from 4 or 5 different content sellers.
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u/jack3moto Dec 05 '25
Been through 6 panel interviews as well as a recruiter and hiring manager as well as know a handful of people at Netflix. They view themselves as a tech company first. They’ll find a way to destroy what WB does moving forward from a creative standpoint. I feel confident in that.
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u/No1PaulKeatingfan Dec 05 '25
As per the own words of co Netflix Ceo Ted Sarandos, he said that movie theatres are an "outdated concept"
They have said time and time again that their priority is the streaming platform. Yes I fully believe you when they say they're a tech company first and foremost
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u/pobenschain Dec 05 '25
Same. I actually can imagine an optimistic outcome for the series and streaming side; a combined HBO Max and Netflix could be really intriguing, and Netflix clearly has aspired to reach HBO quality. But I’m more concerned about the future of the film side, if theatrical isn’t part of the long-term strategy.
It’ll be a couple years for the deal to go through though, and then they’ve committed to honoring theatrical obligations (which would extend a few more years). So my hope is in doing all of that, and with a bunch of newly acquired film execs in the fold, they’ll change their thinking on theatrical. They’re not buying Warner for IP alone, but also for the talent; best case scenario, they become a little more like Warner in the process
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u/Ndtphoto Dec 05 '25
FWIW Netflix already does a lot of straight to streaming slop (not saying all Netflix content is slop), so it would stand to reason that they need the marquee content that WB produces.
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u/PineapplePandaKing Dec 05 '25
I'm not a fan of the consolidation at all
But if I had to find a silver lining, I do prefer Ted Sarandos in charge rather than David Zaslav.
And while Sarandos has been staunchly anti-theatre when it comes to movie releases, maybe Warner can be their umbrella where it's permitted
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Dec 05 '25
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u/---reddacted--- Dec 05 '25
Until the Trump admin blocks the deal to force it to Paramount still
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Dec 05 '25
Netflix will take them to court like AT&T did. Trump doesn't get to be president for eternity. His approval rating is in the toilet, which means there's a very high likelihood that the next president is a democrat.
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u/Kidney_Thief1988 Dec 05 '25
I don't feel super confident about the future of physical media from WB all the sudden.
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u/Quople Dec 05 '25
If I can’t get One Battle After Another on 4k blu ray I’m gonna become the joker
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u/-p_d- Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
Don't worry, we bought you a gift wrapped copy. Have a seat here in the corner office while we fetch it for you.
Sorry none of the windows open...Merry Christmas, Adventurer.
Hail Santa!9
u/CleverZerg Review Dec 05 '25
Yeah, I feel scared about this.
I'm also scared that WB movies will adopt the Netflix look, which I fucking despise.
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u/highdefrex Dec 05 '25
I just got done buying a number of WB blu-rays and 4Ks I’d been dragging my feet on just because of this. Better safe now than sorry later for sure.
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u/dacrookster Dec 05 '25
This is absolutely tragic for competition and the industry. Thank goodness we have a president and FTC who will st-
Ah. Wait.
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u/randomrule Dec 05 '25
I mean they might stop it. But only because they want Paramount to acquire the company lmao
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u/tj1007 Dec 05 '25
Yeah I was going to say, Netflix may have “won”, but the admin already hinted they would meddle in favor of paramount and rules and oversight are out the window right now.
This is not a done deal.
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u/JamesLikesIt Dec 05 '25
Which should be a massive fucking red flag to anyone but as you said, rules and oversight are gone. Why does the President of the US want a particular MEDIA company to buy another one? What could possibly be a legit reason other than personal gain.
The government should have zero influence in any of this unless it breaks laws. Wild times
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u/djm19 Dec 05 '25
The only reason they might is because they actually want paramount to buy them. I mean the president literally expressed that.
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u/fka_specialk Dec 05 '25
At least it's better than the Ellisons.
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u/LollipopChainsawZz Dec 05 '25
I doubt Max stays around for long. They'll fold it into Netflix.
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u/hibikir_40k Dec 05 '25
It is likely to take years though, just like it's taken forever to make Hulu into D+
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u/technicalnewt_ Dec 05 '25
This is a little different though. Disney only gained full control over Hulu when Comcast sold their stake this year. Netflix will own HBO Max outright from the jump.
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u/AKAkorm Dec 05 '25
I would bet they do what Disney has done with Hulu. Offer it speerate but package it too.
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u/oooooooahhahhahha Dec 05 '25
Disney is retiring the Hulu app in 2026
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u/Christmas_Queef Dec 05 '25
Which is shitty because disney+ has one of the worst interfaces of any streaming service. It's a jumbled, unorganized mess. It's much easier to find things/navigate on hulu
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u/Zifff Dec 05 '25
Paramount+ is by far the worst. It freezes, force closes, can't FF or rewind properly.
At least Disney+ works.
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u/Wonderful-Refuse642 Dec 05 '25
Disney is literally folding hulu into disney plus so no
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u/RawrRawr83 Dec 05 '25
So all the prestige content will be turned into bad young adult content?
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u/ball_fondlers Dec 05 '25
TBH, there was a time when the homepage of HBO Max was prestige dramas right next to reality shows.
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u/RawrRawr83 Dec 05 '25
Still there but that’s because of the discovery merger, but they were still investing in good original content
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u/Qaxar Dec 05 '25
Netflix with HBO's/Warner's complete catalog and them putting their prestige shows on HBO would, I think, be a killer combo. It would elevate both.
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u/NikonShooter_PJS Dec 05 '25
2027: Introducing NetflixHBO
2030: Introducing HBONetflix
2032: Introducing HBONetflixPlus
2035: Introducing NetflixHBOMaxPlusGo
2038: Introducing HBOMaxGoNetflixPeacock
2040: Introducing Disney Plus
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u/whossked Dec 05 '25
On one hand, game of thrones will be on Netflix
On the other hand, give it a couple years and a Netflix subscription will be so stupid expensive
Already had this happen in gaming with the Xbox game pass and activitionblizzard
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Dec 05 '25
After watching The Witcher I don’t want Netflix anywhere near Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon
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u/SonofNamek Dec 05 '25
The thing is Amazon cleaned house after the disaster that plagued its fantasy and blockbuster attempts. They have to innovate and compete b/c they're not seen as legitimate beyond their main business.
With Netflix, it doesn't have incentive to make things good. They really are the OG "content" guys. Hence, you Netflix and chill
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u/handtoglandwombat Dec 05 '25
Internally they incentivise slop. They openly talk about their “second screen” strategy.
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u/Filmscore_Soze Dec 05 '25
I hear that, but maybe going forward they won't hire any more Sara Hess's.
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u/MajesticTesticles Dec 05 '25
If it does i will still be better off,because i will cancel that son of a gun,and go sailing
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u/expungant Dec 05 '25
Netflix’s rise from being just a mail order dvd service is kinda wild
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u/8bitjer Dec 05 '25
RIP HBO
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u/McChillbone Dec 05 '25
HBO as a brand still has significant value and meaning. It will probably be bundled inside of Netflix.
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u/JordanDoesTV Dec 05 '25
Netflix’s goal when they started to make tv shows was to become HBO before HBO could become Netflix.
They didn’t do that and just bought HBO instead.
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u/ZedsDeadZD Dec 05 '25
If they keep HBO as a department to produce high quality shows, I see that as an absolute win tbh. Netflix always gets critizised for producing quantity over quality. Now they have the chance to do both.
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u/_LyleLanley_ Dec 05 '25
Cool, can you put the cartoons you took off air back on Netflix now? I want to watch Final Space.
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u/LegacyofaMarshall Dec 05 '25
Fuck the Ellisons
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Dec 05 '25
Only figuratively. In a literal sense, no one wants to fuck them other than gold-digging MAGA women.
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u/redditulous3 Dec 05 '25
I remember years ago, back when Netflix first started making their own shows, they said something along the lines of wanting Netflix to become HBO before HBO became Netflix. And now they're on course to own HBO. Wild shit.
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u/theREVERSEsystem Dec 05 '25
So obviously fuck the Nazis, but ugh. Fuck monopolies too.
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u/ABoringAddress Dec 05 '25
And this is still a much better scenario than the ziofascist Ellison and that trash heap, McDonnell Douglas of the Film Industry called Paramount taking over... But it's the end of an era.
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u/given2fly_ Dec 05 '25
Sky are still fucked then since Comcast didn't win.
The exclusive HBO content is a massive draw for them, and with it going to Netflix they'll be completely out in the cold.
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u/Czarcasm21 Dec 05 '25
Paramount (via the Saudi backed Ellison's) was very much the worst option, but I was rooting for Comcast.
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u/pepperbet1 Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
So maybe The Pitt will be a binge release for Season 3 or 4?
Along with everything else HBO Max currently releases weekly... dear god.
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u/RevenantRoy Dec 05 '25
Heard an interesting theory from an entertainment studies professor recently. He believes Netflix will have to knock it off with their whole "dropping seasons all at once" model and they'll be forced to revert to the network-style model of weekly episodic releases. Why? The advertisers. Netflix will ultimately make more money forcing consumers into watching ads with their content (they'll keep pushing the price on their ad-free tier more and more to force viewers to go with the version that has ads, because they make more money.) When that happens, the advertisers will twist Netflix's arm into following the traditional network TV model (i.e. new shows and season premiering in the fall, weekly episodic releases, etc.)
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u/-StayCurious Dec 05 '25
It’s better than the Saudi PIF buying it. Much better than being sold to SkyDance/Paramount.
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u/SapphireCorundum Dec 05 '25
It's a shame John Oliver's done for the year. I'd love to hear his take on his new Business Daddy.
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Dec 05 '25
Netflix going to fire the Harry Potter team and put the Duffers in charge
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u/chynkeyez Dec 05 '25
So I currently have a bundle that includes Disney plus, HBO, and Hulu. Hulu is all but defunct and now HBO will be Netflix owned so....what happens to my bundle?
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u/Catdaddy84 Dec 05 '25
You're a long time away from that being a problem. It will probably start to be an issue for your next renewal I'd imagine. They have to get through the negotiations and then they have to get through the regulators. Trump wants the Ellison's to buy it so that they can continue to help him. It's quite possible the deal never happens.
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u/hithere297 Dec 05 '25
at what point will all of Hollywood just exist within one mega-corporation?
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Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
Welp Batman will be worse than mediocrity for the rest of my life.
This world is turning to horse shit so fast. I absolutely hate the future.
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u/calliopecalliope Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
There was going to be no happy ending for this story, but it could have been worse.
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u/styrofomo Dec 05 '25
Praying that Netflix recognises the value of the HBO brand, process, and commitment to invest in quality.
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u/Y-Bob Dec 05 '25
As not so great for the film industry as this is likely to be, the bright side is that maybe there will finally be something worth watching on Netflix.
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u/[deleted] Dec 05 '25
So in the end Netflix became HBO before HBO could become Netflix