Netflix’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has ignited antitrust alarms, job-loss fears, and doomsday warnings for cinema. But the streamer’s co-CEOs insist the megadeal will be a win for consumers and Hollywood alike.
“We are very confident that regulators should and will approve it,” said Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Monday. “At the end of the day, it’s pro-consumer, delivers more value to those folks. It’s pro-creator, we’re going to increase content spend and deliver more.”
Peters also pushed back on antitrust concerns, citing data from research firm Nielsen that found Netflix ranked sixth for share of TV time in the US, behind YouTube, Walt Disney, NBCUniversal, Fox, and Paramount. If HBO’s content came to Netflix, it would cause the streamer’s share to only jump from 8% of view hours to 9%, he claimed. (Still, an August report from Nielsen found that Netflix ranked third as the largest TV media distributor.)
On fears about the death of cinema, co-CEO Ted Sarandos also noted: “We’re deeply committed to releasing [Warner Bros.] movies exactly the way they would release those movies today.”
The streaming giant has generally ducked big releases in theaters for its own movies. But Sarandos said the WBD acquisition means Netflix will be formally entering the theatrical business, meaning it’ll seek to maintain the big box office earnings of traditional movie releases.
“We didn’t buy this company to destroy that value,” he added. Netflix plans on doing the same with Warner Bros. television content, which Sarandos described as a “really healthy business.”
Get Our Best Stories!
Your Daily Dose of Our Top Tech News
By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy
Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
“We want HBO to double-down on the things that people have loved about it for 50 years,” he said. “Their assets work better in our business model, and our business works better with these assets.”
(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Over the weekend, President Trump suggested the deal could face an antitrust “problem.” However, Sarandos said he’s spoken with Trump “many times since the election about the different challenges facing the entertainment industry” adding, “What the president has been interested in, in this deal, has been to what extent does it protect and create jobs in America?”
Sarandos also argued that Netflix plans on investing in Warner Bros to create more jobs, alleging that Paramount-Skydance, which launched a hostile takeover bid for WBD this morning, would likely focus on cutting costs and forcing layoffs.
Recommended by Our Editors
Still, consumers can expect changes and possible price hikes if Netflix can absorb WBD. During the talk, the company’s executives hinted the HBO Max content will be offered to Netflix subscribers as a paid add-on or as a new tier in the Netflix catalog of plans.
“It speaks prestige TV,” Peters said of the HBO brand. “We want to double-down on that concept. And then we think that gives us an additional lever, additional tool, to essentially think about how we compose plans and offerings for different consumers to give them the right kind of entertainment they want, at the right price point.
“And we think that we are in the business of doing that kind of optimization,” he added. “We’ve done that with our ads plan as an example. We had to think about how do you compose a set of offerings that maximize value for the business while keeping consumers happy with different offerings.”
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
Read Full Bio
