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In progressive circles, there is a great fear about the consolidation of Hollywood and the broader media into the hands of allies of MAGA. ABC’s capitulation to Trump is well documented. Larry Ellison’s son David bought Paramount: Stephen Colbert was suddenly off the air, and Bari Weiss was running CBS News. Oracle, Ellison’s company, is the main benefactor of the still-pending TikTok acquisition from its Chinese parent. And Paramount made several overtures to Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to buy the company, consolidate its TV and film studios along with its array of cable channels under one roof, and put a conservative oligarch family in charge of CBS, CNN, and a large segment of American entertainment and media.
But WBD decided to look at other offers. And today, they chose the higher-value bid: an $82.7 billion merger with Netflix. At a glance, this might seem like a better deal than the Paramount-WBD proposal: Netflix’s leadership isn’t overtly conservative at all, and the deal is only for the WBD film and television studios, HBO, and the streaming site HBO Max. WBD announced earlier this year that it would spin off its cable networks into a separate company called Discovery Global, and while Paramount wanted to buy the cable networks too, Netflix isn’t interested in them. That means that CNN would be under the direction of a different corporate parent, along with the sports division that is in direct competition with Netflix’s emerging sports offerings. (HBO Max carries most of those Discovery Global cable offerings, and it’s unclear whether or how that will continue.)
Just because there is some relief that Paramount won’t be swallowing CNN and the rest of WBD, however, doesn’t make this a good deal for film and television talent, or for consumers.
The only part of the rationale Netflix gives for this merger that rings true is “More value for shareholders.” Fewer streaming options, or a streaming landscape where two of the three largest outlets have the same corporate parent, likely means a continuation of the price hikes that we’re already seeing. Meanwhile, fewer bidders will likely put downward pressure on contracts and rates. So Hollywood talent will be paid less and customers will pay more.
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