On Thursday night, Netflix threw a holiday party for some of its departments at Los Angeles restaurant Delilah, decorating the cozy space with a Tinseltown/Old Hollywood theme. But the holiday cheer quickly dissipated—at least, for everyone besides Netflix executives—after word began to spread that the streamer had won the bidding war to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
The news became official Friday morning with the announcement that Netflix had entered into a definitive agreement to buy Warner Bros. in an $82.7 billion deal.
There's nothing more Old Hollywood than Warner Bros., a storied movie studio established in 1923—one of the "Big Five" created during Hollywood's Golden Age. Which is precisely why many Hollywood insiders are taking this news so hard. If this deal does go through, Netflix, the streaming giant that swooped in and disrup ted the old system—or destroyed it, depending on your point of view—will take control of one of the last remaining Hollywood studios. Plus all the IP and history that goes along with it.
"It's not just one less buyer. It's the triumph of the Netflix business model, which is to be the only player in the business—building on years and years of successful work by the creatives they're now going to fuck over," one award-winning tv and film writer tells Vanity Fair.
Provided the acquisition does go through, Netflix will take the studio's most valuable assets—its film and television studios, including HBO Max and HBO. The acquisition doesn't include Warner Bros. Discovery's global networks division, which will be spun off into a separate publicly traded company called Discovery Global comprising brands like CNN and TNT Sports, as previously planned.
The outrage has been swift among the Hollywood commun ity. A group of anonymous A-list producers has already released a statement against the merger, saying it would "effectively hold a noose around the theatrical marketplace." Major unions, like the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild, and the Writers Guild have all released statements expressing concern. "The outcome would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and diversity of content fo r all viewers," says a statement from the WGA. "Industry workers along with the public are already impacted by only a few powerful companies maintaining tight control over what consumers can watch on television, on streaming, and in theaters. This merger must be blocked."
Comments
Post a Comment