The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood’s oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn’t even been approved yet, but it’s already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration. <\/p>\n
If approved by U.S. regulators, Netflix\u2019s $72 billion proposal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery would merge Warner’s television and motion picture division, including HBO Max and DC Studios, with Netflix’s vast library and its production arm, putting two of the world’s biggest streaming services under the same ownership. <\/p>\n
News of the impending merger drew swift reaction from the film and television industries, the movie theatre industry and U.S. lawmakers. <\/p>\n
Here’s some of that reaction, including who opposes the deal, why it’s so contentious and what it could mean for consumers. <\/p>\n
Netflix to buy Warner Brothers for $72B US<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The $72-billion US deal is likely to face anti-trust scrutiny in Europe and the United States, as it gives Netflix ownership of one of its biggest competitors, HBO Max.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n The Writers Guild of America called for the deal to be blocked in a statement Friday, saying that further consolidation of the film and television industry would eliminate jobs, worsen conditions for entertainment workers and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Producers Guild of America said the Netflix deal must prove that it protects workers’ livelihoods and theatrical distribution. <\/p>\n “Legacy studios are more than content libraries \u2014 within their vaults are the character and culture of our nation,” the union said.<\/p>\n Anytime there is consolidation of this magnitude, it creates concern that there will be fewer options, fewer voices and fewer decision makers coming from different perspectives, said Canadian director Sasha Leigh Henry.<\/p>\n What the full impact will be remains to be seen, Henry said, “But right now, it doesn’t necessarily feel great.”<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like a bit of a limitation that we’re gonna be experiencing in one way or another, whether that be the kinds of content or the breadth of the perspectives and filmmakers and the kinds of stories that we\u2019re being told.\u201d<\/p>\n Actor Jane Fonda wrote in an op-ed<\/a> that the deal puts Hollywood and democracy itself at risk.<\/p>\n In the article, she wrote that this level of media consolidation could prove “catastrophic for an industry built on free expression, for the creative workers who power it, and for consumers who depend on a free, independent media ecosystem to understand the world.”<\/p>\n Could Netflix\u2019s Warner Bros. Discovery deal kill movie theatres?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US. If the deal gets regulatory approval, it would shift the media landscape, and some movie theatre companies are voicing concern for their future.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Cinema United, a trade organization that represents movie theatre owners around the globe including Canada, is one of the most vocal critics of the deal, saying in a statement Friday that it\u00a0poses an “unprecedented threat” to movie theatres worldwide.<\/p>\n Cinema United CEO Michael O\u2019Leary said in an interview with CBC News that the issue as they see it is very simple. <\/p>\n \u201cYou have a legacy studio, the iconic Warner Brothers studio, being subsumed by a global streaming giant that has been very clear in the past that they are not interested in supporting theatrical exhibition,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat we worry about is that there will be fewer movies that are put into theatres, fewer choices for consumers that want to go to the theatre and enjoy a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n As It Happens<\/span>1:17:17<\/span>Is it \u201cThat\u2019s All Folks?\u201d for movies in theatres?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Under the proposed acquisition, Netflix has promised to continue theatrical releases for Warner’s studio films, honouring Warner’s contractual agreements.<\/p>\n Netflix has kept most of its original content within its core online platform. But there have been exceptions, including qualifying runs for its awards contenders, including this year’s Frankenstein<\/em>, limited theatre screenings of a KPop Demon Hunters<\/em> sing-a-long and its coming Stranger Things<\/em> series finale.<\/p>\n But O\u2019Leary says those limited theatrical runs don\u2019t demonstrate that the company cares about movie theatres.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Netflix has done historically is they’ll put a movie in for 10 days so that it qualifies for an award or something like that. That’s not a meaningful commitment to exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\nIndustry concerns about jobs, diversity<\/h2>\n
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<\/div>\nMovie theatre concerns<\/h2>\n
What this means for consumers<\/h2>\n
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