By The wheel just keeps turning on this story. Following this morning’s news that David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance was mounting a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix has now responded.
Speaking on Monday at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference, Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters say their takeover of Warner Bros. and HBO Max will “create and protect jobs in the entertainment industry”.
Asked about the main cause of concern in the backlash from the film community – namely that the streamer will dramatically shrink the theatrical exhibition window on Warner’s titles – Sarandos says (via Variety) they have no plans to change the way Warner releases films in cinemas:
“We didn’t buy this company to destroy that value. We’re deeply committed to releasing [Warner Bros.] movies exactly the way they release those movies today…..If we did this deal 24 months ago, all those movies we saw this year do so well at the box office for Warner Bros. would have been released in the same way in theaters, talking about ”Minecraft,’ ‘Superman,’ ‘Weapons,’ ‘Sinners,’ All those movies. With the Warner Bros. operating entity, we think it’s really important the way that they create and the way that they drive value.”
He also confirms that Warner Bros. Television, which currently produces and licenses content to third parties along with its own HBO Max service, will continue to do so: “Channing [Dungey] and that group do a phenomenal job, and we want them to continue to do that phenomenal job.”
He says Netflix owning HBO would allow it to stay as HBO, and not have to do “gymnastics to make themselves into a general entertainment brand” as was seen when Discovery took over. He says:
“We’re already a very well-established general entertainment brand, and we want HBO to double down on the things that people have loved for 50 years about HBO … These are the things that we’re going to keep going.”
In terms of the deal getting through, Sarandos isn’t worried and says: “We have a deal done, and we are incredibly happy with the deal…We’re super confident we’re going to get it across the line and finish.”
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