Everybody hates Netflix: Why Hollywood Doesn’t Want Netflix to Buy Warner Bros. - The New York Times
Producers hate Netflix because they can’t get back-end profits. A-list actors and their agents hate that they’ve put a lid on salaries and residuals. Studios hate Netflix when it poached their talent and jacked up executive salaries. Exhibitors hate Netflix because the streamer is undermining the theatrical business by convincing people it’s better to stay on the couch.
Now comes this seismic event, with Netflix announcing plans to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery — specifically the crown jewels of HBO and the movie library and distribution business; CNN and other cable networks would be sent off on their own, as a separate business — for $83 billion. Part of the shock coursing through the industry is because up until this week, most people assumed that tech scion David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, backed by his Trump-aligned billionaire father, Larry Ellison, would win the prize.
