{"id":192847,"date":"2025-12-08T07:41:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T07:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/the-inside-scoop-newsletter-breaking-down-netflixs-deal-for-warner-bros-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T07:41:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T07:41:17","slug":"the-inside-scoop-newsletter-breaking-down-netflixs-deal-for-warner-bros-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/the-inside-scoop-newsletter-breaking-down-netflixs-deal-for-warner-bros-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"The Inside Scoop newsletter: Breaking down Netflix's deal for Warner Bros. – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s Friday, and we started this newsy day hearing that Netflix has a deal to acquire Warner Bros. We\u2019ll dig into what it means for you at this early stage. Could you pay more? Maybe. Will the government approve the merger? Also a maybe.
I talked to Roger Bennett, the host of the \u201cMen in Blazers\u201d podcast, about today\u2019s big World Cup draw on our daily podcast, Here\u2019s the Scoop. I\u2019m also anchoring tonight on NBC News Now and talking to the captain of the U.S. men\u2019s national team.
I promised some sage advice from THE Delila in the newsletter yesterday. I asked her, with so much anxiety out there right now (my own included), how can folks deal with it? She said: \u201cWhy not use that beautiful imagination to think about the best outcome versus the worst. Don\u2019t waste the mind space.\u201d
Today\u2019s newsletter was produced with Senior Editor Michelle Garcia<\/strong>. Let’s get into it.
This is a free edition of our new subscriber-only newsletter. For full access, plus ad-free articles, podcasts and exclusive video briefings, <\/em>become an NBC News subscriber<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>
Batman in the \u201cSquid Game\u201d universe? A \u201cBridgerton\u201d and \u201cHarry Potter\u201d crossover episode? Maybe! The proposed Warner Bros. and Netflix merger<\/a> raises several critical questions about our future Saturday night viewing, whether we\u2019re on the couch in front of a TV, in a movie theater or staring hard at a phone glowing in the dark.
The $83 billion deal announced Friday could combine one of the most powerful <\/a>New Hollywood entertainment companies \u2014 fueled by hits like \u201cStranger Things\u201d \u2014 with a legendary Old Hollywood studio that created classics like \u201cCasablanca\u201d and \u201cThe Maltese Falcon.\u201d Millie Bobby Brown, meet Ingrid Bergman.
It\u2019s not yet clear how these behemoths might co-exist under one roof (their roof or<\/em> your roof). And remember, Warner owns HBO Max, which is part of this deal.
Columbia Business School professor Kathryn Harrigan said<\/a> acquiring Warner\u2019s century-old library gives Netflix many options, like charging a fee for some Warner Bros. movies, like Amazon Prime does, or charging extra for a more loaded version of the streamer.
Netflix just keeps growing: <\/strong>My colleague Mike Calia<\/strong> made a great point today. When Netflix officials say they won\u2019t do something, they often go ahead and do it anyway: They weren\u2019t going to run advertisements. Now they have an ad-tier. They weren\u2019t going to do live programming. Now they do. They weren\u2019t going to be in the sports business. Guess where you\u2019ll be watching the NFL on Christmas Day this year.
In April, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said studios presuming that people will go to a movie theater is \u201coutdated.\u201d<\/a>
Yesterday, a group of unnamed, A-list \u201cconcerned feature film producers\u201d<\/a> warned members of Congress that this deal would absolutely tank theatrical runs, simply because Netflix can stream them whenever they see fit.
But then, <\/strong>in a conference call with analysts on Friday morning<\/a>, Netflix leadership was pushed to plainly state that they will keep releasing Warner films in theaters.
What will likely change, though, is how long flicks remain in the theaters (as in, shorter) and the access subscribers have to them at home (probably more immediate). Sarandos reminded investors in the Friday conference call<\/a> that \u201cwe\u2019ve released about 30 films into theaters just this year.\u201d
Here\u2019s how Sarandos captured Netflix\u2019s evolution in that call: \u201cRemember, we started off as a DVD-by-mail company, then we moved to streaming, to producing original content, live programming from a U.S.-centric business to a global business.\u201d
If this deal actually happens: <\/strong>This deal has already come under scrutiny. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., in a letter this month to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/a>, said merging Netflix with HBO Max would create a company with a level of reach \u201ctraditionally viewed as presumptively problematic under antitrust law.\u201d Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a statement that <\/a>the merger could \u201cforce Americans into higher subscription prices and fewer choices over what and how they watch.\u201d
Even the state of California, the de facto home of the film industry, told NBC News <\/a>that it would closely scrutinize the merger in its own regulation. All of this is on top of general hand-wringing over the potential upheaval in the industry.
And as CNBC reported<\/a>, the White House is skeptical of the deal.
Still, Sarandos said this morning that he feels confident, since the deal is \u201cpro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-creator and pro-growth.\u201d
And if it hits a snag and doesn\u2019t go through? Netflix is on the hook to pay Warner Bros. $5 billion.
Why it matters:<\/strong> Netflix may have started as a DVD-sharing service, but it has grown exponentially by figuring out what people want and serving it directly to them. Some say this algorithmic-driven system is \u201cdestroying\u201d Hollywood<\/a>; Sarandos says it is saving it.
A bid for a film giant like Warner Bros. \u2014 Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, and Paramount also made offers \u2014 is a huge show of Netflix\u2019s power in an industry that is at a crossroads. Media deals <\/strong>like this have not always gone well, and Warner Bros. has been at the center of a few rough mergers and acquisitions<\/a> in the recent past, including with AT&T. Sarandos said those deals were flawed because, in most cases, they were dying media assets looking for a lifeline. Netflix, he said, has a better grasp on the future and the merger only helps the company grow.
If permitted, a merger would take around 12-18 months to complete.
So for now, we the consumers wait, and we watch. What might our streaming bills look like? Will more movies skip the theater and go straight to our devices? Can I use any of this as an excuse to get my cousin to stop using my HBO Max password?
🧑‍⚖️ The Supreme Court will decide the lawfulness of President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to roll back automatic birthright citizenship<\/strong><\/a> for nearly anyone born in the United States.
💥 The man charged with planting two pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican party headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol told the FBI he believed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election<\/strong><\/a>, according to two people fmiliar with the matter.
👶 After heated debate, confusion and pleas from public health officials, the CDC voted to roll back the decadeslong recommendation<\/strong><\/a> that newborns get a hepatitis B vaccine dose.
📵 Some Los Angeles parents say school-issued iPads are causing chaos<\/strong><\/a> and serious distraction for students, especially after the district banned phones in schools.
💍 JD Vance said he and his wife \u201cget a kick out of\u201d the swirling online speculation around their marriage<\/strong><\/a>, including a moment when Usha Vance was spotted without her wedding ring.
🏗️ Frank Gehry, a giant of American architecture<\/strong><\/a>, died Friday at 96 following a brief respiratory illness.
🎤 Broadcasters for Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands say they will withdraw from next year\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest<\/strong><\/a> over Israel\u2019s inclusion in the annual event.
👩🏼‍🎤A New Jersey teen trying to find a missing demo tape of her mom\u2019s \u201990s punk band<\/strong><\/a> is asking Gen Xers to help by checking cassettes that may be sitting in their basement.
💋 Kiss lead singer Gene Simmons was in the White House briefing room today, talking about challenges in the music industry<\/strong><\/a>. That is all.
Thanks for reading and see you Monday for another free edition!<\/em>
Yasmin\u00a0Vossoughian is an NBC News correspondent.
© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeIt\u2019s Friday, and we started this newsy day hearing that Netflix has a deal to acquire Warner Bros. We\u2019ll dig into what it means for you at this early stage. Could you pay more? Maybe. Will the government approve the merger? Also a maybe. I talked to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":192848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-192847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}