Netflix CEOs make case for Warner Bros. Discovery merger

Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters laid out their case for buying Warner Bros. Discovery — trying to calm nerves in Hollywood even as they face a hostile rival bid from Paramount Skydance.

In a letter to staff, the two bosses moved to ease fears over job cuts and considerations that the deal will ultimately result in the end of theatrical releases. In the past, Sarandos described going to the cinema as an “outdated” experience.

“We haven’t prioritized theatrical in the past because that wasn’t our business at Netflix,” the co-CEOs wrote on Monday. “When this deal closes, we will be in that business.”

Greg Peters (left) and Ted Sarandos (proper) despatched a letter to Netflix staff to assuage considerations over the company’s deal to accumulate the streaming and studio belongings of Warner Bros. Discovery. Getty Images

The execs also promised “no overlap or studio closures” amid considerations that the mega-deal would result in job cuts in an industry already squeezed by the rise of streaming platforms and artificial intelligence.

“This deal is about growth,” the duo wrote. “We’re strengthening one of Hollywood’s most iconic studios, supporting jobs, and ensuring a healthy future for film and TV production.”

Netflix is attempting to close its $72 billion deal that contains HBO, HBO Max and Warner Bros Studios, after Paramount made a hostile bid on Dec. 8 for the entire Warner Bros Discovery, which is also home to a slew of cable channels such as CNN, Food Network, TLC and TNT.

The Paramount offer, which values the whole company at roughly $78 billion with an all-cash offer of $30 a share, would give shareholders a greater instant payout.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison made a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which incorporates its cable properties. AFP by way of Getty Images

Netflix is attempting to close its $72 billion deal that contains HBO, HBO Max and Warner Bros Studios. NurPhoto by way of Getty Images

But Netflix says it’s confident of its deal, which amounts to $27.75 a share for the streaming and studio assets, which it made on Dec. 5, arguing that WBD shareholders will ultimately get more than $30 a share when the company’s cable belongings are spun off.

“It was entirely expected,” the CEOs said of the Paramount offer. “But, we have a solid deal in place.”

One concern that has been raised is whether or not regulators will greenlight the deal given the fact that Netflix would own the No. 1 and No. 3 streamers.

Should a deal undergo, Netflix will own one of the nation’s most storied studios in Warner Bros. and HBO, the gold normal for tv. AFP by way of Getty Images

But the CEOs pointed to viewership numbers from Nielsen that recommend a Netflix-Warner Bros. tie-up would have a “smaller view share percentage” than YouTube or a potential Paramount and Warner Bros. mixture.

Last week, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed each offers, calling Paramount’s offer a “five-alarm antitrust fire.”

She had beforehand dubbed Netflix’s bid an “anti-monopoly nightmare.”

If the Netflix deal is accepted, the world’s largest streamer will take over one of Hollywood’s oldest and most storied studios — home to “Casablanca,” “The Wizard of Oz” and the “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” franchises — in a single of the biggest-ever media offers.

It would also gain control of its one-time inspiration, HBO, which is taken into account by Hollywood as the gold normal for tv with hits such as “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

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