🎞️ That’s all, folks. Over the weekend, Netflix announced it would acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and television studios, along with HBO Max, for a staggering USD 82.7 bn in enterprise value. The deal, which positions the streaming giant as the new owner of one of Hollywood’s most storied studios, brings together Netflix’s global streaming dominance with a century-long legacy that includes Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, the DC Universe, as well as timeless classics like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and The Wizard of Oz. Yes, Netflix now owns Casablanca and Citizen Kane. We bet that wasn’t on your 2025 bingo card.

Warner Bros.’ acquisition is the latest chapter in what The Guardian describes as a “poorly performing franchise” of corporate matchmaking. The legendary studio, founded over a century ago, has been subjected to a relentless parade of failed mergers — including with Time Inc., AOL, and AT&T — that have consistently failed to deliver on their promises.

The most recent merger was with Discovery, orchestrated by CEO David Zaslav in 2021. Zaslac, who transformed Discovery Inc. from a prestige nature-focused cable broadcaster into a reality TV hub with shows like 90 Day Fiancé and Naked and Afraid, promised that combining Discovery with WarnerMedia’s prestigious assets — HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros. — would “unlock so much value… we believe everyone wins.” Less than four years later, the Guardian reports, Hollywood operators endured cost cuts rather than promised resources. Shareholders watched Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock suffer steep declines rather than the promised growth. Fans and viewers grappled with a streaming platform that couldn’t even decide on a name, while the studio’s cinematic output remained decidedly mixed.

“Few feel as if they have won,” writes the Guardian. The one person who did win? David Zaslav himself, who maintained his status as one of the US’s best-paid executives with a 2024 compensation package worth USD 51.9 mn even as the company he led cratered in value and was eventually forced to sell off its crown jewels. Now Netflix, once dismissed by Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes in 2010 as “the Albanian army” that would never “take over the world” is indeed taking over. And the press release announcing the deal contains hauntingly familiar language: promises of “more choice, more [openings], and more value.”

And of course, it wouldn’t be business if it wasn’t also about AI. Netflix’s interest in Warner Bros. isn’t just about the content, it’s about the data. Sources speaking to IGN revealed that the “subtext behind Sarandos’ mentions of innovation was the huge boost to Netflix’s AI plans that Warner Bros.’ library of content could bring — both to train future AI models and allow subscribers access to generate their own creations using licensed assets.” Disney’s Bob Iger made similar comments about user-generated AI content on Disney+. It seems that Warner Bros.’ century of filmmaking is slated to become training data for algorithms. The report ominously teases “endless memes of Harry Potter meeting the K-pop Demon Hunters” — a dystopian vision of franchises reduced to algorithmic remixing rather than genuine artistic expression.

The deal faces significant regulatory hurdles, and for good reason. As Reuters noted, the deal is “likely to face strong antitrust scrutiny in Europe and the US, as it would give the world’s biggest streaming service ownership of a rival that […] boasts nearly 130 mn subscribers.” Paramount, which had also bid for Warner Bros., has already fired a warning shot. In a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount’s lawyers argued that a Netflix deal would “entrench and extend Netflix’s global dominance in a matter not allowed by domestic or foreign competition laws.” The combined company would control nearly half the streaming market, according to multiple analyses — well above the 30% threshold that the US Justice Department’s antitrust guidelines identify as presumptively problematic.

Political opposition in the US: Opposition from both sides of the US political aisles has emerged — a rare bipartisan consensus in today’s polarized Washington. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren called the deal “an anti-monopoly nightmare,” and Republican Senator Mike Lee said the deal “should send alarm to antitrust enforcers around the world,” and Republican Senator Roger Marshall warned that it “raises serious red flags for consumers, creators, movie theatres, and local businesses alike.” With close ties with the Trump administration, Paramount may seek to persuade regulators to block the deal on antitrust grounds.

Warner Bros. and Discovery were set to split back up into two separate companies by the end of 3Q 2026, so the acquisition may not go through until after that, meaning that the industry has about 13 to 18 months to respond before this deal — which represents the triumph of algorithmic content optimization over artistic vision, and shareholder value over cultural value, and convenience over experience — fully takes effect.

Market reax: Shares of the streaming giant tanked quickly after the announcement, falling by 3.7% on market close on Friday, 5 December. There was some incremental recovery over Saturday, but stocks were still trading at a 2.8% deficit at yesterday’s market close. Interestingly, Reuters has reported that the merger may not even expand Netflix’s market share, as there is “heavy overlap” between Netflix and HBO subscribers. You know what that means — higher subscription costs.

In tomorrow’s For Your Commute: How this deal threatens to reshape Hollywood’s creative landscape.

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