Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos allegedly met with President Donald Trump on the White Home weeks earlier than the streaming platform’s cope with Warner Bros. Discovery.
In line with Bloomberg, individuals with data of the assembly revealed that the 2 met in November and mentioned the then-ongoing public sale of WB. The nameless sources declare Trump acknowledged that Warner Bros. Discovery ought to make a cope with the best bidder, which Sarandos reportedly agreed with.
The streaming platform’s chief stored their dialog in thoughts whereas ironing out the main points for the corporate’s personal bid. Sarandos pushed for his provide, arguing that Netflix was not a power-hungry entity trying a hostile takeover of the leisure trade. He additionally identified that Netflix had confronted a number of setbacks, together with a interval of subscriber losses, to spotlight that the streaming service is not invincible both.
Sarandos added that Netflix lacks each broadcast networks and cable channels, and defined how its rivals broaden far past the streaming sector. He estimated that his firm solely ranks fifth or sixth in its subject, and buying Warner Bros. would hold them within the recreation with main streamers similar to YouTube.
After his dialog with President Trump, he walked away believing the White Home wasn’t going to push again towards Netflix’s potential deal, regardless of what Paramount Skydance Corp needed to say about it. In Sarandos’ opinion, the studio was being somewhat bit too smug about the place they stand, and that was seemingly why they misplaced the bidding conflict.
On December 5, 2025, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery introduced their new deal. The streaming platform paid $82.7 billion to amass one of many oldest studios in Hollywood and HBO. This acquisition is reportedly one of many largest media transactions in historical past.
Nevertheless, this new deal was met with a number of protests, with many individuals and organizations within the leisure trade talking out towards it. Celebrities similar to Jane Fonda condemned Warner Bros. for promoting out to Netflix. The Writers Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, and Producers Guild of America all had nothing however destructive issues to say in regards to the ordeal. SAG-AFTRA tried to be semi-diplomatic, however it nonetheless had its considerations about what this buy would do to the way forward for the movie trade.
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January 16, 2007
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Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph