WHAT NETFLIX’S ACQUISITION OF WARNER BROS COULD MEAN FOR YOU
The blockbuster $83bn (£62bn) deal that Netflix has struck to buy Warner Bros sent shockwaves through the entire entertainment industry. Warner Bros, which is more than a century old, is set to be gobbled up by a rival that started sending DVDs by post in 1997 and only began what we now call streaming a decade later.
Netflix is not just going to take over the Warner Bros film studio, but also HBO, the prestige TV service. When the deal completes, which is estimated to take as long as 18 months and could yet be scuppered by politicians or regulators, they will likely all be bundled together in the Netflix app.
Many questions remain about what the deal means for Hollywood, which has struggled in recent years, and for the film- and TV-viewing public. What will happen to the prices of streaming services? Will Netflix, which has never really liked cinema releases, start putting films in multiplexes for more than just a few days? Where will you be able to watch your favourite show?
We try to answer some of the most pressing questions.
The cost of your subscription is (probably) going to rise
Netflix has promised that the newly-combined media giant would offer “more choice, more opportunities, more value”, but it does not take a business genius to suppose that the whopping price tag – combined with the reduction in competition caused by two giants merging – means that you might expect to see a hike in monthly subscription costs. (Netflix monthly prices start at £5.99 in the UK and go as high as £18.99 for those who want to watch in the highest quality and without adverts.)
Cinemas may have fewer films to show
Ted Sarandos, the Netflix co-chief executive, has very publicly pooh-poohed the importance of traditional cinemas; earlier this year, he said that going to the multiplex was “an outmoded idea” and that Netflix was the sort of customer-focused company that listened to its subscribers. “What is the consumer trying to tell us? That they’d like to watch movies at home.”
However, in the press release heralding this purchase, Netflix said it “expects to maintain Warner Bros’ current operations and build on its strengths, including theatrical releases for films”. But there are no specifics: no sense of how many films might be in cinemas, nor how long they will be there exclusively before they become available at home (Warner Bros tends to give its films at least 45 days in cinemas).
Netflix already releases some of its titles in a small number of cinemas today, but that is largely seen as a way to qualify for awards such as the Oscars and as a sop to filmmakers who prefer to see their work on the big screen.
Will fewer films be made?
Warner Bros alienated many leading filmmakers – most notably Christopher Nolan – by shoving its films on streaming services in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic, rather than giving them the cinema treatment that auteurs are known to crave.
James Cameron, the man behind Titanic and Avatar, came out last week and said that Netflix buying Warner Bros would be a “disaster” for the industry. Netflix has worked with some A-list directors – such as Guillermo del Toro and Martin Scorsese – but that has largely been for films that they could not get financed by more “traditional” studios.
With Warner Bros, as traditional a studio as it comes, being subsumed into the Netflix behemoth it means that there is one fewer buyer in Hollywood where top-tier talent can flog their wares. An unfortunate consequence of this deal might be that there is a reduction in the number of big-budget films being made each year. Jason Kilar, who used to run Warner Bros, said: “If I was tasked with doing so, I could not think of a more effective way to reduce competition in Hollywood than selling [Warner Bros] to Netflix.”
Netflix will get more classic films
Part of the reason Warner Bros has fetched such a large price is because it has such a large back catalogue of films – something that Netflix, as a much newer force in entertainment, does not yet have. The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Goodfellas, The Shining, The Matrix, Barbie and Citizen Kane are but a few. By buying Warner Bros, Netflix could make sure that these are all available on its service – and, potentially, hurt rivals by depriving them from other platforms.
You will see an increasing amount of franchises
The newly-enlarged Netflix would buy a mind-boggling range of intellectual property from Warner Bros, ranging from Harry Potter and The Sopranos to Batman and Superman. The most obvious parallel from recent years is when Disney bought Lucasfilm (which made Star Wars) and Fox (the home of Avatar) and reinvigorated the franchises with sequels, reboots and spin-offs. Expect similar from the new Netflix.
(And a cautionary note for Warner Bros: when Disney bought Fox from Rupert Murdoch in 2019, its bosses made a big song and dance about keeping the decades-old Fox studio firing on all cylinders but is now a shadow of its former self.)
Yes, Netflix subscribers will be able to watch Friends again
One of the great frustrations of modern life is not knowing where you can watch your favourite TV shows – and even when you do know, that can change when contracts expire (which is why, for example, Friends will be removed from Netflix in a few weeks).
This merger ought to, at least partially, change this. Warner Bros also owns the rights to Friends, so it ought to be reinstated to Netflix sooner rather than later. It is likely that fans of The Big Bang Theory, Bridgerton and Wednesday will be able to watch all of those shows without having to change which service they use, too.
A question mark hangs over HBO Max
HBO Max, a new streaming service that would give British viewers the chance to watch series such as The White Lotus and The Last of Us without a Sky or Now TV subscription, is slated to launch in the UK in March. It now makes sense for it to be pushed back or abandoned altogether, with HBO shows (including the much-anticipated Harry Potter series, which is set to debut in 2027) just going straight to Netflix instead. It all could all be bundled together on Netflix at a higher monthly cost, or HBO could be a paid-for add-on.
Netflix moves further into sport
In the context of a multi-billion-dollar deal, the fate of a small British sports broadcaster is a rounding error, but this should also see TNT Sports come under Netflix’s ownership. The broadcaster has had a tough time lately, after being pilloried for its poor coverage of The Ashes and losing the rights to broadcast the Uefa Champions League in the UK to Paramount+ (whose parent company was also in the running to buy Warner Bros).
Netflix has been making tentative forays into broadcasting live sport, such as with boxing and the WWE, and it would appear that it will now have to try to revive the beleaguered TNT.
2025-12-05T18:05:46Z