Steve Newall: Netflix's US$83bn bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery

Netflix is acquiring Warner Bros Discovery in a blockbuster US$83bn deal – plus debt.

As part of the deal, Netflix takes the TV and movie studio and other assets, including the HBO Max streaming service.

Flicks.co.nz's Steve Newall analysis the deal with Francesca Rudkin, as well as Quentin Tarantino’s 20 favourite films of the 20th century.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Right, Okay, I wasn't prepared for that. I had two
producers sort of singing dancing away in the studio while
I had a very grim look on my face. I
need to get into my Christmas fest of mo, don't I. Alrighty,
let's talk entertainment joy now by Steve Mule, editor at
Flicks dot col and Z.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Do you like Christmas music?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
I love that. I think I developed PTSD while working
in a CD store during Christmas at Saint Luke's More.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yep, there we go.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
No, no Carrol's players.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Okay, we'll both get rid of the Christmas crunch. I'll
get into it. Let's start with the Netflix Warner Brothers deal. Obviously,
it is not a done deal. There is a lot
of competition regulation to get through in both the US
and in Europe before this deal even comes to fruition.
But talk us through what the consequences yet?

Speaker 3 (01:02):
So this is pretty much announced as a Fayre compley. Right, Yes,
there are some regulatory hurdles to cross, but Netflix has
successfully made an eighty two point seven billion dollar bid
for Warner Brothers, Discovery buying its Warner Brothers Film and
TV studio and also HBO Max. So it's further market
consolidation in a space that has just been accelerating in

(01:26):
recent months and years. So from a practical point of view,
they've now got a big They'll now have a big
library of existing IP, a whole bunch of franchises and series,
you know, stuff like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones,
The Bachelor, or The Big Bang Theory or whatever. And
you can see some of this's working really really well
on Netflix. Can we just slot on nicely? So it's
partly content acquisition, but it is also a pretty big

(01:49):
shift in the landscape. As recently as just a few
months ago, Netflix CEO Ted surround Us was talking about
movie going as being outmoded for most people, and they've
they've kind of consistently positioned themselves. As much as they
try to support filmmakers, they are eroding the cinema going experience,

(02:09):
he boasted on the call within It will they announce
the deal that they Netflix had released about thirty films
into theaters this year, So it's not like we have
this opposition to movies in theaters. However, if you've been
trying to see some of the titles in New Zealand,
you'd see that the release footprints are nothing like actual
big studio releases. You wouldn't know the Knives Out sequel
was in cinemas. Most people are house of dynamite. These

(02:31):
films are popping up, but they're not treating it like
they're I guess a product that you start making money
on from the time in a cinema right through to
a good window before it goes to streaming, and then
there's kind of lifespan that goes on for several years
of being a big title. Warner Brothers I help would
affect their output. I think the first thing that I
started thinking about was what their list of big films

(02:53):
for this year had been. And if there's a decreased
appetite for putting things out theatrically and try to make
money that way, I don't know you're going to see it.
Are you going to see more films like Sinners or
Weapons or definitely one bat luck another becomes a much
more challenging prospect. All the sorts of films that will
be part of Oscar's conversation for for Warner Brothers and

(03:15):
Slash Netflix in the New Year.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Now, Okay, I felt that it was inevitable that we
would have streaming services that would start to merge at
some point. I hadn't sort of anticipated the film studios moved.
I mean, I suppose that was always an option. Is
it just kind of a sign of the time that
it's growing and streaming is ruling. But really they just
can't you we can't.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Have like a playing field for stream where they just
keep adding a new service with plus on the end
of it. You know, it's been quite crazy. It's been
whack am all right. People don't subscribe to all things.
They have one or a couple and just kind of
move around, move the trials around, and chase the things
they want to see. So from a consumer behavior point
of view, it's probably not that significantly different. But it's

(03:59):
just it's that consolidation, especially with over libraries of content
that can be taken offline sort of by whim. There's
a cultural present things to me. I'm not not thrilled
about that. And also, you know, Netflix has built a
big empire largely off the back of an industry that
has brought people together to watch these sorts of titles

(04:19):
and you know, there's no way this will not deteriorate.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
My producer Sam says to me today, he said, Look,
cinema has been fading for a long time. It's hugely expensive.
It costs a lot to go. You know, it's kind
of driven itself into the ground. You know, it's a
special treat. Going to the cinema is going to have
to be a special occasion that's going to need to be,
you know, like it needs to be sort of a
boutique kind of experience going forward. And interestingly, I think

(04:45):
that this year I've under really understood the difference between
watching a film at home and going and having an
experience in a cinema. I've had some extraordinary experiences with
a group of people in a dark room with a
massive screen, and the impact that that film can have
on me and things. It resonates so much more at

(05:06):
the moment I think, just going through.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, you're after and you're committing to to sharing a
moment with other people too, not being distracted by all
your devices hanging away, and and ready give a piece
of you know, of some of the some of the
pieces with the attention they deserve and you get more
out of it. So go go cinema. I love it,
and this is annoying to me, but nevertheless we will

(05:31):
carry on trying to watch the good stuff.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
We shall all about it. Wait and see how it
all unfolds, Steve, and you'll thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen
live to news Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.