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Did you hear? Netflix rocked the media industry on Friday with the announcement that it had reached a deal valued at $72 billion to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and television studios, HBO Max, and HBO. If the deal is approved by regulators, it’s expected to close in 12 to 18 months, after the previously announced separation of WBD’s Global Networks division, Discovery Global, into a new publicly traded company. “Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” said Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix. “By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies – from timeless classics like ‘Casablanca’ and ‘Citizen Kane’ to modern favorites like ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Friends’ – with our culture-defining titles like ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and ‘Squid Game,’ we’ll be able to do that even better.” Netflix said it “expects to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
The night of the big announcement, Netflix wrote to US subscribers to assure them, “Nothing is changing today. Both streaming services will continue to operate separately.” The note included a link to the streamer’s Help Center that answers questions like, “What if I already have an HBO Max subscription, should I cancel?” (No.)
(Source: Cynopsis)
What’s to prevent the Netflix/Warner Bros. deal from becoming another media industry debacle, like the merger of AOL and Time Warner in 2000, or AT&T’s takeover of Time Warner in 2018? “A lot of those failures that we’ve seen historically is because the company that was doing the acquisition didn’t understand the entertainment business,” said Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters during a call with analysts. “They didn’t really understand what they were buying. We understand these assets that we’re buying, the things that are critical in Warner Bros. are key businesses that we operate in…. A lot of times, the acquiring company, it was a legacy non-growth business that was looking for sort of a lifeline. That doesn’t apply to us. We’ve got a healthy, growing business that we’re super, super excited about.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
The WGA East and West came out swinging after the Netflix/WD sale was announced. “The world’s largest streaming company swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent,” read their statement. “The outcome would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers. Industry workers along with the public are already impacted by only a few powerful companies maintaining tight control over what consumers can watch on television, on streaming, and in theaters. This merger must be blocked.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Apple TV has renewed “Platonic” for a third season. The comedy stars Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne as friends who reconnect after a long rift.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Also coming back for a third season is Paramount+’s “Landman.” No surprise there – season two drew 9.2 million streaming views for its November 19 premiere episode in the first two days on the service. Views increased by +262% from the first season premiere, making it the most watched premiere for any original series for Paramount+.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Paramount+ also announced new seasons of UFC fight series “The Ultimate Fighter” and “Dana White’s Contender Series.” “The Ultimate Fighter,” launched on Spike TV in 2005, and “Contender,” launched in 2017 on UFC Fight Pass, were most recently available on ESPN/ESPN+. The addition of the two series expands upon the seven-year media rights partnership between UFC and Paramount announced in August.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Mandy Moore (“This is Us”) is set to star in and executive produce “Teach Me,” and erotic thriller in development at Peacock. The project, from creator Lisa Rubin (“Gypsy”), A24, Universal Television and Pacesetter Productions, centers on the twisted relationship between a teacher and her student.
(Source: Cynopsis)
To reflect NBCUniversal networks going dark on Fubo amid a carriage dispute, Fubo has reduced the price of Pro and Elite to $73.99/month and $83.99/month respectively for new customers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The fifth and final season of Prime video drama “The Boys” premieres with two episodes on Wednesday, April. The final episode drops May 20.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season three of supernatural high school drama “School Spirits” kicks off Wednesday, January 28 on Paramount+ with three episodes.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Hulu’s “The Testaments,” sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” will debut in April. The drama, based on the book by Margaret Atwood, focuses on a new generation of young women in the dystopian theocracy of Gilead.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season two of “Paradise,” starring Sterling K. Brown, premieres with three episodes on Monday, February 23.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Four years after the series finale of “Peaky Blinders,” a feature film, “Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man,” will continue the saga. Written by series creator Steven Knight, the drama will have a limited release in theaters starting March 6 and drop on Netflix March 20.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The CW has picked up “Taylor,” a documentary about Taylor Swift. The film, which originally aired on UK’s Channel 4, hits The CW on Saturday, December 13 at 8p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
BET+ original film “Vera’s Holiday Flop” starts streaming Thursday, December 12. The movie centers on a 20-year high school reunion.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“60 Minutes” delivered 11 million total viewers and 2.1 million viewers in the A25-54 demo, according to Nielsen Panel + Big Data ratings for Sunday, November 30, to repeat as the #1 non-sports primetime program for the week. Ten weeks into the season, the show is pacing up +8% in viewers and +5% in the demo versus last year.
(Source: Cynopsis)
During Thanksgiving Week, Hallmark Channel ranked as the #1 most-watched entertainment network across all key measurements, with its Merry Thanksgiving Weekend stunt drawing 10 million unduplicated viewers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 – $63 million
Zootopia 2 – $43 million
Wicked: For Good – $16.8 million
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution – $10.2 million
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t – $3.5 million
(Source: Box Office Mojo)
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