"In a press release sent Friday morning, Netflix touted the deal as bringing together "two pioneering entertainment businesses, combining Netflix's innovation, global reach and best-in-class streaming service with Warner Bros.' century-long legacy of world-class storytelling." The release also opened with the bold statement that the "Acquisition Will Strengthen the Entertainment Industry." How true that is is just one of the big questions created by this news."
"In making this deal, Netflix is only picking up Warner Bros.'s studios and streaming business, which is being split off from Discovery and the company's cable channels. Should the deal go through, it will close in about 12 to 18 months - as we get into below, though, that's not a sure thing. Because with any deal of this size, a lot remains uncertain."
"Critics of the deal include Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who called the it "an anti-monopoly nightmare." Reuters also quoted Republican Senator Mike Lee as saying on X that "increasing Netflix's dominance this way would mean the end of the Golden Age of streaming for content creators and consumers." However, searching X for those posts now pulls up nothing, suggesting that Lee recently deleted that post. Lee leads the Senate antitrust committee."
Netflix agreed to acquire Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion (equity value $72.0 billion), combining Netflix's streaming service with Warner Bros.' century-long studio and storytelling assets. The acquisition covers Warner Bros.' studios and its streaming business being split off from Discovery and excludes the company's cable channels. The deal is projected to close in about 12 to 18 months if approved. The transaction faces potential Congressional and Department of Justice antitrust review and bipartisan scrutiny. High-profile critics and industry players have voiced opposition and contacted lawmakers, creating significant regulatory and political uncertainty around completion.
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