Today will be remembered as the day Netflix jumped the shark, succumbing the to the toxic temptation of Wall Street's merger-and-acquisition culture, eventually to be buried in the bankruptcy crypt of debt while its CEO laughs all the way to the bank with his unjust reward.
Maybe. Maybe not.
It's one hell of a lot of money, but for it, Netflix gets:
New subscribers (out of HBO Max's 180 million subscribers, some will already have Netflix, so less than that), which gets them subscription revenue and allows them to increase their ad rates (which is where the good stuff is these days).
Reduces the number of subscription options, which may reduce churn (subscribers cancelling to use the money for a competitor).
Ownership of Warners' film and television library, a significant resource that it can use itself or license to competitors and generate significant revenue.
Ownership of a
very rich catalog of intellectual property (Harry Potter, the DC Universe, Dune, Game of Thrones, Friends, Looney Tunes, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix), with seemingly endless licensing possibilities.
A studio that, if Netflix doesn't screw it up, does something Netflix hasn't been able to do---make global monster box office movies and has the ability to create new ongoing franchises.
Universal and Paramount at a significant disadvantage when it comes to the power and value of their combined film studios and streaming (Disney's the only one that's close).
And, today I learned that Warners and Disney have been working on an Artificial Intelligence project that might be the future---or not, but we'll see:
Training data and meme materials are elements the WB library offers that Netflix badly needs as it prepares to buy the studio.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Every day is anything can happen day---but Netflix' bankruptcy is no more a sure thing than its roaring success with this move.
variety.com
deadline.com
