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Streaming Archive

Archives for December 2025

Spotify’s music videos feature arrives in the US and CanadaSpotify’s music videos feature arrives in the US and Canada
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
The art of the deal.

As Ted Sarandos and David Ellison play out a public spat over whose turn it is to play with Warner Bros., while trying to impress Trump and the regulators along the way, just remember that the real winners at the end will be HBO Max subscribers.

sam flynn:

It’s really fun how we all get to sit around and watch these idiots toss gold bars back and forth across Trump’s desk while waiting to see if an HBO Max subscription will be $80 or $100 a month this time next year.

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Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. might backfire.

Since Netflix announced that it was the frontrunner to buy Warner Bros., David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has been getting more hostile in its bids to own the legacy studio. But Semafor reports that Paramount’s tactics have raised eyes in Washington, where some think Ellison is banking on favoritism from Trump’s Justice Department.

Finger-pointing in Washington as Paramount goes hostile

[Semafor]

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
David Ellison pitches Paramount’s $108 billion hostile bid for WBD as “pro consumer.”

After launching a hostile bid for the entertainment giant, Paramount’s Ellison told CNBC that Netflix’s deal to buy part of WBD would create a company with “unprecedented market power:”

When you combine the number one streamer with the number three streamer, that creates a company that has unprecedented market power, north of 400 million subscribers. The next largest competitor is Disney, with just under 200 million. That’s bad for Hollywood, that’s bad for the creative community, that’s bad for consumers.

The Boys is returning for its final season in AprilThe Boys is returning for its final season in April
Paramount launches a hostile $108 billion bid to snatch Warner from NetflixParamount launches a hostile $108 billion bid to snatch Warner from Netflix
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Did it work for those people?

Warner Bros. has a long history of bad buyouts and mergers, but maybe Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has been watching a little too much Arrested Development on his own platform.

Bebopper:

Arrested Development but it might work for us .gif

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Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Trump isn’t sold on the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal.

Despite Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos’ efforts to woo the president last month, Trump said on Sunday that plans to combine the streamer with Warner Bros. “could be a problem.” Trump said that Netflix already has a “very big market share,” which will “go up by a lot” if the $83 billion buyout goes ahead.

Trump says $72bn Netflix-Warner Bros deal 'could be a problem'

[BBC News]

Netflix CEO made a visit to the White House before buying Warner Bros.Netflix CEO made a visit to the White House before buying Warner Bros.
An all-time great game makes a comebackAn all-time great game makes a comeback
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Civics nerds can finally watch C-SPAN on YouTube TV.

In September, Google and C-SPAN struck a deal to bring the networks to subscribers, and this week C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, and C-SPAN3 went live on YouTube TV in all its unfiltered glory of wall-to-wall government minutia. But, it’s not all boring congressional sessions, they know how to have fun at C-SPAN, too.

We talked to the guy running the Mad Men puke hoseWe talked to the guy running the Mad Men puke hose
Welcome to the big leagues, Netflix

WB has a checkered history of acquisitions, but joining forces with Netflix would elevate it to a new level of prominence.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Netflix’s leadership thinks the Warner Bros. deal won’t be like other big media mergers.

Warner Bros. mergers have a not-so-great history, but with this deal, co-CEO Greg Peters said on an analyst call that, as transcribed by Deadline:

We understand these assets that we’re buying, the things that are critical in Warner Bros. are key businesses that we operate in, and we understand. 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.

Netflix Execs Say Warner Bros. Deal Is No AOL Time Warner Fiasco In The Making

[Deadline]

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Netflix is “highly confident” about the regulatory process for the deal.

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, from an investor call:

This deal is pro consumer, pro innovation, pro worker, it’s pro creator, it’s pro growth. And our plans here are to work really closely with all the appropriate governments and regulators, but really confident that we’re going to get all the necessary approvals that we need.

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