Netflix's coup de grâce in the streaming world: buys Warner for 62 billion euros

BarcelonaThere seems to be no maximum size limit for giants. Netflix has announced that it has reached an agreement with Warner to acquire its assets, including the HBO Max platform and many others. The streaming service pioneer is suddenly leaping an order of magnitude in a deal that will involve the purchase of shares worth €62 billion. This means the company has been valued at €70 billion, a 30% increase over the nominal value of the shares.

With this money, the company led by Ted Sarandos, Reed Hastings, and Greg Peters aims to consolidate its leading position in video-on-demand services, which it pioneered. Some of the series and titles that will change hands are: The Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos, Game of Thunder, The Wizard of Oz And the DC Universe (including Batman and a multitude of other superheroes).

"Our mission has always been to entertain the world," said Sarandos, co-CEO of the company. "Combining with Warner Bros.' incredible library of series and films, which includes classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane and modern achievements such as the Harry Potter saga and Friendsand mixing it with our titles that have defined current culture as Stranger Things, The squid game and K-pop Demon HuntersWe will be able to do even better. Together we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of audiovisual storytelling." The mention of Friends It's no coincidence. Not only is it one of those classic series that continues to be popular, but Netflix has also recently faced a campaign of complaints and calls for a boycott after removing it from its catalog after nine years of offering it. sitcomWarner-owned, will now revert to Netflix, which will have to decide which of the two platforms to put it on (or both).

Peters, for his part, also touted the merits of the merger: "With our global reach and proven business model, we can bring the worlds they create to a wider audience, give our users more choices, and also attract more fans to our leading and benchmark streaming service, so this."

But not everyone is so euphoric. A few days before this announcement, the celebrated film director James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic) assured that the eventual sale of this elderly The centennial of cinema would cause "a catastrophic loss of long-term value" in the entertainment industry.

For now, Netflix has been quick to say that it does not intend to apply the same "bone hug" to its former rival HBO, which competed primarily in the prestige league rather than in the number of titles released. The official statement emphasizes the idea of complementarity and explicitly states that "Netflix intends to maintain Warner Bros.' current operations and build on its strengths, including theatrical releases." The message seeks to allay one of the fears in the sector, which is that cinema exhibition will be weakened in favor of direct-to-home releases.

Pending steps

As is often the case with deals of this magnitude, the merger will not be finalized immediately, as it must first pass regulatory scrutiny. Taking preventative measures, Warner Bros. Discovery split its businesses in June, meaning the Discovery division will remain independent and unaffected by the agreement. This means that Netflix will not acquire channels like CNN, TNT, Discovery, and numerous cable and satellite channels focused primarily on documentaries and sports; the purchase is limited to the film studios and HBO. This also means that the music division, one of the three most powerful in the world, along with Sony Music and Universal, is excluded from the acquisition.

This agreement, which includes a $5 billion compensation clause if the deal falls through due to regulatory issues, thwarts the chances of two other contenders to acquire Warner: Paramount and Comcast. Netflix currently has 301 million subscribers worldwide and is the streaming platform with the most customers. Amazon Prime is second with 240 million, although this figure is somewhat misleading because a significant portion of its users access the service through its fast-track delivery option, but this doesn't necessarily mean they consume its content. HBO has 128 million subscribers.