Netflix will have the ring to rule them all
BarcelonaAmazon paid the staggering sum of $250 million to acquire the rights toThe Lord of the Rings for making what was then the most ambitious series in terms of budget of this new era of audiovisual media. But, beyond the screen, in the real world of streaming wars, it will be Netflix that holds the coveted ring that allows them to rule them all.
Following the principle ofnon-small excusatio, manifest accusatioThe platform's first communication announcing the imminent acquisition of Warner Bros. – pending approval from competition regulators – emphasizes that the company does not intend to undermine theatrical film distribution. This means, of course, that we will have to pay close attention to its moves in this area, since Netflix knows that every minute a viewer spends in a multiplex, having paid for a ticket, is a minute they are not watching.
The company's potential to intervene in the traditional system is enormous. And the fear it generates is evident in the emergence of a letter signed by Hollywood producers expressing their concerns, but which they do not sign for fear of reprisals. We are once again in an era of major consolidations, in this case dictated by the new digital giants. It hasn't even been three years since Amazon swallowed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, and now Netflix is acquiring another, even older, century-old studio. The number of streaming services is dwindling, and after a period in which almost everyone dared to launch a video-on-demand platform, it's clear that the future will be a three-way race: Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon.
The other question this deal raises is the future of HBO. This brand, associated with prestige for half a century, has struggled to make the transition to the online world, to the point that its constant name changes—now they call it Max, now they drop it—have become emblematic of its identity crisis, because successive owners haven't quite found the dazzling name that will maximize its profitability. gastrobar Audiovisual, in contrast to Netflix, which is often seen as more of a fast-food joint. The new owner has two options: either respect its original character and simply provide all the technological infrastructure—and, above all, data—or turn it into a subsidiary channel and a dumping ground for everything that doesn't fit on Netflix due to company policy. Joint marketing offers are expected. But it will also have to be analyzed closely, especially during the post-production downturn, when the company starts to make cuts.
Along the way, two other contenders have been sidelined, now relying entirely on censorship from competition authorities. One of them, David Ellison's Paramount, is Trump's favorite. The other, Comcast, is the opposite: the American president has declared its owner "a disgrace" to the industry. The person who must approve the operation is Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and one of the minions A key figure for Trump, with whom he has threatened some of the traditional television networks. It remains to be seen whether politics will play a role or if the logic of money, which Netflix has put on the table, will prevail.
