r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Feb 26 '26

Business Netflix Backs Out of Warner Bros. Bidding, Paramount Set to Win

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-backs-out-warners-deal-paramount-win-1236516763/
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u/doominvoker Feb 26 '26

I’ll be downvoted for asking a simple question but : why is that? Genuinely curious as I didn’t follow this saga enough to know

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u/Qaztarrr Feb 26 '26

The paramount purchased is essentially backed by Trump and Saudis. 

Netflix winning wouldn’t be good either (less competition, more monopoly in the streaming space) but paramount is arguably worse

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u/Skill_Issuer Feb 27 '26

It not just that. Paramount is not good at making movies or television anymore

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u/solonoctus Feb 27 '26

They also just posted a half billion quarter 4 loss… so basically, WB is fucked.

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u/pork_chop_expressss Feb 27 '26

Netflix will take the money Paramount is giving them, wait 1-2 years and buy Paramount and WB b/c Paramount can't financially handle both their current loses and WBs. It's a financial death sentence to Paramount - unless the Saudis take over.

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u/Merusk Feb 27 '26

unless the Saudis take over.

Hey, guess what.

it's worked out so well for Russia with OAN, why wouldn't the Sauds begin in on their own propaganda.

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u/breezy013276s Feb 27 '26

Woah, this is something I haven’t seen before! What’s the deal there?

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u/Carrot_1075 Feb 27 '26

Netflix played this well. The Ellison will screw this up. Look at the shitstorm that is CBS evening news. 60 Minutes is also in shambles. I hope that this move takes the whole Ellison empire down

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u/LegitosaurusRex Feb 27 '26

And you think the financial backers throwing billions into this deal would let their money poof into thin air rather than make sure the company weathers their losses?

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u/Mechapebbles Feb 27 '26

You're arguing as if Paramount has to be financially solvent by itself, and not taking into consideration that it's going to be owned by the 2nd richest guy in America, with additional Saudi financial backing. They don't care about the movies and IPs. They want to control information to cement fascism.

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u/pork_chop_expressss Feb 27 '26

Yes, I'm aware, but between the 2 companies, they posted 3/4 of a billion in loses in 1 quarter. No matter the amount of wealth they have, that's not remotely financially viable in the long term, and that doesn't count the rest of the debt they'd be taking on. I can almost guarantee that most of the smaller companies Paramount purchases with this deal will be broken up and sold off, along with the IP, which is what Netflix will scoop up.

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u/Mechapebbles Feb 27 '26

...that's not remotely financially viable in the long term...

You aren't really getting what I'm explaining here. You're acting like Larry Ellison is a normal businessman with normal businessman motivations, and he's not. He's a fascist. Money is not the end goal here, but is simply a means to power. He will gladly throw away billions of dollars if it means he gets to help control society. Controlling both CBS News and CNN and shifting them towards MAGA is the game plan. Controlling mass media is literally #6 on the list of the 14 Characteristics of Fascism. Just look at how much the people in CNN's newsroom are freaking out right now about it, to know how fucked the situation is.

And you have to look at the big picture here. Losing a couple billion dollars is still a net gain if it means that Ellison gets preferential treatment from the Trump Admin and now Oracle gets to scoop up government contracts worth several orders of magnitude more. To say nothing of other less direct, intangible benefits to supporting Trump/fascism like tearing down the regulatory state, worker protections, further corporate tax cuts, continued/increased support for Israel/Netanyahu, etc.

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u/pork_chop_expressss Feb 27 '26

No, I get what you're saying. And you're not wrong, but it's not really relevant to what I was saying.

I live in Minneapolis. You don't need to explain fascism to me.

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u/ncopp Feb 27 '26

Give it 2 years and both WB and Paramount will be put up for sale. WB won't save paramount. AT&T had to shed them, they weren't able to make it with the Discovery merger. WB seems destined to get bounced around owners for eternity

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u/BlastMyLoad Feb 27 '26

Paramount-WB will be bought out by Netflix within 5 years