In an over 80 billion dollar deal, Netflix is emerging as victorious to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. This deal comes after a bidding war in which entertainment giants such as Paramount Skydance and Comcast have thrown their hats in the ring. While the deal is not final, Warner Bros. has rejected other advances, leaving Netflix at the forefront of this war. This monumental deal, however, raises concerns over the trajectory of the entertainment industry.
Sitting as the number one streaming service in the nation, Netflix already holds a significant amount of power in the entertainment industry. This purchase would only increase their power, as the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. includes HBO, their film and television studios and the intellectual properties. Netflix would also operate the third largest streaming platform in HBO Max and own almost half of the industry’s streaming catalogues.
While the deal still has to undergo government approval and finalization, the possibility that this will create a monopoly due to unequal ownership of entertainment has been troubling for many, including Daniel McCain, a filmmaker and third-year College student, as the proposed acquisition raises professional concerns for his pursuit of a career in the film industry.
“If you have one single company controlling conditions for workers, where it’s either you accept [their] standard or you find work somewhere else, except [in this case, Netflix] bought a lot of the competition,” McCain said. “At least in the mainstream studio space that is terrifying.”
Along with concerns of a monopoly come concerns from many writers about a potential hindrance in creativity. By condensing the number of studios and production companies, creatives will have fewer places to turn to in order to get their projects off the ground. The Writers Guild of America East and West issued a joint statement opposing this merger.
“The outcome would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers,” the statement reads.
Netflix, and other streaming platforms, have become notorious for cancelling up-and-coming shows after the first season if they don’t reach a certain level of success measured by cost efficiency and impact on the platform. According to Ansh Pathapadu, filmmaker and fourth-year Engineering student, this line becomes blurred as Netflix hides some of its own data.
“Netflix doesn’t show that data to their artists,” Pathapadu said. “So they have this power to control what gets made and what doesn’t get made.”
In addition to concerns about creative freedom, the deal poses a threat to the future of theatrical releases. While Warner Bros. initially started as a movie studio, Netflix started as a DVD rental company, later expanding to streaming, meaning they have less experience with investing in the theatrical experience. Netflix has stated that it expects “to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations,” despite Netflix’s success coming from being a streaming platform, which could lead to a shift away from the theatrical focus.
Further complicating the consequences of the acquisition, Deadline recently reported that Netflix plans to adopt a 17-day theatrical window before being moved to streaming platforms and video-on-demand. This would greatly cut down the length that most movies are played in theaters from a 45-day cycle, which may heighten the phenomenon of many consumers turning to streaming services out of convenience rather than traditional movie-going.
McCain mentioned that in enacting a shorter theatrical release period, Netflix prioritizes larger films that will make a profit within this smaller window over indie projects that need more time in theaters for buzz to spread on social media and by word of mouth.
“Anything that’s not an award season contender doesn’t really have a great shot at getting into theaters with Netflix,” McCain said. “I think that’s antithetical to what theaters can be, where it’s a chance to go a step outside of yourself and see a new voice and a new story or a new twist on something you’ve already seen.”
As movie-going has declined in the past years, this merger indicates the beginning of an end for a timeless industry. With technological advances in the film industry, Maggie Polistina, a member of the theater community at the University and fourth-year College student, states that this merger is symptomatic and will lead to further changes in the film industry.
“The merger is definitely an indicator of how streaming services have become increasingly more common and powerful in our media industry,” Polistina said. “But I also see this merger as an active diminution of competition that would essentially limit the scope and power of major film companies, like Warner Bros..”
Netflix has also caused controversy in recent years for enacting policies to curb password sharing, such as kicking devices off household accounts if they are not in a specific location. Because of these crackdowns, Netflix is forcing people to purchase accounts for themselves as opposed to sharing with their friends and family members, ultimately posing a greater financial burden on consumers. Netflix has stated that they will not raise prices, but have also left the door open for potential subscription fee increases in the future.
Despite these worries, it may ultimately be up to the consumers to prevent Netflix from becoming too powerful in the streaming industry. Pathapadu discussed the idea that Netflix users may turn to digital piracy as a protest against Netflix raising prices.
“They might raise prices, but ultimately that might be their undoing, because then there’s another way for people to get these movies,” Pathapadu said. “[Media is] for the masses and masses move those things.”
While the uncertainty with this deal leaves many students anxious for the future, there is still hope for young filmmakers in this uncertain climate. McCain said that the desire to create meaningful stories will always exist even if this merger comes to fruition.
“There’s still a way to make your dreams come true,” McCain said “To take that feeling that you have in your bones and in your soul, the need to tell stories, and to turn that into a reality, even if the system is increasingly not favored to you.”
As this deal is set to close in the third quarter of 2026, the future of filmmaking remains unstable. Even so, young filmmakers will still find avenues of story telling to make their visions come to life.
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