I’m particularly sensitive when I see newer media entities and the fresh-faced superstars of whatever “40 Under 40” survey may still exist at their helms doing their darndest to reinvent the wheel and show disdain for anything or anyone from what they consider to be an out-of-touch and irrelevant generation. A while back I shared a story about how some particularly snooty millennial took umbrage because I wasn’t falling in line with my more disconnected and less experienced colleagues in buying into his spiel. The dripping disdain that he expressed still resonates with me.
So whenever I do see some sign of interest in something that didn’t originate in the 21st century I consider it a victory of sorts, perhaps more moral and pyrrhic than otherwise. And this past week we saw two different indications that perhaps the greatest media success story of said century has set its sights on content that is decidedly not exclusive in its appeal to those born into it. AS COLLIDER’s Ryan O’ Rourke thankfully shared on his paywall-less platform:
A new contender may have just entered the Warner Bros. Discovery sweepstakes. With Paramount and Skydance officially cementing their merger back in August, there were rumblings that the newly bolstered entertainment giant under David Ellison was next looking to acquire the storied Hollywood studio, bones and all. However, Puck News has now reported that, in a shocking twist, Netflix may be considering a bid. Adding smoke to this potential fire is that the streamer’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, was recently in attendance at the Crawford–Álvarez fight in Las Vegas alongside WBD chief David Zaslav.
The report further details that, unlike Paramount-Skydance, which would be acquiring all the branches, cable networks, and more from both the Warner Bros. and Discovery sides, Netflix may be more interested in just the studio and streaming part of the business. It’s uncertain just how aggressive the streaming company could be in trying to acquire all that, especially with Ellison looming with seemingly no worries about the cost for the whole kit and caboodle, and his billionaire father, Larry Ellison, worth over $350 billion as of writing, behind him. With the expected astronomical price of WBD, the company’s debts, and talks of potentially splitting off the cable networks, however, such a deal would take time to come into place, leaving the door open for Netflix or another suitor to sway Zaslav. Puck has also previously reported that Zaslav isn’t certain the right offer will be there if Ellison makes a bid. Whatever the case, a potential move to Netflix would represent a seismic shift in the entertainment industry by putting at least some part of a Hollywood legacy company in the hands of a streaming-first giant.
There’s apparent pros and cons to this new wrinkle, depending upon how pristine one considers legacy moviemaking. That’s been WBD’s sweet spot of late, as DEADLINE’s resident cinemaphile Anthony D’Alessandro eagerly crowed about yesterday:
Just as Warner Bros is opening their seventh original movie this year with Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, the motion picture studio of Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack can celebrate being the first to cross $4 billion at the global box office, year-to-date.
It’s the first time that Warner Bros has crossed $4 billion since 2019. This time they pulled it off with eleven theatrical releases versus 20 titles six years ago. Broken out, Warners has grossed $1.795 billion at the domestic B.O. and another $2.2B abroad. This weekend, the Leonardo DiCaprio starring One Battle After Another is expected to post a $45M global bow. Superman proved to fire off the new DC under chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran, while the original gambles which Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy have made at the larger Warner Bros Motion Picture Group with Sinners and F1, as well as new IP, Minecraft, have been smashing successes.
But with that comes concern that an entity like Netflix that has gotten into the kind of financial position that has it even in the same conversation with the likes of the Ellisons may not be as keen as putting butts into theatres as opposed to keeping them firmly rooted on their couches and recliners. It was just four years ago when under the guidance of tech-centric Jason Kilar and the uncertainty of COVID that Warner Brothers’ theatrical output pivoted to PVOD and gave a temporary kickstart to the then-nascent HBO Max. Once the world slowly but surely began to find their way back into IRL, that strategy sank like a lead balloon. And then there’s the underlying feelings of those that celebrate creativity such as those expressed by GIZMODO’s Lucas Ropek a week earlier:
In the case of Netflix, it’s unclear what would lie in store for the studio or its filmmakers should such an acquisition move ahead. The fact that Netflix is, you know, a streamer, would seem to portend dark things for them…During Zaslav’s tenure, the studio has produced some notable winners …I suppose he can brag that, on his way out the door, he helped shepherd to completion Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film epic One Battle After Another, which, if the current reviews are to be believed, may have brought a little bit of that 1970s magic back to WB…Re: PTA, I don’t want to see his next film in a commercial-laden format while doing laundry in my living room.
I can’t fault Ropek for having such sentiment, although I would question why he seems to have his washer-dryer in such an odd location. Perhaps he might be less put off by watching something else that Netflix has now found its way into glomming into their programming matrix, as THE ATHLETIC’s resident sports media genius Andrew Marchand revealed on Thursday:
Netflix will feature Major League Baseball’s Opening Day game between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants next year, sources briefed on the move told The Athletic. As part of the new three-year agreement between MLB and the giant streamer, the Yankees’ March 25 opener at San Francisco will be Netflix’s first exclusive stream and will begin the 2026 season. This primetime matchup is the only game that day, with the rest of the clubs opening the next day.
Netflix will also have the Home Run Derby and is expected to share a handful of special location event regular-season games with NBC/Peacock, including “Field of Dreams,” “MLB at Rickwood Field” and the “MLB Speedway” game, which debuted in August.
It’s merely toe-dipping for Netflix, something akin to their Christmas Day commitment to the NFL and decidely far less than what they’ve invested in WWE. And if one really wants to pick nits, I suspect some of their interest might have been generated by the fact that the Giants are the home team for the Los Gatos based monolith. And even their employees might have trouble getting the best seats at a venue ironically named for the company owned by Larry Ellison.
I saw quite a bit of online anguish expressed by baseball fans in general re this news, particularly old-school Yankee fans who lament yet another loss of the precious games to those streaming whippersnappers. After all, the Bronx Bombers already siphoned off a portion of their YES network schedule that previously was pivoted to linear TV and moved it to Prime Video a couple of years ago (though it is still part of MLB.TV’s package that amalgamates the old-school RSNs that the balance of the sport supplies its regular season games to).
To them this admittedly older fart must take on the same attitude that the putz who dissed me for getting in the way of his path to a needless sale took with me. Don’t be the dad (mom?) at the top of the stars spoiling the vibe of the rave. The fact that Netflix even thinks baseball is still worth investing in at a time when the overall interest is waning among its target audience should be what you focus on and appreciate most. And the fact that they do may give the Ropeks out there pasuse that perhaps they might not screw up what seems to be working with them enough to get them away from their remotes.
Netflix is at least taking an interest in what we like and do. You want to share how often–if at all– your own kids and grandkids are? Take the win.
Until next time…