CECI HEINEN: Hello everyone. This is Ceci Heinen from the Minnesota Daily, and you are listening to In the Know, the podcast dedicated to the University of Minnesota.
Today we have a bit of a breaking news special episode coming to you from our studio where I’m sitting here with our arts and entertainment editor, Sophia Arndt. Hi Sophia.
SOPHIA ARNDT: Hello.
HEINEN: Thank you so much for coming in. We wanted to come in here and talk, as many of you may have read by now, about the big Netflix Warner Bros merger that has just transpired in Hollywood and what it’s gonna do to our local markets, our local movie theaters and also just like global movies, Netflix, HBO, all of that stuff.
We’re just gonna break it all down. So, let’s get right into it. Sophia, can you just give me like a rundown of what happened?
ARNDT: Yeah, so this morning, big breaking news out of Hollywood. It was announced that Netflix is going to be acquiring Warner Bros in a $72 billion deal. Which is a lot of money.
HEINEN: That’s a lot of money. That’s a big merger.
ARNDT: That’s a lot of money. That is a big, big merger. Netflix will acquire Warner Bros, including all of its film and television studios and Warner Bros’ catalog. So that includes HBO Max and HBO.
HEINEN: Crazy.
ARNDT: And this is huge. We haven’t seen anything like this before because this is a streaming service, buying up a, a major, major studio. Warner Bros is one of the most long running beloved institutions in Hollywood with films dating all the way back to like, you know, Casablanca.
HEINEN: Silent films.
ARNDT: Silent film. So this is really big and will greatly shake up the way your streaming services look, the way your theaters are gonna look. This is huge.
HEINEN: Yeah. And tell me a little bit more about how this can impact us in Minnesota, especially our theaters.
ARNDT: Yeah. So if you’re like me and you’re a big film fan, theaters like Marcus, which we love, The Main, which is a, a beloved institution for University of Minnesota students. AMC theaters, they’re all gonna feel waves of this.
Because, CEO Ted Sarandos made a statement that he is hoping to make the platforms more consumer friendly, including theaters in which he made a statement that his pushback has been that theaters are mostly long exclusive windows for films. What that means is he wants to shorten the theatrical runs in theaters.
So all of the independent films under Warner Bros that have been acquired or that are coming out under Warner Bros will have shorter runs in theaters. And that’s gonna greatly impact everything from independent studios and independent theaters to the really big ones like AMC because those theater runs, those, you know, month-long, two-month-long, three-month-long theater runs are where movies make their money. And it’s where theaters make their money.
HEINEN: So basically like a movie comes out that we all really wanna see what’s something coming? Marty Supreme.
ARNDT: Mmm.
HEINEN: Par example.
ARNDT: Par example. Timothee Chalamet.
HEINEN: Timothee Chalamet.
ARNDT: A friend of the Daily.
HEINEN: Yeah, of course. Just for example, that would mean like maybe it’s month one run in the theater could be reduced to two and a half weeks.
ARNDT: Yeah.
HEINEN: And so it just greatly limits the amount of time that you’re actually able to go there and actually see it in the theater experience rather than seeing it like on your computer in your bed.
ARNDT: Yeah. So if you’re, hey, if you’re a working student, if you are somebody who maybe doesn’t have as much time to go to the theater, movies, independent films like that, like Marty Supreme are gonna have shorter runs, which means if you don’t see it in the first two weeks, you might not get to see it unless it’s on Netflix and unless you have an account with Netflix.
HEINEN: That’s true. That’s another thing I was gonna ask. Do we know yet well, just like how this is gonna impact, like Netflix’s interface, like you said, that they’re acquiring HBO Max. So does that mean that like all HBO max shows are now gonna be available on Netflix?
ARNDT: So at this point it’s developing, so it’s unclear what the shakeup is gonna look like, but, I actually have a list of all of the movies, companies, major IPs that Netflix will now acquire if they successfully buy Warner Bros.
So, if you like Friends, Oceans, Gremlins, the Evil Dead franchise, the Mad Max franchise, the Matrix franchise, Beetlejuice, all of DC comics, which is huge.
HEINEN: That’s crazy.
ARNDT: All of Adults Swim, classics like Tom and Jerry, the Jetsons, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and really big HBO IPs like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. Both of which have upcoming shows, highly anticipated.
HEINEN: Yeah.
ARNDT: Are now all going to be under Netflix. If they go through with this deal.
HEINEN: That’s crazy. That’s insane.
ARNDT: Some other big ones, the Cartoon Network, which includes shows like Adventure Time.
HEINEN: Yeah, like every show that we ever grew up on.
ARNDT: Yeah. All of those classics are now gonna be under Netflix.
HEINEN: Wow.
ARNDT: If they successfully make this deal. So that is something that is developing, is this deal hasn’t gone through. And as a result, Hollywood is freaking out right now. There’s already been a group of really, it’s not yet announced who’s within the group, but there is talk that there is already a really large group of very influential actors and people within the film industry who are going to like, speak out against this.
So that there has been pushback, it hasn’t gone through yet. I think right now we’re just in the waiting game of seeing what happens. I think you’re gonna see a lot more really influential.
HEINEN: People.
ARNDT: Actors and actresses, especially those within the Sag Aftra union. I think you’re gonna see them speak out. So major, major groups within Hollywood, like the Writer’s Guild, the Director’s Guild are already pushing back.
So it’s already been stated that the Director’s Guild of America is planning to meet with Congress because they feel that this is in violation of antitrust laws.
HEINEN: Oh yeah. And. If you guys haven’t taken a legal course before.
ARNDT: Which we have.
HEINEN: I actually have. I, hey, I knew what antitrust laws were.
ARNDT: We love, I’m just media law in this household.
HEINEN: Here’s a little def for those of you who haven’t taken it. So, antitrust laws are a set of laws designed to promote fair competition and to prevent monopolies by prohibiting anti-competitive conduct like price fixing, monopolization, anti-competitive mergers.
So basically exactly what is going on right now. So these laws prevent businesses from engaging in practices that harm consumers, taxpayers and workers by limiting their choice or harming their welfare. Which is definitely something that people are bringing up now.
Like, kind of just like, so where were these antitrust laws when this was happening? Because this is definitely gonna negatively impact a lot of people, especially workers at Netflix. Lots of, at Netflix and Warner Bros, I think like a lot of jobs are gonna be lost.
ARNDT: This is big.
HEINEN: Like in any merger, jobs are lost and so, yeah, I think like you were saying, like that’s a big thing in conversation right now is people just being like, “Okay, what happened to antitrust laws and why was this allowed to happen?”
ARNDT: Yeah. The answer is people don’t really know why this was allowed to happen. There were, you know, rumblings of it happening, but I don’t think anyone actually thought within, anyone within the film community, actually thought that this would be moved forward with.
HEINEN: Yeah.
ARNDT: Because one of the things that people are worried about is what’s gonna happen to not only jobs, because this is a huge merger of two major streaming services. Two major studios, Netflix Studios, Warner Bro Studios, HBO Studios, like these huge, big properties.
HEINEN: Like big three. Honestly.
ARNDT: Big three. The only streaming service I actually have is HBO. But one of the reasons that is, is because these streaming services offer different things. You can go to Netflix to watch things like Stranger Things, Bridgeton, K-Pop Demon Hunters, like these are the, Netflix has very much taken the approach of creating family friendly context.
HEINEN: Yeah. Things that honestly, like I feel like when I watch like a Netflix show produced by Netflix, like whatever you can kind of tell. And the same can be said about HBO.
Watching an HBO produced show, like Euphoria or something you can kind of tell. Because I think that, you can correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that HBO has permissions to show more explicit stuff.
ARNDT: Yes.
HEINEN: Than Netflix.
ARNDT: Yeah. That’s one of the things is Netflix and HBO operate within very different bounds of what they can put in a show. So that goes down even to like lighting, costuming, makeup. Netflix and HBO have very different approaches to how they create their stuff and what content is within that stuff.
So shows like Game of Thrones, Euphoria. Those shows became popular because they pushed the boundaries of what we normally saw with TV for better or for worse. Netflix is kind of known as a streaming service for playing it safe. So, I think there’s a lot of.
HEINEN: Hey, Heated Rivalry. That’s another one that’s on HBO that pushes the boundaries, right? Heated Rivalry is coming to Netflix, I guess.
ARNDT: I guess so. That is a concern.
HEINEN: Yeah, for sure. HBO, to me at least, HBO is like, kind of like mature streaming service. Whereas Netflix is kind of like, yeah, there’s some mature content on there, but for the most part it’s mostly pretty tame.
ARNDT: Yeah. And I think one of the concerns comes from the statement made by Sarandos, Netflix CEO, is he wants it to be consumer friendly. That gives me pause because Netflix is known for pursuing content that will make them money.
And the industry and the group that’s gonna make them the most money is family friendly, friendly content. At the end of the day, that’s gonna be what makes them the most money because it’s the widest audience. So shows that push those boundaries and that maybe aren’t considered quote, unquote appropriate for a larger audience, those shows might not get made anymore.
So shows like, you know, Boondocks, anything with Adult Swim like even Creature Commandos within DC, which was, you know, praised for being something that pushed the boundaries of what we see in animated shows. Those shows might not get made anymore.
HEINEN: Yeah, that’s, that’s sad.
ARNDT: Yeah. As someone who daily interacts with media content like this it’s a little concerning.
HEINEN: Yeah.
ARNDT: It’s concerning to see CEOs who run and make this content, you know, run the streaming services that make this content say that they wanna make things more consumer friendly. Because who’s the consumer you’re trying to appeal to at the end of the day?
HEINEN: True. That’s just like, makes me sad. That potentially shows that I think push boundaries, like I keep bringing up Euphoria, but I think Euphoria is like a super important show for people to watch. And it makes me sad that shows like that or movies that do that kind of stuff and that amplify those voices might not be as heard anymore.
ARNDT: So in an article by CNN Warner Bros said that it’s moving forward with its plans to split into two publicly traded halves in 2026, and then once that split takes effect, Netflix will acquire the Warner half. So the Warner Bro half. The other half, which is the Discovery channel, will house CNN and other cable channels. So, that’s another concern is the news industries that are.
HEINEN: Being shaken up by it.
ARNDT: Being shaken up by this. So that split’s gonna come in the summer of 2026, so that’s the thing we won’t really know.
HEINEN: It might be a while.
ARNDT: It might be a while.
HEINEN: Yeah. But still, I mean, just the thought of like. The effect it could have on movie theaters, on movie lovers, on, you know, collectors, whatever. And on the streaming service itself is something to ponder.
This will cause definitely a lot of ripples among many different communities. Hopefully you all can just get a basic rundown from this episode and thank you Sophia, for coming in and talking about this.
ARNDT: Yeah, of course. Thank you for having me.
HEINEN: Appreciate it. Miss arts and entertainment editor. Go read her desk’s work if you haven’t. Thank you for tuning in to this little breaking news special episode.
This episode was by Ceci Heinen and Sophia Arndt and produced by Ceci Heinen. If you have any questions, comments or concerns don’t hesitate to reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear what you’re thinking about this. And that’s all we got for you today. Thank you so much for tuning in to In The Know.
I’m Ceci Heinen.
ARNDT: I’m Sophia Arndt.
HEINEN: Have a good day.
ARNDT: Bye guys.
