If you've ever sat at an auction and heard the auctioneer's clipped voice, you may have a good idea of ​​what it's like now with the wild bidding going on for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros, home of Superman and Batman, may seem a little esoteric to you, but owning it will likely impact the quality and value of streaming favorites including HBO Max and HGTV, TCM+, as well as access to many of their cable counterparts such as Cartoon Network, TNT, Adult Swim and many more.
In IP mixing bowl
It's head-scratching stuff, but depending on who wins (if anyone wins), your viewing experience could change at home versus in the theater.
If Netflix wins, there are some concerns, despite promises that even the biggest theatrical releases from Warner Bros. upcoming Supergirl movie from DC Studios – may not get the attention it deserves in theaters and will go straight to streaming on HBO Max (or whatever Netflix calls it) or even Netflix itself.
Some consumers may be pleased since they already hate going to the movies, but filmmakers still love showing movies on the big screen and dream of big blockbuster weekends, even though those are few and far between these days.
Netflix's plans to leave CNN behind could prove problematic for the news network if it fails to find a major parent company.
But let's take a moment to look at the Paramount deal.
Again, this brings together potentially even more intellectual property (Netflix has very little of its own, and most of it, even Stranger Thingsis short-term, not decades-long).
For example, Paramount owns all Star Trek franchise. Can we imagine crossovers between Bugs Bunny and Captain Kirk?
And will SpongeBob become an official Warner Bros. character?
Intellectual property issues aside, what would a Paramount/Warner Bros. merger mean? for our streaming costs?
What about us?
So far, we haven't seen combined streaming platforms result in lower prices. The larger the company, the more content it has to produce, which leads to higher costs and, of course, higher prices, due to which we have no choice but to pay or cancel the service.
However, the X factor here may be the Trump administration.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump expressed admiration for Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. but also acknowledged concerns about monopoly.
The deal with Paramount may seem more attractive to Trump for several reasons.
First of all, he's close to the Ellisons. David's father, Larry Ellison, owns Oracle. the company that supposedly becomes the owner of the TikTok algorithm (and part of TikTok). Trump publicly supported the sale of Paramount to David Ellison's company. And with Paramount planning to buy the entire Warner Bros. company, they could destroy or absorb CNN, a network that Trump is known to hate.
But wait.
Trump's opinion of Paramount changed this morning after 60 minutesOne of the network's flagship investigative programs, CBS News, published an interview with outgoing US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene that did not paint Trump in the best light.
Naturally, Trump unloads on Paramount in 'Truth' social post with railings“THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERS.”
The suddenly smooth merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. seems less likely.
Meanwhile, Paramount made some efforts to turn Warner Bros. head, even launching a website detailing all the benefits of their proposal.
So far, Warner Bros. Paramount hasn't officially accepted Paramount's competing offer, but whatever happens isn't certain until regulators approve it, Trump is happy, and everyone signs on the dotted line.
As for us simple streaming consumers, the situation remains the same for now, but know that whatever the outcome, it's unlikely to provide any real benefit to any of us.
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