Whether Netflix or Paramount buys Warner Bros., entertainment oligopolies are back - bigger and more anticompetitive ... [View all]

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Whether Netflix or Paramount buys Warner Bros., entertainment oligopolies are back – bigger and more anticompetitive than ever
Published: December 12, 2025 8:56am EST

Matthew Jordan
Professor of Media Studies, Penn State


(The Conversation) News of Netflix’s bid to buy Warner Bros. last week sent shock waves through the media ecosystem.

The pending US$83 billion deal is being described as an upending of the existing entertainment order, a sign that it’s now dominated by the tech platforms rather than the traditional Hollywood power brokers.

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Meet the new boss – same as the old boss

If it does go through, the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger will likely please Wall Street, but it will further decrease the power of creators and consumers.

Like other companies that have moved from being a growth stock to a mature stock, Netflix is under pressure to be profitable. Indeed, it has been squeezing its subscribers with higher fees and more restrictive login protocols. It’s a sign of what tech blogger Cory Doctorow describes as the logic of “enshittification,” whereby platforms that have locked in audiences and producers start to squeeze both. Buying the competition – HBO Max – will mean Netflix can charge even more.

....(snip)....

Now, all bets are off. Whichever platform acquires Warner Bros. will have enormous power over the kind of stories that get sold and told. ..................(more)

https://theconversation.com/whether-netflix-or-paramount-buys-warner-bros-entertainment-oligopolies-are-back-bigger-and-more-anticompetitive-than-ever-271479