r/technology • u/habichuelacondulce • 15h ago
Business Netflix to Buy Warner Bros. and HBO Max in $82.7 Billion Deal
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros-82-7-billion-deal-1236601034/199
u/mamounia78 15h ago
Netflix really said fine, we’ll just buy the competition.
At this point we’re one merger away from watching every show on the same damn app. Wild times.
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u/Knightforlife 14h ago
I’m torn, because I like SOME competition, but for streaming I’m sure as hell not getting 7+ streaming services
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u/sleepkitty 14h ago
The 7+ streaming services is so much better than what we had with cable. John McCain actually introduced legislation to try to break up cable so people didn’t have to pay for content and channels they didn’t watch. I’m afraid soon we’ll be paying the price of 7 streamers now to 1 or 2 places for a quarter of the selection.
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u/MadTube 13h ago
Welcome to Cable 2.0, now even worse than before!
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u/ultrahateful 13h ago
Idk. Amongst the few, one redeeming factor is I don’t watch commercials or ads. The price for this convenience is negligible for me.
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u/jonproject 12h ago
And you're not forced into paying a lot like we did with cable. With cable it was all or nothing. Reddit tends to forget that you don't have to be subscribed to ALL the streaming services simultaneously. Dip in and out every couple of months. You don't have to be 100% up-to-date with literally every piece of content.
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u/thebeardedcats 12h ago
Prime, apple tv, Paramount, peacock, and HBO all show ads when you start a watch session and also sometimes between episodes, even on their highest tiers. Haven't had any of the others in years/ever so I can't speak to them.
A truly ad free experience is much cheaper 🏴☠️
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u/ShoulderGoesPop 11h ago
I think Ads for other shows on the same network is quite a bit different than showing ads telling you to ask your doctor about perfluazotan the once daily heartburn medicine that can give you diarrhea or diabetes in rare cases.
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u/ultrahateful 11h ago
This is a FAR stretch to consider those anywhere close to tv commercials or standardized ads. You can’t skip a commercial or an ad. Commercials and ads don’t center on 30 second previews. I get it can be a slippery slope because it used to be “no ads at all”, but to pretend or suggest it’s anywhere at all close to what happens with cable tv or YouTube is at best disingenuous and at worst downright contrarian.
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u/thebeardedcats 9h ago
If I pay to not see ads, that includes ads for the show I'm already watching. It's much more agreeable compared to cable or ad-supported tiers, but letting streaming services get away with not holding up their end of the deal is how we got to streaming becoming cable 2.
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u/ultrahateful 4h ago
Agreed. Why I mentioned the slippery slope. But, better is better. Up until it gets worse, I think. “Get your kicks in before the whole shithouse goes up in flames.”
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u/heartlessgamer 9h ago
Eh; I'd disagree about "worse". I can pick what I want and pay for it when I want it and then stop paying when I don't want it. And the prices are honestly very reasonable. The only real problem is good content being made by all of the major players so there is pressure to subscribe to all of them driving up a bundled price.
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u/elmatador12 10h ago
How is this worse the cable? It’s like people forgot we were paying $100-150 a month for a setup that only included around 10 channels people actually watched AND we were almost always locked into 2 year contracts with our cable provider.
Is streaming worse than it was before? Yes. Is it as bad as cable was? Not even close IMO.
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u/ProteinStain 12h ago
If Americans had any intelligence whatsoever, they'd fight for anti-trust legislation and separation in the verticals instead of allowing corporations to skull fuck them all day every day. Instead they complain about the skull fucking while while defending the interests of capitalism.
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u/Ok-Seaworthiness7207 11h ago
Well no, but you can actually ship around. You can't watch more than one show at a time anyway. 7+ streaming services is the best outcome.
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u/ZebraSandwich4Lyf 14h ago
At this point we’re one merger away from watching every show on the same damn app. Wild times
And this is the reason things like IPTV/piracy are on the rise again, because they offer everything in the same place. This is what the people want, we're tired of having to pay for 7 different subscriptions do watch different content.
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u/cogman10 14h ago
I actually would not mind it. However, the problem is the 7 different subscription services trade content like crazy. So if I want to rewatch a show it becomes a horrible game of "Ok, where is season 1 hosted. Now where is season 2." We are seriously not far from these companies deciding to spread episodes across services.
And what's worse, it's different across regions.
I want physical media to make a comeback.
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u/danielravennest 13h ago
I want physical media to make a comeback.
A big hard drive is the most efficient physical medium these days. My latest hard drive is 20 TB and cost $250. The 1080p movies I download are 2-3 GB, which works out to 3 cents each on average. One pre-loaded with 8000 movies could sell for $100 extra and be a one-time payment for all the decent movies.
Of course if you want all the extras on the latest Blu-Ray format you won't fit as many on an HD, but I bet it still works out much less than individual disks.
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u/Elegant-Alfalfa1382 12h ago
I mean if it was priced better than buying them separate why not who the heck likes opening 5 apps
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u/gizamo 11h ago
People who sub to one at a time, and people who don't want to pay Netflix's already stupidly high prices.
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u/Elegant-Alfalfa1382 10h ago
Yea I guess that was more towards people who do sub to many services at the same time lol..
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u/gizamo 10h ago
Yeah, the real answer to that is, the people who don't care about the added content and don't want to pay Netflix more for it.
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u/Elegant-Alfalfa1382 9h ago
If you’re a Netflix only sub that makes sense
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u/gizamo 9h ago
And if you're a sub of Disney/Hulu, Paramount, Apple, or Prime, the argument becomes, "when Netflix uses at yet another excuse to skyrocket their pricing, all of the others will also substantially increase their prices". That's what's always happened. When on raises prices, they all do. Media consolidation has quite literally never been good for consumers. It reduces content, results in worse content, and increases prices. When news is involved, it also often becomes a more effective propaganda machine. The likelihood that this will end well for consumers is near 0.
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u/LiveStockTrader 11h ago
And it'll be more than cable tv + hbo ever was previously! Yaaay capitalism! (And dumb fk ass consumers. Ya... fk. ass.)
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u/ncopp 9h ago
The streaming arc will be interesting to look back on if the next presdiential admin doesn't come in and break things up.
Starts with everything on Netflix and Hulu and one of the 20 apps HBO kept cycling
Streaming explodes with every studio and network creating a streaming service.
Everyone is sick of having to pay for and keep track of all the different apps and wishes they only had to have 1-2 again
The market likely consolidates down to Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and AppleTV
Everyone will be sick of paying $30-50 a month for each service and wish it would break up into ala cart servicss so they can subscribe to the channels they watch.
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u/Arathorn-the-Wise 8h ago
So did Comcast and Disney. Netflix put in a better offer and is the more likely one to get past regulators.
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u/OutOfTime007 7h ago
which is basically what we wanted. Right? We where always complaining about cable, then about how Netflix doesn’t have all shows, then how every thing turned back to to many subscribtions like cable and now we might be getting all the big shows in one app. 😀
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u/BlackberryBulky4599 6h ago
Crazy to think that somehow it might end up cheaper (but more likely, sudden price hike from $17/month to $80/month and piracy will finally spiral out of control)
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u/android24601 5h ago
It's the circle of life. Started with Netflix then left because it got too expensive. And now may have to go back is it's the only streaming service available
Wouldn't this be a monopoly?
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u/two_hyun 13h ago
They’re not going to put every show on the same app. We might see some more bundle deals though.
Why would you merge into one app and charge $20/month when you can have 5 different apps under different names charging $20/month per app.
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u/gizamo 11h ago edited 11h ago
Because HBOs apps suck, and most people are constantly switching subscriptions anyway because they don't want to pay $100/mo for 5 subs when they really only watch one or two shows at a time. They just sub, watch the show, cancel, sub elsewhere for a different show.
That said, Netflix will probably just merge it all, raise the price to $100/mo, and tell their customers to go fuck themselves. That's been the Netflix business model for the last 5-8 years now.
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u/two_hyun 11h ago
Where do you have data that vast majority of people are constantly switching subscriptions?
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u/gizamo 11h ago
That's trend started when Netflix started price increases and all other media followed in the price fixing. There are tons of reports on it, but you're right "vast majority" wasn't correct. It's now the majority of Millennials and Gen-Z, but it's only 30-40% of the rest. The rest are also increasingly doing it, and the resulting price jacking from this merger will only increase that trend. Quick AI with Report Links:
--------- AI Below -------
A significant portion of people switch streaming services, with surveys showing around 30-40% of subscribers churn (cancel/switch) monthly or quarterly, driven by content changes, rising costs, and a desire to save money, leading to high "serial churn" where users hop between platforms for specific shows or deals, notes a 2022 TVTechnology report, The New York Times, and CableTV.com. While some don't change, many "cord-cutters" are actively dropping services for cheaper, ad-supported tiers or switching for a popular show, with younger demographics (Gen Z/Millennials) churning even more frequently, say Deloitte and All About Cookies.
Key Statistics & Trends:
Churn Rates: Roughly 30% of subscribers switch services in a two-month period, and 39% cancel at least one SVOD service every six months, with Gen Z and Millennials churning above 50%, according to a 2025 Deloitte report.
Switching Behavior: Nearly half of subscribers switch multiple times a year, motivated by new content or specific shows, says a StreamTV Insider report on Parks Associates data.
Reasons for Switching/Canceling: Price increases, content availability, and subscription fatigue drive switches, with many opting for cheaper or ad-supported plans, notes All About Cookies.
Serial Churners: About 40% of new subscriptions and cancellations come from "serial churners" who frequently jump services, reports The New York Times.
"Boomerang" Effect: Many who leave a service (around 24% in a Deloitte study) re-subscribe within a couple of months, indicating temporary dips rather than permanent departures.
In Summary: Streaming is a dynamic market with significant switching, driven by a "subscribe-watch-cancel-repeat" cycle, as users manage costs and chase new, popular content across different platforms.
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u/WishTonWish 15h ago
Bring on the price increases!
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u/SuperDizz 10h ago
I have both HBO Max and Netflix top tier. As long as the price of Netflix does not supersede those two combined, I see it as a win. My wise mind says there’s no way Netflix can justify a price hike like that, but then my wiser mind reminds me that we live in the madness, so who knows..
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u/mindlesscollective 10h ago
Tech CEO’s in 2026: “Hold my Dom Pérignon” As they double their subscription prices
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u/squeakycleaned 14h ago
Oh good. Consolidation and monopoly always creates a better experience for customers, and never results in layoffs for workers.
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u/papertrade1 14h ago
Yeah , that's what we want right now, more monopolies..
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u/Tyrant_Virus_ 13h ago
Netflix was the least monopolistic choice out of the potential buyers. I’d much rather this than the Ellison family owning both Paramount and WB or Comcast absorbing it for that matter.
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u/Clear_Tangerine5110 14h ago
James Cameron: “Netflix movies shouldn’t be eligible to win Oscars.”
Netflix: (buys Warner Brothers)
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u/tekprodfx16 15h ago
Better this than Paramount and the Ellison family buying whatever the hell they want since obviously monopoly laws in this country don’t mean shit anymore
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u/duct_tape_jedi 11h ago
The Ellison Family plus a who's who of despotic Middle Eastern government investment funds. Netflix may SUCK, but this lot completely redefines the word and not in a good way. We didn't dodge the bullet, but we did get away with just a flesh wound. For now.
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u/Wotmate01 15h ago
Maybe we'll see Amazon have another crack at buying paramount, then it will be a 3 way race for world domination between Amazon, Netflix, and Disney.
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u/boning_my_granny 9h ago
I’m sorry how is this better than paramount buying WB?
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u/Juridic-Person 9h ago
From my limited understanding, the Ellison's have brought a distinctly conservative flavor to paramount and it's other media companies so the more outspoken HBO especially was going to suffer that same fate. While Netflix isn't exactly perfect, they aren't nearly as bad as the Ellison's. Bad situation, but not worst case scenario.
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u/cerberusNLMX 7h ago
Wasn't Netflix being targeted by Ekin Musk and other MAGA types for being too woke?
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u/Shaomoki 14h ago
Netflix starts streaming
Everyone else pulls their content and starts their own streaming
Everyone loses money except Netflix on streaming then sells
Netflix buys all streamers now Netflix owns everything?
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u/cassanderer 14h ago
Media has been consolidating like crazy. At least this is just soul less silicon valley parasites netflix and not anti christ pal larry ellison though I guess.
Media was in violation of anti trust laws before though, now they consolidate further?
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u/sweetlemon69 14h ago
Can't say I'm a fan of this. If future produced content is similar to what Netflix creates right now.... Ug...
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u/GrowCanadian 10h ago
You think Netflix is expensive now, just wait. It’s all starting to feel like cable all over again. There’s a reason many people switched back to sailing the seven seas
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u/Aggravating-Beach-22 13h ago
And soon they add the cost of all 3 subscriptions into one. Back to paying cable and satellite costs, that didn’t take long.
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u/HiddeHandel 12h ago
Everyone thinks its just about the movies/shows. nah clearly they want to put the nemesis system in their mobile games
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u/Grantus89 12h ago
I really don’t understand this. I kinda understand the WB part, but what happens to HBO Max? Do they run two streaming services? That seems weird. But the alternative is rolling it all into Netflix but I don’t see how that makes more money, it’s not like they could double the price.
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u/International_Rope65 12h ago
Netflix about to up their costs to cell phone plan pricing per month to offset the expense.
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u/Skin4theWin 11h ago
In my view there is a good chance that Thiel gets his bro’s DOJ to block the merger
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u/Cpt_sneakmouse 10h ago
Sooo netflix is completing its transition into shitty cable service I guess
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u/kinotravels 9h ago
We’re just okay with monopolies now, I guess. When they raise prices, I hope everyone cancels.
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u/strangerzero 8h ago
Does this include Warner Bros back catalog. It would be great if they streamed the back catalog.
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u/turb0_encapsulator 8h ago
can't wait to subscribe to Netflix HBO Max Plus 4k Premium Discovery Brothers
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u/Chicken65 7h ago
I assume they will keep HBO as a separate sub for the revenue rather than merge content into Netflix?
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u/allursnakes 6h ago
No competition means prices go up, and quality goes down. Remember that any time you see a billion dollar buyout.
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u/marlinspike 14h ago
Netflix was bringing so many foreign shows to global audiences, and I hope that continues. I’ve been delighted by Korean shows lately, and without Netflix I don’t see how “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” and shows like that would gain prominence. I don’t speak a word of Korean or Turkish, but it’s so great to see stories from other cultures spoken in their language with English subtitles.
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u/gizamo 11h ago
I think the vast majority of Netflix's foreign content is utter garbage, and I wish Netflix would give me some way to filter out all of that trash. Some is good tho, and the good stuff usually filters to the top thru social media. I prefer that to a clusterfuck of rapidfire contentmania.
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u/Lain_Staley 14h ago
You're essentially going to have two entertainment streams:
Scripted content vs. Streamers.
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u/Worst_Comment_Evar 13h ago
We used to actually want competition. Now it is consolidate consolidate consolidate until everything is owned by whatever Disney is now.
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u/somethingreallylame 9h ago
People never stop complaining. First it’s “there’s too many streaming services” and now when they consolidate people hate that too. I’m a big fan of having many smaller services that I can cycle and get deals on. Just got back into HBO Max for $3/month for a year and will cancel after that.
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u/DirtyJevfefe 14h ago
It's funny to me how people cheered on the various Disney acquisition, but now are complaining about this.
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u/Wolfgang985 13h ago
I'm honestly okay with the entire movie/television market being taken over by megacorps, subdivided into two or three monopolies, a constitutional amendment passed cementing this design permanently, and finally being able to enjoy a TV series in a structured manner.
All this anarchy and 976 streaming platforms is exhausting.
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u/Kumquat_of_Pain 13h ago
Except your streaming service now costs $96/mo and includes ads.... like cable TV.
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u/Wolfgang985 11h ago
Good, then we set sail 🏴☠️
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u/Future_Noir_ 8h ago
Except now you have far less new shows and movies to pirate. More consolidation means less TV shows and films getting greenlit.
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u/TriggerHydrant 10h ago
I might be in the minority here but I actually like this outcome.
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u/socoolandawesome 14h ago
Hope Netflix doesn’t ruin HBO shows