By Daniel Trotta
Dec 5 (Reuters) – Hollywood unions and theater owners on Friday sounded the alarm over Netflix’s proposed $72 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, warning the deal would cut jobs, concentrate power and reduce theatrical movie releases if the deal passes regulatory review.
The deal would place the streaming giant’s HBO brands under the Netflix umbrella and also hand control of the historic Warner Bros studio over to Netflix, which has already upended Hollywood by hastening the shift from movie releases in cinemas to home streaming.
Netflix, the force behind “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game,” could gain control of marquee Warner Bros titles such as “Batman” and “Casablanca.”
“This merger must be blocked,” the Writers Guild of America East and West said in a statement. “The world’s largest streaming company swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent.”
The deal faces antitrust reviews in the United States and Europe, and American politicians have already expressed skepticism.
The Writers Guild, which represents writers in motion pictures, television, cable, broadcast news, podcasts and online media, raised concerns over job cuts, wage reductions, higher prices for consumers and worsening conditions for entertainment workers. Netflix said it expects to generate at least $2 billion to $3 billion in annual cost savings by the third year after the deal closes.
The Netflix-Warner Bros deal risks eliminating 25% of the annual domestic box office, said Cinema United, the trade group representing 30,000 movie screens in the United States and 26,000 internationally.
Netflix does release some films in theaters before making them available to subscribers, and the company said it would maintain theatrical releases for Warner Bros films and support Hollywood creative professionals.
Netflix said the deal would give subscribers more shows and films, boost its U.S. production and long-term spending on original content and create more jobs and opportunities for creative talent. Warner Bros Discovery did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the opponents’ concerns.
But Cinema United President Michael O’Leary called the merger “an unprecedented threat” and questioned whether Netflix would maintain the current level of distribution. “Sporadic and truncated theatrical releases to meet awards criteria in a handful of theaters is not a commitment to exhibition,” O’Leary said.
The Hollywood Teamsters, who represent drivers, casting professionals, mechanics and other workers in the entertainment industry, also opposed the deal, calling for “opposition across all levels of government” while urging antitrust enforcers to reject the deal.
“Teamsters have been clear on our position that greed-fueled consolidation of corporate power, no matter what industry, is a direct threat to good union jobs, the livelihood of our members and the very existence of our industry,” the union said in a statement.
The Directors Guild of America, however, was more reserved, saying it had significant concerns to discuss with Netflix.
“We will be meeting with Netflix to outline our concerns and better understand their vision for the future of the company. While we undertake this due diligence, we will not be commenting further,” the DGA said in a statement.
The screen actors union SAG-AFTRA said the merger “raises many serious questions” and it would comment further on the impact on its members after analyzing the deal.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Peter Henderson and Lisa Shumaker)
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