Netflix boss: Film industry would be 'smaller' if Paramount wins battle for Warner Bros
The boss of Netflix has defended his deal to buy a part of Warner Bros and said a victory for rival Paramount would be bad for Hollywood.Ted Sarandos, the chief executive of the streaming giant behind Stranger Things and Bridgerton, said its £60bn takeover of Warner Bros' studio and streaming networks represented ‘growth’.But he said the industry would shrink under Paramount - which could bump up its offer from an equivalent of around £80billion to £84billion for the whole company.It comes as the clock is ticking towards today's deadline for Paramount to make a final offer for the studio behind films like Harry Potter and Barbie.‘This industry would be much smaller under that [Paramount] ownership than it would be under Netflix,’ Sarandos told the Today programme.‘Our deal is growth. We've been growing and growing and growing this business since we started,’ he said. Netflix, the streaming giant behind Bridgerton (pictured), hopes to press ahead with its takeover of Warner Bros Last week, Warner Bros reopened sale talks with Paramount and told it to make its ‘best and final offer’ before the end of 23 February.The board of Warner Bros had already backed the £60billion takeover by Netflix last year, before Paramount tried to hijack the deal.Netflix would be buying parts of Warner Bros that it currently doesn’t have, including a movie studio and distribution entity, Sarandos said.‘We’ll be adding to the market where Paramount has committed that they’re going to cut $6bn out of the business right away,’ he said.‘There's five major studios left in Hollywood. If the Paramount deal were to go through, it would be four, because basically they're taking two studios and collapsing them into one,’ he said.Sarandos also dismissed remarks from Donald Trump over the weekend after the US President threatened ‘consequences’ for the firm if it did not fire Democratic board member Susan Rice.‘This is a business deal, it's not a political deal. He [Trump] likes to do a lot of things on social media,’ the chief executive said.Earlier this month, Paramount tried to sweeten the deal by offering to pay the £2billion breakup fee that Warner Bros would have to pay Netflix if it terminates the agreed deal.Its bid includes Warner's cable TV channels such as CNN and TNT Sports and the Discovery+ streaming service.In a letter to the Paramount board last week, the bosses of Warner Bros - chairman Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr and president David Zaslav - said: ‘We seek your best and final proposal. To be clear, our Board has not determined that your proposal is reasonably likely to result in a transaction that is superior to the Netflix merger.’They said a Paramount banker had told a Warner Bros board member that it would offer at least $31 a share if the company agreed to reopen talks - an increase from its previous offer of $30 per share.And a new proposal is likely to include a price ‘higher than $31,’ the letter added.But Warner Bros said its board still unanimously recommends that investors back the Netflix sale - which is worth $27.75 per share.In a response last week, Netflix said it granted Warner Bros a seven-day waiver to engage with Paramount to ‘fully and finally resolve this matter.’It said that Paramount’s ‘antics’ were an ‘ongoing distraction for WBD stockholders and the broader entertainment industry.’DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you
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Netflix boss: Film industry would be 'smaller' if Paramount wins battle for Warner Bros
