| TRUMP WILL GET ONBOARD, AS HE HAS ON OTHER RECENT BIG DEALS |
One veteran of the Washington regulatory trenches sees no major roadblocks ahead for Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros.
“I think the deal gets done,” said Andrew Lipman, a regulatory policy expert and partner at Washington, D.C. law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Contrary to Paramount‘s assertions in its hostile bid for WBD, he added, “I don’t think it’s that much more complicated or time-consuming than the Paramount deal.”
Lipman made the comments Monday at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York.
Paramount insists Netflix’s deal would never gain favor with regulators because it would allow the No. 1 global streamer to add another streaming service and unfairly extend its lead over rivals and add to its leverage over consumers. Lipman gave little credence to that argument.
“The market is more than just, in my mind, streaming,” he said. “It’s eyeballs. It’s YouTube. I mean, Netflix has been losing eyeballs regularly to YouTube. It’s TikTok. It’s Facebook. And God knows who else is on the way." >>>A "Golden Share"
Related:
Trump Declines To Take Sides, For Now, In Netflix And Paramount Pursuit Of Warner Bros.
Sarandos Tries To Assuage Fears That Netflix-Warner Bros Merger Will Collapse Theatrical
Paramount Sees Massive Cost Synergies In A WBD Merger Even After Years Of Cuts At Both Companies
HBO Won’t Have To Do “Gymnastics” To Make Itself A General Entertainment Brand Under Netflix Ownership
Paramount Unveils Jared Kushner, Middle East Sovereign Funds As Backers Of Now Hostile WBD Bid |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Netflix's Literary Leanings - Netflix is no stranger to literary adaptations — both in TV show and movie form. In fact, such adaptations drove over 4.5B global views for the streamer in the first half of 2025 alone. Here, Deadline takes a deep dive into four 2025 Netflix projects that emphasize the notable connection between readers and adaptations. >>>Expanding Slate
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Netflix Acquires Rights To Emily Giffin’s ‘All We Ever Wanted’ For Series Adaptation With Reese Witherspoon And Harlan Coben As EPs
'June' Blooms - Kate Winslet's directorial debut feature, the heart-warming Goodbye June, which the Oscar winner shot from a screenplay by her son, Joe Anders, starts its brief theatrical run Friday ahead of its December 24 streaming debut on Netflix. Getting the film finished has been like “climbing a mountain, but my God, it feels really good when you do claw your way to the top,” Winslet said in an interview. >>>Baz Bamigboye's Column
Full 'Disclosure' - The Age of Disclosure, Dan Farah’s explosive documentary that makes a potent case for the existence of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena and the U.S. government’s alleged efforts to conceal that knowledge broke that platform’s record for highest-grossing documentary within 48 hours of its release. >>>Outperforming 'One Battle'
Riding With John Wayne - Teton Ridge Entertainment, the TWG Global-owned film and TV studio, has pacted with John Wayne Enterprises for the exclusive life rights of the Oscar-winning Hollywood star across film and TV, scripted and unscripted. >>>Thomas Tull Co-Chair
Contenders Film: International Site Launches - Deadline on Monday launched the streaming site for Contenders Film: International, its annual awards showcase that this year spotlighted 14 buzzy films submitted to the Oscar International Feature Film race. >>>Watch |
Chloe Zhao has had quite a week. Her latest film Hamnet opened over Thanksgiving, landed on the AFI Awards Top 10 Movies of 2025, and won her nominations for directing and screenplay (co-written with the book’s author Maggie O’Farrell) at both the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes. It is also up for Best Picture at both.
This success brings her back to a familiar place as she is already a two-time Oscar winner for directing and writing 2020’s Nomadland and won a boatload of other honors for that film. In an unpredictable career, she followed up that very indie film with a big-scale Marvel movie, Eternals, and in this week’s edition of Deadline's video series, Behind the Lens, she tells us she is very proud of both films, as well she should be. >>>Watch |
QUOTABLE "A theatrical slate of 30 plus theatrical releases per year" - Paramount CEO David Ellison committing to theatrical exhibition amid the conglom’s hostile takeover bid for WBD |
Netflix's All The Sinners Bleed has added 11 new cast members. They are Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) as Ezekiel Wiggins, David Lyons (The Beast in Me) as Jasper Sanderson, Donald Elise Watkins (Emergency) as Deputy Trey Avery, Mackenzie Astin (The Pitt) as Deputy Pip Collins, Jordan M. Cox (P-Valley) as Deputy Tom Sadler,
Cullen Moss (Outer Banks) as Deputy Roger Simmons, Angus O’Brien (Boots) as Deputy Davy Burks, Cranston Johnson (Hap and Leonard) as Reverend Jamal Addison, Christopher Matthew Cook (Dog Eat Dog) as Royce Lazare, Christopher Thornton (The Lincoln Lawyer) as Dispatcher Cam Trowder and Bill Oberst Jr. (Criminal Minds ) as Pastor Elias Hillington. |
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💻 The European Union has launched an antitrust investigation into whether Google is violating competition rules with AI-generated summaries in its search results. In a statement on Tuesday, the European Commission said it would examine whether Google is unfairly rehashing the content of web publishers and YouTube creators in AI-generated search results. Google said the investigation risked “stifling innovation.”
🎶 Spotify has begun rolling out music videos in beta to premium users across the U.S. and Canada after launching them in dozens of other markets globally.
✍️ Jimmy Kimmel has signed a one-year extension with ABC to continue hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! It means that his deal, which was set to run through May 2026, will now run through May 2027. Deadline understands that it will likely be his last contract to host the show.
📺 The CW will finally turn a profit sometime in 2026, parent company Nexstar's CFO, Lee Ann Gliha, said Monday. Gliha said the former 50-50 venture between the owners of CBS and Warner Bros. has found its footing even if it is breaking even later than initially expected.
🤝 Saudi creative studio Telfaz11 and music platform MDLBEAST unveiled a strategic partnership on the fringes of the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah. The agreement unites two of the hippest entertainment brands to have emerged out of Saudi Arabia in the wake of its lifting in 2017 of a 35-year-ban on cinema and live music performances.
In Brief: Matt Gutman is leaving ABC News for a new post at CBS News, where he will be chief correspondent ... Sheinelle Jones has been named the permanent co-host of the 10 a.m. hour of NBC’s Today. |
BY THE NUMBERS $64M - Revised domestic B.O. total for this weekend's opening of 'Five Nights at Freddy’s 2' |
ON THE RADAR
Tue - David Letterman on Kimmel
Wed - Percy Jackson and the Olympians S2 premiere
Fri - F1 hits streaming
Sat - Dick Van Dyke turns 100; Josh O'Connor hosts SNL
Sun - Rachel Maddow L.A. 'Burn Order' event |
Method Dressing - Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner stepped out in matching orange looks in tune with the film's marketing ethos at the Marty Supreme L.A. premiere. |
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