Netflix Ambushes YouTube Podcasts; World War Warner Bros. Goes Nuclear
Plus: Disney’s AI deal dominoes; our new show; studios v. small-town theaters
If you thought Netflix wasn’t fighting enough fronts with its $83 billion bid for Warner Bros., Natalie Jarvey of Like & Subscribe broke big news on Friday night that reveals what the streamer really wants: to bury bigger player YouTube as fast as possible. Natalie scooped details of Netflix nearing a massive deal with iHeart to bring 20 pods, including Charlamagne tha God’s The Breakfast Club, to its platform. The knife twist? Video from those pods will be pulled from YouTube. In other words, it’s on.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ fate grew murkier last week as Paramount punched back on Monday with a $108 billion hostile takeover bid (Richard Rushfield weighed the two possible outcomes; Sean McNulty had smart second-day analysis on The Wakeup). TV insiders are divided on which suitor is “less bad,” as Lesley Goldberg reported from her conversations with a dozen C-suiters, while top agents told Elaine Low about their fears of a paralyzed market while the deal gets sorted out.
Meanwhile, our team hit the airwaves to deliver the best analysis anywhere, with Sean appearing on ABC News, Elaine guesting on NBC and NPR’s 1A and Natalie joining The Media Show podcast. Ankler Media CEO Janice Min also grabbed the mic this week on the Breaker podcast opposite sometime Ankler contributor Lachlan Cartwright — their lively “chinwag,” as Aussie Cartwright would call it, covered the Warners tumult, AI in Hollywood, Disney’s succession mess and much more.
Lastly, make sure you check out our new video series from Ankler Studio, Main Character, highlighting the best lead performances in film and TV. The show is gorgeously produced by Ankler Media’s executive producer of brand experiences, Jen Laski. First up? An intimate, moving interview with Train Dreams’ Joel Edgerton. Next week: Sentimental Value’s Renate Reinsve.
Now, ICYMI, here’s the rest of our best of the week:
Rushfield: Ellison Slips; Boldness Awards!
Richard explains why David Ellison is fumbling the goodwill he had when he first took over Paramount. On a positive note, Richard ranks the year’s nine most fearless creative decisions in his inaugural Boldness Awards:
Reel AI: Disney, OpenAI & What’s Coming
Bob Iger won’t let Mickey Mouse be steamrolled by Big Tech again. And eventually, all studios will follow his lead. Erik Barmack delivers an emergency column on the ramifications of Disney’s OpenAI deal — and the domino effect about to start:
Series Business: HBO’s Icy-Hot Hockey Hunks
Lesley chats with Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney about the Canada-made queer romantic drama’s viral success. Plus: her snap analysis of Paramount-owned CBS Studios’ move to lock in top showrunners Robert and Michelle King:
Crowd Pleaser: Theaters’ ‘Holdover’ Headache
Cinema owners tell Matthew Frank that Hollywood studios’ two-week mandatory run for movies is crushing them, forcing theaters to stick with movies their audiences have rejected (looking at you, Tron: Ares):
Just for Laughs: Warners M&A Mishegas
So Netflix gobbles up Warner Bros., or maybe Paramount wins the prize. What’s the worst that could happen? That’s TV writer Joel Stein’s question as he skewers both companies, Hollywood and himself in a satirical take on the tumult:
Notable: Amanda Seyfried’s Testament
Working with Oscar-winning composer Daniel Blumberg on The Testament of Ann Lee, Amanda Seyfried made sounds she’d “never heard in a film,” she says. Maestro and star chat with Rob LeDonne about their “very out-of-the-box” collaboration:
Prestige Junkie: Hunnam, Lindo, Jeremy Allen White
Katey Rich broke down key takeaways from the Globes noms, and chats with Deliver Me from Nowhere star Jeremy Allen White, Sinners’ Delroy Lindo and Monster’s Charlie Hunnam. Meanwhile, Ankler deputy editor Christopher Rosen explores the music of Netflix’s Jay Kelly with composer extraordinaire Nicholas Britell:
The Wakeup
After another pivotal week for the industry, there’s nobody better at extrapolating what you need to know than Sean. Don’t miss his deep dives into Netflix and Paramount’s dueling WBD pitches, plus which Disney characters will become AI slop and which will stay untouched:
📹 Ankler Shows
Monday Morning QBs: Amid the ongoing Warner Bros. saga, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 debuted big, and Zootopia 2 continues to outperform expectations. Is everything going to be okay? Richard & Sean welcome former head of Amazon Studios Roy Price to assess the state of things:
Rushfield Lunch: Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins and James Ellis Deakins, his creative collaborator, join Richard for a lengthy discussion about their careers, the esteemed filmmakers they’ve worked with — and the tenuous future of the medium:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
Elaine, Sean and Natalie break down the latest in the Warner Bros. sale saga:
Rob Long on why this M&A moment is the time to make your move:
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📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE BY NATALIE JARVEY
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
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