Welcome to the Jamboree, my weekly takes on the industry’s passing parade.
This deal gets crazier and crazier.
As we were heading to press, ready to pound the table about how wrong it is for Warner Bros. to get sold off to another studio (read that below), another grenade was tossed into the mix.
In a letter from its attorneys to David Zaslav, Paramount claimed the deal negotiations had “abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process,” and that the bidding had been rigged against them — in favor, it would appear from today’s reporting, of Netflix.
Which, given how much of this deal is premised on a very friendly Trump administration waving it through all regulatory oversight, to reward the Orange King’s BFF in Hollywood, is quite a complaint.
In recent weeks, I’ve been feeling the Ellison fan bench in Washington starting to put their thumbs on the scale, sending out a very subtle reminder to rival bidders: Hey, don’t get any ideas! David gets to have this!
A few weeks ago, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa suddenly decided that Netflix was becoming a monopoly and merited antitrust scrutiny.
That apparently was a bit too subtle, and four days ago, sources let it be known that the White House itself was very, very concerned about the antitrust implications of the Netflix bid. Just that one. No one else’s bid raised any concerns for them. But they were so worried that they let it be known they had a meeting about it!
A meeting!
Are you scared now, Sarandos?
The high-level meeting that took place about 10 days ago hasn’t been previously reported. Several White House officials also suggested during the sitdown that a broader investigation is necessary focusing on Netflix’s market power, a government official who attended the confab said.
The White House rubbing its chin over antitrust concerns is like a pack of sewer rats getting together to figure out how to address improper waste disposal.
Paramount rigged this auction fair and square! What are you people doing, butting in with your… rival bids!
They might want to tone it down, however. These tantrums are the kind of thing that give oligarchy a bad name. Given Trump’s approval ratings, the signs that the natives are getting restless are harder to ignore.
However, as much as disgust with the Trumpymount of this makes the prospect of Paramount losing this particular battle exciting, we need to bear in mind that the other alternative results, right now, are disasters for the industry. There are no heroes here, so welcome to the land of bad, forced choices.
Let’s get into them:
