How Discovery-WarnerMedia Merger Will Force Hollywood to Get Bigger or Go Home
It is yet another new day in Hollywood. The streaming era, combined with a pandemic that dramatically condensed plans, has irreversibly shaken the ground under the industry as rivals are becoming bedfellows in a headlong race to achieve scale. WarnerMedia and Discovery are just the latest to realize they can’t take on Netflix and Disney alone, which itself realized it couldn’t take on Netflix alone when it bought 21st Century Fox two years ago. In this latest deal, WarnerMedia and Discovery have leapfrogged other competitors. “Discovery-WarnerMedia is now the alpha in streaming,” one top agent told TheWrap. “As it is, $20 billion in content spending, higher than Netflix’s $17 billion, along with having infinitely better IP.” (The Warner Bros. studio alone boasts franchises like Harry Potter, DC Comics and “The Matrix.”) Combined, the two will create an entertainment juggernaut that includes Warner Bros., CNN, Turner, Discovery’s stable of nonfiction networks — as well as two competing streaming services, Discovery+ and HBO Max. The deal also combines WarnerMedia’s U.S. sports rights, such as the NBA, MLB and March Madness, with Discovery international sports giant Eurosport. But while the deal will eventually create a powerhouse that is bigger than just about everyone...
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