Tag: Warner Bros. Discovery

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Netflix debated launching a theatrical movie business before Warner Bros. deal, Co-CEOs Say

Netflix has never been against putting its movies in theaters, according to the streamer’s top execs — but before it agreed to buy Warner Bros., it was too busy managing the fast-growing streaming business.

Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, speaking on the company’s Q4 2025 earnings interview, said the company had in the past internally debated whether or not to launch a business to distribute original Netflix films in theaters. But that always fell short of Netflix’s priorities list as the streaming side of the company continued to grow quickly.

Of course, the perception that Netflix doesn’t think theatrical is a great business was crystallized by Sarandos’ comments last year that moviegoing was “outmoded.” At the Time100 Summit in April 2025, Sarandos called the communal moviegoing experience “an outmoded idea.”

But that was then, and this is now, Sarandos told analysts Tuesday. “We were not in the theatrical business when I made those observations,” Sarandos said. “Remember, I’ve said it many times, this is a business, not a religion. So conditions change. Insights change. And we have a culture that we reevaluate things when they do.” He called out Netflix’s prior “pivots” around advertising, sports rights and live events — areas the company had previously said it had no interest in developing.

According to Sarandos, “we debated many times over the years whether we should build a theatrical distribution engine or not. And in a world of priority-setting and constrained resources, it just didn’t make the priority cut.”

When the WB deal closes, he said, “We will have the benefit of a scaled, world-class theatrical distribution business with more than $4 billion of global box office. And we’re excited to maintain it and further strengthen that business.” Sarandos, as part of his campaign to win over opponents to the megadeal, has committed to keeping Warner Bros. movies in a 45-day theatrical window.

Netflix’s default position going into talks with Warner Bros. Discovery was that “we were not buyers,” Sarandos said. “We went into this though with our eyes open, and our minds open. And when we got into, we both [Sarandos and Peters] got very excited about this amazing opportunity.”

Peters said that, based on Netflix’s film output deals, it already knew that the theatrical model is an “effective complement to the streaming model.” But when it came to recurring the question of building a theatrical distribution business, he said, “we were busy investing in other areas.”

Netflix has seen upside from special event releases of its originals in movie theaters, including the New Year’s Eve run of the “Stranger Things 5” finale (which generated more than $25 million at the box office) and the company’s limited runs of smash hit “KPop Demon Hunters.”

According to Netflix CFO Spence Neumann, the company sees the WB deal as an accelerant to its existing business. Roughly 85% of the revenue of the combined Netflix-WB, on a pro-forma basis, will come from the core streaming business with the added benefit of the Warner Bros. films and TV studios, he said.

Earlier Tuesday, Netflix announced it was switching the $83 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and HBO Max streaming business to an all-cash offer. That was driven by pressure from Paramount Skydance, which has been pursuing a hostile takeover attempt of Warner Bros. Discovery with what it alleges is a superior deal for WBD shareholders. Netflix and WBD expect the transaction to close in 12-18 months, but right now it’s unclear how much resistance the deal with face from regulators. (Variety)

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Disney accuses Google of using AI to engage in copyright infringement on ‘massive scale’

As Disney has gone into business with OpenAI, the Mouse House is accusing Google of copyright infringement on a “massive scale” using AI models and services to “commercially exploit and distribute” infringing images and videos.

On Wednesday evening, attorneys for Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, demanding that Google stop the alleged infringement in its AI systems.

“Google is infringing Disney’s copyrights on a massive scale, by copying a large corpus of Disney’s copyrighted works without authorization to train and develop generative artificial intelligence (‘AI’) models and services, and by using AI models and services to commercially exploit and distribute copies of its protected works to consumers in violation of Disney’s copyrights,” reads the letter to Google’s general counsel from law firm Jenner & Block on behalf of Disney.

The letter continued, “Google operates as a virtual vending machine, capable of reproducing, rendering, and distributing copies of Disney’s valuable library of copyrighted characters and other works on a mass scale. And compounding Google’s blatant infringement, many of the infringing images generated by Google’s AI Services are branded with Google’s Gemini logo, falsely implying that Google’s exploitation of Disney’s intellectual property is authorized and endorsed by Disney.”

According to the letter, which Variety has reviewed, Disney alleges that Google’s AI systems and services infringe Disney characters including those from “Frozen,” “The Lion King,” “Moana,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Deadpool,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Toy Story,” “Brave,” “Ratatouille,” “Monsters Inc.,” “Lilo & Stich,” “Inside Out” and franchises such as Star Wars, the Simpsons, and Marvel’s Avengers and Spider-Man. In its letter, Disney included examples of images it claims were generated by text prompts in Google’s AI apps, including of Darth Vader

The allegations against Google follows cease-and-desist letters that Disney sent earlier to Meta and Character.AI, as well as litigation Disney filed together with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery against AI companies Midjourney and Minimax alleging copyright infringement.

Asked for comment, a Google spokesperson said, “We have a longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship with Disney, and will continue to engage with them. More generally, we use public data from the open web to build our AI and have built additional innovative copyright controls like Google-extended and Content ID for YouTube, which give sites and copyright holders control over their content.”

According to Disney, the company has been raising its concerns with Google for months — but says Google hasn’t done anything in response, and that i anything, Google’s infringement has only increased during that time.

Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, in an interview with CNBC Thursday, said, “Well, we’ve been aggressive at protecting our IP, and we’ve gone after other companies that have not honored our IP, not respected our IP, not valued it. And this is another example of us doing just that.”

Iger said Disney had been in discussions with Google “basically expressing our concerns” about its AI systems’ alleged infringement. “And ultimately, because we didn’t really make any progress, the conversations didn’t bear fruit, we felt we had no choice but to send them a cease-and-desist [letter].”

Disney’s letter to Google demands that Google “immediately cease further copying, publicly displaying, publicly performing, distributing, and creating derivative works of Disney’s copyrighted characters” in “outputs of Google’s AI Services, including through YouTube’s mobile app, YouTube Shorts and YouTube.” (Variety)

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Warner Bros. Discovery to split into two companies

Warner Bros. Discovery, grappling with declines in its overall business, said Monday it planned to divide the company into two publicly-traded entities, one devoted to streaming and content production and one devoted to traditional television.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav will remain as the leader of the streaming-focused entity, while Gunnar Wiedenfels, the company’s CFO who has become known for finding new ways to cut old costs, will lead the TV company. The separation is expected to be completed by mid-2026, subject to closing and other conditions, and the bulk of the current company’s debt — nearly $38 billion –will be assigned to the TV entity.

“By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today’s evolving media landscape,” Zaslav said in a statement.

The company is emulating a strategy recently put into place by rival Comcast. That conglomerate is breaking up NBCUniversal, with plans to place the bulk of its cable networks in a new publicly-traded spinoff called Versant while keeping its broadcast and streaming assets under the better-known entity, NBC.

Warner has had to contend with many obstacles since being formed by the combination of AT&T’s WarnerMedia — the company once known as Time Warner — and the former Discovery Communications, Under Zaslav, Warner has fiddled with streaming strategies and deprived top cable networks of TNT and TBS of the original content they need to flourish. Warner recently lost long-held rights to televise NBA games, a contract that gave its networks a major sporting franchise that drew large crowds on the regular. And it has written down the value of its cable properties.

Warner has recently appeared to find some rhythm. The Max service has developed solid audiences for programs including “The Pitt” and “White Lotus,” and the company has recently articulated a strategy of targeting audiences interested in premium content, rather than a broader crowd. And Warner has struck new distribution deals with cable and satellite companies that call for what are seen internally as favorable terms, despite the loss of the NBA.

The streaming company will encompass the Warner TV and movie studios, HBO and HBO Max and a games and experiences division. The company will focus on building out the HBO Max streaming service and investing in programming. Meanwhile, the TV company will include Warner’s TV networks around the world along with specific digital brands tied to the TV entities, including Discovery+, Bleacher Report and CNN’s new streaming products.

Warner’s move is likely to spur new speculation about potential consolidation in the media sector. Part of the strategy behind Comcast’s Versant is its ability to do deals. Paramount Global, owner of CBS, is also under financial pressure and may have to consider new rounds of cost cutting if it cannot consummate a deal it has in place to be acquired by Skydance Media.

During an investor call Monday, executives suggested the two companies might continue to be aligned. Ad sales may represent both sides of the split, executives said, and sports, while being placed with the TV company, will likely continue to stream on HBO Max for the foreseeable future, though those plans could change as the two companies plot their own strategies in the future. “The U.S. sports rights will reside at the global networks, and its management team will determine how best to monetize the streaming and digital rights over time,” Wiedenfels said. (Variety)