Roy Price, former head of Amazon Studios, warned that Netflix's push to acquire Warner Bros. would create a structure in which power in Hollywood concentrates in one place. Wall Street and others are also voicing concern that the deal could shake Netflix's existing streaming-centric model and pose significant risks, including massive funding needs and antitrust reviews.
In a New York Times (NYT) op-ed on the 7th (local time), former head Price argued that the merger could fundamentally change the film industry's creativity, transaction structure, and production ecosystem. If the merger goes through, it would effectively be the first mega "content vertical integration" case of the streaming era, making industry repercussions inevitable, according to assessments.
Price said, "If Netflix acquires Warner Bros., film production will not disappear, but all creative activity will in effect be subjected to a single 'gravity.'" He said this situation would lead to a structure in which purchasing power concentrates in one corporations, weakening creators' bargaining power and reducing compensation and opportunities. Given that Netflix is already the world's largest streaming platform, integrating Warner's production and distribution would take its market dominance to a different level than before.
Netflix said it would maintain theatrical releases for Warner Bros. films and keep existing studio operations after the acquisition. It explained that the Warner Bros. TV channel would be spun off as a separate company and HBO would be integrated into Netflix. Netflix argued that "expanding U.S. production bases, creating jobs, and increasing investment in original content will strengthen the industry." With Netflix recently accelerating adjustments to its business model, including advertising and blocking account sharing, analysts say the deal could become a "second turning point."
Looking at the overall content market, there are many large platforms that threaten Netflix. According to KPMG, last year's content expenditure ranked as Comcast $37 billion, YouTube $32 billion, Disney $28 billion, Amazon $20 billion, and Netflix $17 billion. Paramount also spent $15 billion, and it was reported that Comcast and Paramount participated in the bidding for this Warner acquisition. As the streaming wars intensify and securing content emerges as the key variable for the survival of corporations, Netflix's move to buy Warner is seen as a self-rescue measure to leap ahead of competitors.
However, former head Price said, "The problem is not extinction but centralization," pointing out that large media corporations are increasingly likely to dominate the content expenditure market. He worried that "development culture, tastes, and risk appetite could become uniform." Citing the failed Penguin Random House–Simon & Schuster merger in publishing, Price explained, "When content buyers concentrate in one place, the entire market becomes distorted."
Industry opposition is also growing. Theater owners, producers, and other creative workers raised concerns that "content diversity will shrink." Oscar-winning actor Jane Fonda warned, "The Justice Department should not use its regulatory authority as a tool for political concessions." Director Bong Joon-ho said, "The cinematic experience will not fade easily," assessing the merger shock as limited. Still, analysts largely expect that if the merger becomes reality, there will be a broad reshuffle, from distribution order and release strategies to the labor market.
The Trump administration told CNBC it is "very skeptical of the deal." The merger is expected to undergo a large-scale antitrust review, and attention is also on the $5.8 billion termination fee Netflix would have to pay if the contract falls through. Because the termination fee is unusually large, some see this as a sign that Netflix made a decision that will be hard to reverse.
Wall Street analyzed that this transaction is directly tied to securing AI competitiveness. Janus Henderson Investors said in a report, "The key to training AI models is large-scale video data, and Warner Bros. IP will strengthen Netflix's AI edge." As content itself emerges as a core asset in the AI era, the acquisition is being interpreted not as a mere media merger but as linked to the competition for technological hegemony.
In Hollywood, there is growing expectation that if the merger materializes, changes will be unavoidable across the creative ecosystem, the labor market, and the overall structure of content investment.