Business
Netflix strikes £54bn deal to buy Warner Bros studios
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery film and TV studios business in a 72 billion US dollar (£54 billion) deal.
The US streaming giant confirmed the deal on Friday after it had emerged as the front-runner to buy the business, which owns franchises such as Harry Potter and Batman, following an auction process.
It had battled with Paramount Skydance and Sky owner Comcast to buy the studio business, which also runs HBO and fellow streaming service HBO Max.
The deal could dramatically further reshape the established Hollywood film and TV industry, which has already faced significant upheaval amid the rapid growth of streaming.
Bosses at Netflix said they expect to maintain Warner Bros current operations and will continue to release films in cinemas.
Netflix said it will pay 27.75 dollars (£20.79) per share to investors in the Warner Bros Discovery business.
The deal will close after Warner Bros Discovery completes a proposed spin-off of its cable channels, which include CNN, TBS and TNT Sports in the UK.
As a result, the process is not expected to complete until at least the third quarter of next year.
Nevertheless, the deal is likely to garner significant scrutiny from regulators in the US and Europe.
Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix, said: “Our mission has always been to entertain the world.
“By combining Warner Bros’ incredible library of shows and movies — from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favourites like Harry Potter and Friends — with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better.
“Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”
Netflix said the move will provide it with a much deeper library of film and TV content for its subscribers.
It will also enhance its studio capabilities, allowing the company to expand its production capacity and increase investment in original content over the longer term.
David Zaslav, president and chief executive of Warner Bros Discovery, said: “Today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love to watch the most.”
Netflix shares moved slightly lower after the deal was announced.
Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, said: “Splashing out so much cash was never going to make the share price jump with delight, but if this deal can clear those significant regulatory hurdles quickly there are likely to be considerable cost savings to be made.
“How much of those savings get passed to streaming platform subscribers or whether Netflix will be seen to have too much pricing power is one of the areas that will face a huge amount of scrutiny in the coming months.”
Two ads promoting British beef and milk have been banned after television presenter and environmental campaigner Chris Packham complained that they misled consumers about the products’ carbon footprints.
Both ads for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) Let’s Eat Balanced campaign used the carbon footprint of British beef and milk to promote the products, firstly stating: “British beef not only tastes great, but has a carbon footprint that’s half the global average*.”
The asterisk linked to text that stated: “Full lifecycle emissions of CO2 eq (carbon dioxide equivalent) per kg of beef.”
The ad for milk stated: “British milk not only tastes good, but is also produced to world-class standards, and has a carbon footprint a third lower than the global average.”
Packham complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ads, and specifically the carbon footprint claims, were misleading as they did not reflect the full environmental impact of British meat and dairy.
The AHDB said the ads’ mention of carbon emissions would be understood in relation to the environmental impact of beef and milk that occurred between the “cradle-to-retail” stages.
But the ASA said the average consumer “being reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect” would understand the claims to apply beyond the retail stage and include actions such as cooking and wastage.
The ASA said: “While we acknowledged the potential difficulties in producing post-retail emissions data, the claims in the ads suggested those emissions were included and we therefore expected the evidence provided to also include them.
“We therefore concluded that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the full life-cycle claims in the ads, which was how the average consumer was likely to interpret them.
“We reminded AHDB that environmental claims should be based on the full life cycle unless the ad stated otherwise.”
AHDB’s director of communications and market development, Will Jackson, said: “Let’s Eat Balanced is doing what it was designed to do, providing clear, factual, evidence-led information about British food, nutrition and farming standards.
“Since the investigation began, we have conducted independent consumer research which found that the majority of respondents interpreted these adverts as relating to the production phase only, from farm to retail.
“This research provides important insight into consumer understanding and supports our belief that consumers were not misled by the information we shared in these two specific adverts.”
BENGALURU: India’s Gen Z workforce is embracing what experts describe as “portfolio careers” – balancing multiple professional identities and income streams simultaneously. New research from LinkedIn shows that 75% of Gen Z entrepreneurs in India now manage multiple income streams, significantly higher than the 62% among Gen X entrepreneurs. The findings point to a growing preference among younger professionals for flexibility, autonomy and diversified sources of income. “We’re also seeing the rise of the ‘portfolio era’, with more professionals creating multiple income streams and redefining what a career can look like. This shift is making entrepreneurship more accessible than ever before,” said LinkedIn India country manager Kumaresh Pattabiraman.Rather than depending on a single full-time role, many professionals are simultaneously building businesses, freelancing, consulting, creating online content and monetising specialised skills through digital platforms. The trend comes amid a broader rise in entrepreneurial activity in India. LinkedIn recorded a 104% year-on-year increase in members adding “Founder” to their profiles – the highest growth among all global markets.AI is also emerging as a major enabler of this shift. The report found that 85% of Gen Z entrepreneurs consider AI and digital tools important to their business operations.
Sam Altman said Elon Musk tried many times for total control of OpenAI, which he’s now suing.
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