Cinema United continued its lobbying campaign against Warner Bros.’ planned sale to Netflix in written testimony sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, warning that any WBD sale to another major competitor will have “direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theatres around the world.”
“Such an acquisition will further consolidate control over production and distribution of motion pictures in the hands of a single, dominant, global streaming platform in a market that is already highly concentrated. The impact will not only be felt by theatre owners, but by movie fans and surrounding businesses in communities of all sizes,” read the six-page letter, which had previously been sent to the House subcommittee on regulatory issues last month and was made public this week.
Cinema United extended its concerns of the proposed merger beyond Netflix, adding: “If Paramount or another major studio ends up displacing Netflix as the buyer, our concerns are no less serious. A combination of Paramount and Warner Bros., for instance, would consolidate as much as 40% of each year’s domestic box office in the hands of a single dominant studio.”
The organization came out swinging against the proposed deal from the moment it was announced, releasing a statement condemning the Netflix-Warner deal as an “unprecedented threat” to theaters hours after the streamer’s $82.7 billion bid was officially selected.
Cinema United is not alone in opposing the merger. Hollywood unions such as the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood Teamsters have spoken out against studio consolidation as a threat to its members, leading to fewer productions greenlit and acquired and fewer jobs for writers, actors, directors and crew workers.
A group of nonprofit and industry orgs have also created the Block the Merger website to get entertainment workers engaged in grassroots opposition. Several of the members of that coalition, such as Art House Convergence and Future Film Coalition, signed on to a letter from the American Economic Liberties Project sent last week urging state attorneys general to move to block the merger on antitrust grounds.
“Given recent troubling and unusual circumstances involving federal enforcers
and administration officials, we urge you to take immediate public action against this deal,” that letter read.
“This includes making public statements against further media consolidation, declarations that you will use your full civil investigatory and subpoena authorities to investigate, a demand for transparency and cooperation from parties if and when they do file official transaction reports, and warning lobbyists about the criminal legal consequences of engaging in acts of public corruption,” it continued.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said publicly, including under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee this past Tuesday, that his company will not reduce production output with Warner Bros. under its ownership and that it will commit to a 45-day theatrical window for all of Warner’s films.
“The industry has been under attack for five years now: the pandemic, a prolonged strike, production downturn for companies trying to squeeze more profits to that of their businesses,” he said. “We’ve not been doing that, and we got through the strikes, we got through the pandemic, and kept producing and kept growing. But anytime there’s change, the parties get nervous, and rightfully so. They need to know that people are looking out for them.
“We are looking out for them. In the theaters, I have been asked to give a blood oath about the 45 day window. I think giving my testimony to you under oath is good enough.”
