For the past decade or so, it feels like we’ve been subject to a live action game of Monopoly: Media Edition, as all the major networks, studios, streamers, et al. repeatedly merge and split up, merge and split up. And I say “subject to” because we the consumers have no say in the process, while the teams of employees working at all of these companies face massive layoffs instead of reaping any benefits. The only people who come out on top from these mega mergers are the players already on top, the CEOs worried about how their multi-millions can become multi-billions. Folded into this mess is the fact that Hollywood has never fully come to terms with how streaming has entirely upended the business model of film & TV production, which again, is stacked so that the ones at the top stay at the top while a thriving middle class withers away.
To say that everyone in the entertainment industry was on edge about the possibility of Netflix — the biggest streamer of them all — buying out legacy Hollywood studio Warner Brothers, is not hyperbole. On Thursday, one day before the deal was confirmed, Jane Fonda — actor, activist, and relauncher of the Committee for the 1st Amendment — wrote an op-ed called “The WBD Deal Puts Hollywood, and Democracy, at Risk,” with the subhead: “What terrifies me — and should terrify anyone who cares about a free society.” Within hours of the deal becoming official, Jane and the Committee jointly issued a statement to decry the move and put those players at the top on notice:
Jane Fonda is speaking out against Netflix’s earthshaking move to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the $82.7 billion deal a “catastrophic” development that threatens to “destroy our creative industry.”
Fonda released her statement against the acquisition on Instagram through her Committee for the 1st Amendment organization. She wrote on Friday, “Today’s News that Warner Bros. Discovery has accepted a purchase bid is an alarming escalation of the consolidation that threatens the entire entertainment industry, the democratic public it serves and the First Amendment.”
She continued, “Make no mistake, this is not just a catastrophic business deal that could destroy our creative industry. It is a constitutional crisis exacerbated by the administration’s demonstrated disregard for the law.”
Directing her message to the powers that be, Fonda demanded the Justice Department and state regulators abstain from using their legal standing to “extract political concessions that influence content decisions or chill free speech.” In a sidebar to “Netflix and any company that becomes involved in this destructive deal,” Fonda wrote that it’s their “responsibility to defend our rights, not trade them away to pad your pockets .We know there will be enormous pressure to acquiesce, it is critical you stay strong.”
Hollywood at large has been mostly sour on the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal, with lawmakers, film producers and industry guilds alike all voicing concerns in the last week. Many expect the deal to cause seismic shifts in the entertainment industry, especially in the theatrical sector.
After months of deliberation, Netflix acquired Warner Bros. Discovery on Friday, outbidding David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance and Comcast. The cash and stock transaction is valued at $27.75 per share, and the deal is expected to close within 12-18 months, according to Netflix and WBD.
“Fonda demanded the Justice Department and state regulators abstain from using their legal standing to ‘extract political concessions that influence content decisions or chill free speech.’” Oh Jane, honey, I think that train has sailed (to quote Austin Powers). Why do you think the current administration is there to begin with, if not to demand unchecked deference and loyalty? But when I said earlier that we the consumers have no say in the process, that wasn’t completely true. We do have say, in the form of how we deploy our voice. One way is by voting, so that a corrupt, vengeful authoritarian doesn’t waddle back into office. And another way is through boycotting, like when a network suspends one of their signature shows to kowtow to a corrupt, vengeful authoritarian. And yeah it’s harder now, if not near impossible to do targeted boycotts, thanks to all these confounded consolidated mergers! For some lowkey anarchists such as myself, though, knowing that this is a mess of those CEOs own making actually makes it easier for me to boycott 12 networks in order to protest against one. (Note: Netflix head Ted Sarandos swears nothing is changing for subscribers, while WBD head David Zaslav maintains there won’t be big layoffs. Sure, Jans.) Since these people so obviously only care about their money, boycotting is the most powerful tool we have. As Jane ends her statement, in large font on its own slide: “We are watching closely, organizing, and ready to mobilize.”
photos credit: Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon