Latest / Privacy Please / S6, E262 - WARNER BROS CRISIS: Class Action Lawsuit & The $108B Hostile Takeover (Dec 15 Update)

Transcript

S6, E262 - WARNER BROS CRISIS: Class Action Lawsuit & The $108B Hostile Takeover (Dec 15 Update) · Privacy Please

• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's Thursday, December 11th, at the time of this recording.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if you tried to trade Warner Brothers today, you couldn't.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Trading has been halted.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: The lawyers have been unleashed.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Civil War for Hollywood has officially gone nuclear.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: What started last Friday as a simple acquisition has morphed into a national security crisis.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: We have Netflix suing to block a rival bid.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: We have the FTC freezing the assets, and we have a hundred billion on the table.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: The prize?
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Batman, Harry Potter, and the private data of 150 million Americans.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Today on Privacy Please, we break down the wildest week in media history.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: The Friday shock, the Monday ambush, and the Thursday meltdown.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Who's gonna own your eyes next?
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And before we dig into this chaos, a quick reminder: we are building a community dedicated to navigating these complex and digital issues, and we'd love for you to be a part of it.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you're listening on a podcast app, please take a second to follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to see the video version of this discussion, head over to our YouTube channel or our website, theproblemlounge.com, where you can find all of our links.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, with that being said, let's dig in.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about something that people aren't really talking about.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been on social media this week, you're probably having a little bit of whiplash.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe maybe not that drastic, but um let's stop and rewind a little bit.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: To understand why the government froze everything today, we have to take a look at how this war started.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: It began last Friday.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Netflix dropped a bombshell offering$82.7 billion to Warner Brothers.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Their plan was ruthlessly efficient.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Acquire HBO, the movie studios, and DC Comics, then feed the viewing data of 90 million HBO subscribers into their famous algorithm.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: We call this Future A, the algorithm era.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Netflix would own the most comprehensive psychographic profile of human behavior in history.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: They would know your guilty pleasures and your high art tastes, allowing them to manipulate culture on a global scale.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: But then Monday happened.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Just as Netflix was popping the champagne, Paramount Skydance kicked down the door.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: They launched a hostile all-cash counter bid of 108 billion.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is future B.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Paramount wants to merge CNN with CBS News, creating a massive information monopoly, but the privacy please red flag is where the money is coming from.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Paramount's bid is backed by a correlation of private equity and foreign sovereign wealth funds.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: So the choice is do you want a surveillance algorithm controlling your entertainment or a foreign-backed conglomerate controlling your news?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Does it really matter at this point?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, that brings us to today, which is when the gloves really came off.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Thursday, the 11th, that I'm recording this, Netflix decided to play dirty.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: They filed a federal lawsuit to block Paramount, and their argument wasn't about antitrust or money.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: It was about national security.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: So Netflix is arguing that handing over CNN and the personal data of a million Americans to a company backed by foreign governments is a threat to the United States.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: The irony here is pretty staggering.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Netflix, the company that invented mass surveillance for entertainment, is suddenly posing as the patriotic protector of your privacy.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Classic.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: They are using our concerns, data sovereignty, privacy, security, as a weapon to kill their business rival.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: But make no mistake, Netflix doesn't care about protecting your data from foreign spies.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: They just want to make sure they are the only ones allowed to exploit it.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: This lawsuit was the final straw for the regulators.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: At 2 p.m.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: today, the Federal Trade Commission announced an emergency antitrust review of both bids, effectively freezing the deal in its tracks.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: So right now, Hollywood is paralyzed, but while the deal is frozen, the motivations are becoming clear.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: While lawyers fight in public, the executives are fighting in private.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: An internal leak from Warner Bros.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: this afternoon shows just how cynical this game really is.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: According to leaked memos, the current Warner Bros.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: board is leaning toward the Paramount deal.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is it because it's better for the company?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Is it because it protects your data?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely not.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: The memo suggests that the Paramount deal structure offers massive golden parachute payouts for the current executives.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Netflix deal, by contrast, likely involves firing them.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: This highlights the core theme of this show.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: You are the product.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Your viewing habits, your subscription fees, and your loyalty are just poker chips.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: These executives are ready to sell you to a surveillance algorithm, Netflix, or a foreign-backed conglomerate, Paramount, based entirely on who writes them the biggest personal check.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's always money.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Always is.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: So where do we stand right now?
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: The deal is frozen, stock trading is halted, and the government is involved.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: But no matter who wins this war, the era of cheap and open streaming is dead.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Let's break it down a little bit.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: The first one, prices will certainly soar.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's$82 billion or$108 billion, someone has to pay that bill.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Analysts predict subscription prices will likely jump to$30 or$35 billion a month by 2027 to cover the debt.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: The data will move.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: When this merger eventually happens, and it will, you will get a terms of service update email.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Do not ignore it.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is the moment they legally claim ownership of your data under the new regime.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, the culture will shrink.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: We are watching the consolidation of American storytelling into fewer and fewer hands.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: The third place of the movie theater is at risk.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Independent voices are at risk.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: My advice: if you love a movie, I'd go buy that physical copy.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Own it.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because in the war for Warner, the only thing that matters to these giants is owning you and your data.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: We'll keep track of this story as it develops.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Privacy Please.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: I find this one fascinating.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's a lot that goes into it as this as this unfolds.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: But once it does, we'll talk a little bit deeper about what that means for you and your privacy.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, everyone, thank you so much for tuning in.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to follow and subscribe.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you on the next one.