Paramount put in the better offer for Warner Bros Discovery – no surprises there. But what happens now?
In the past hour we got the details on what Paramount’s best and final offer was for Warner Bros Discovery: $31 a share, which is up from the $30 a share it previously offered.
WBD then issued a statement saying that this revised offer “could reasonably be expected to lead” vs Netflix’s signed agreement.
The next steps:
Warner Bros Discovery’s board will now meet and decide whether it believes the new deal from Paramount is better. It may decide that it wants to stick with what Netflix offered, which was for $27.75 per share. The difference in the deals being that Paramount want everything, while Netflix would be leaving WBD shareholders with the linear channels business spun-off as its own company (to be branded as Discovery Global).
If WBD accepts Paramounts offer as the best, Netflix then has four days to make a counter offer.
This is the scenario that Netflix more than likely expected when it opened the one-week door to WBD accepting a final overture by Paramount. That suggests that Netflix still have some wriggle room in terms of how much it is willing to spend, so it is more than likely that by the end of the week, Netflix will again close its deal with WBD.
It is both a surprise and not a surprise at all that Paramount didn’t take its bid higher in an effort to squeeze out Netflix. As I’ve written a few times previously, my assumption is that papa bear Larry Ellison isn’t interested in spending much more to secure WBD for his son’s business – it opens the door to greater scrutiny over Oracle’s stake in TikTok US.
It will be interesting to see how long it will take for Netflix to return to WBD with its best and final offer. I’m assuming it will not take the business the full four days.
Meanwhile, we wait and contend with reading dumb deadlines like this one from Deadline:
You were shocked by this Deadline? Come on.
What do viewers want from TV?
An interesting comment from a panel at MIP London by Goalhanger co-founder Tony Pastor talking about the business’ podcast-first model:
“People keep telling us that the TikTok generation only want short form,” he added. “We are finding the exact opposite. The average age of a listener for our shows is 33. About half the audience is in their 20s and early 30s. They are listening to five episodes on the history of Carthage. That is a challenging entry point.
“They are listening to stuff that no commissioner at a TV station in the UK would dream of commissioning. We’re getting millions of people in their 20s and 30s to watch and listen to five or six hours of long-form content about these quite sophisticated stories, and we’re doing it by hopefully telling it in an entertaining way.”
Goalhanger produce around 15 podcasts focused on expected verticals like sports, entertainment, and politics with the best known being The Rest is Football, The Rest is Entertainment, and The Rest is Politics. But it also has The Rest is History and a handful of other history podcasts like Empire and Battleground.
Part of all of this is catering to an audience who aren’t interested in the experience of watching TV. The sort of video podcasts Goalhanger are producing can be consumed by its core audience of 33 year-olds as they’re out in the world exercising, commuting, playing video games, etc. It’s a format that fits their lifestyle in the way that dedicating time to watch an hour-long documentary on a TV set isn’t as appealing.
But also, it speaks further to the fallacy of broadcast television, which has always been that viewers have been after high-end production standards when viewers have mostly just been seeking content that speaks directly to their interest.
It can be argued that this is easier to achieve on a platform like YouTube which offers a global platform where niche programming can better be served, but would, for example, The Rest of History better be served by an experience that took the expense of flying hosts Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland to historical locations for them to deliver the same content while walking around grassy areas discussing what happened on that site? Instead viewers seem very happy watching them talking into microphones with the occasional spot of animation.
Tubi’s managing director for international David Salmon (he looks after all of Tubi that isn’t America, he once explained to me) was also on a different panel at MIP London where he made some similar comments:
[His work is currently about] how to redefine the boundaries around this strictness around professionally produced content, creators-produced content and [user-generated content]. There is essentially a blending that is happening across the industry, and consumers candidly don’t really care. The thing that is finite is their level of engagement, the time, the attention.
I’m not sure either of these guys are saying anything especially revolutionary. But as TV slides further into a space where video podcasts become more widely integrated into the experience of watching TV alongside a traditional TV industry where budgets are shrinking and there’s greater import placed on producing TV that can be adapted for multiple platforms, it’s less a question about meeting the audience where they are and more about meeting an audience where they want to be.
News Desk
Netflix will host special screenings of the first two episodes of One Piece’s second season in cinemas across the US, Canada, and Japan. Read: Deadline
Expect Paradise, which just returned for season 2, to end with its third season. Read: THR
RIP Robert Carradine - the onetime Revenge of The Nerds star has died at age 71. I have watched a shocking amount of Lizzie McGuire and always liked him as the dad in that show. Also, please keep in mind that if you’re facing a dark time in your life, there’s always help. Read: THR
MGM+ has renewed Robin Hood for season 2. Read: thefutoncritic
UK production house Working Title is developing a series based on Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, with Aimee Lou Wood to star. Read: THR
The cottage seen in Heated Rivalry is now available to book on Airbnb. Read: Conde Nast Traveler
Author Rachel Reid has announced that the latest book in the Game Changers series, which serves as the source material for Heated Rivalry, will be delayed from Sept 2026 to June 2027. Read: THR
Yellowstone auteur Taylor Sheridan has written a book. How to Not Die in Prison was co-written by ex-con Tom Nelson. Read: THR
And speaking of books, The Saddle Club book series is being adapted again for TV, this time as a CG animated series in Europe. It promises to be faithful to the Australian book series. Read: Deadline
New UK media regulations will see streamers Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video and Disney+ now subject to oversight by regulator Ofcom. Read: The Guardian
Former Home Improvement child star Zachery Ty Bryan has been sentenced to over a year in jail for DUI. Read: TMZ
RTÉ / BBC drama Tall Tales & Murder has been pre-bought at the London TV Screenings by ZDF in Germany and SBS in Australia. It was co-created by Love/Hate writer Stuart Carolan and The Thick Of It’s Chris Addison. Read: C21
HBO Max is rolling out across 12 new APAC markets on March 26. Bhutan, Fiji, Kiribati, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. With the service now in Tuvalu, HBO Max is really missing out if it doesn’t register the hbomax.tv domain. Just sayin’… Read: C21
Australia’s best cinema?
During this week’s Screen Watching podcast, my co-host Simon Foster and I discussed what Australia’s best cinema is. Both Simon and I have been to a large number of cinemas across Australia and we are both highly opinionated people.
I’d be curious to hear from Australian ABW readers on their favourite venues and why?
Trailer Park
The Madison debuts on Paramount+ March 14 with three episodes. The second batch of three episodes will debut the following week. Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell star in this new Taylor Sheridan show which was previously sold as a Yellowstone spin-off, but has today been confirmed to be stand-alone.
THE MADISON is Sheridan’s most intimate work to date, unfolding across two distinct worlds - the beautiful landscape of Montana and the vibrant energy of Manhattan - as it examines the ties that bind families together.
Introducing the Clyburns, THE MADISON is a heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana.
For All Mankind returns to Apple TV for season 5 March 27.
Pride and Prejudice debuts on Netflix later this year.
Jane Austen's beloved classic returns in a faithful adaptation by Dolly Alderton, starring Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet and Jack Lowden as Mr Darcy.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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