Reuters - Netflix's decision to acquire assets from Warner Bros Discovery has not changed, its co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos said in a letter to employees on Monday.
The streaming giant
won Warner Bros' vote earlier this month, securing a $72 billion equity deal for its TV, film studios and streaming assets before Paramount launched a
hostile $108.4 billion enterprise bid for the whole company.
Netflix is committed to theatrical releases of Warner Bros' movies, saying it is "an important part of their business and legacy".
"We haven't prioritized theatrical in the past because that wasn't our business at Netflix. When this deal closes, we will be in that business," the letter said, adding that a hostile bid from Paramount Skydance was "entirely expected".
Despite growing concerns of heavy regulatory scrutiny, Netflix is confident it will get the approvals, relying on its argument that the deal is necessary to compete with the dominance of YouTube.
But attorneys say the Justice Department is
unlikely to see Netflix and YouTube as interchangeable rivals, given their different content, audiences and business models.
