Netflix-Warner Bros. Deal Is Free Market David Slaying Hollywood’s Outdated, Greedy Goliath |
If you look at old-timey photos of FDR giving press conferences, you’ll see him behind a forest of microphones. That’s because in the early days of radio, there were lots of entrepreneurs trying to put their feet in the wet cement of that particular new medium. Over time, the winners win, the losers get gobbled up, and the system achieves some equilibrium.
The same thing happened in the 19th century when newspapers were new, and in the 21st century, it’s happening with streaming services. The only time this didn’t really happen was with network television stations, where the barrier to entry was so high that the country could only really accommodate three.
This is why I didn’t panic at the news that Netflix wants to merge with Warner Bros. The $83 billion deal was announced at the beginning of December, with some people wringing their hands that this is one of the signs of the apocalypse. This puts too many intellectual property eggs in one basket, this will kill the theater industry, etc., etc.
Spoiler alert: the Internet........