Ted Sarandos on Netflix Nixing Warner Bros. Bid, Trump’s Role, David Ellison, and How the Streamer Is Closer to Cinema Owners Than Ever

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment When Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos left the White House on Feb. 26, journalists tracking the streamer’s bid to buy Warner Bros.’ storied movie and TV studios, along with HBO Max, scoured photographs capturing his every expression, from the slightest hint of defeat to a smile. Ultimately, he looked like the cat who ate the canary. That interpretation isn’t so far off the mark, according to the first interview Sarandos has given, to Bloomberg News, since Netflix unveiled that it was pulling out of its $82.7 billion proposed deal minutes after Sarandos drove away from 1,600 Pennsylvania Ave., rather than try to match a sweetened bid submitted by David Ellison ‘s Paramount-Skydance, valued at $111 billion. That includes taking on more than $95 million in debt, making it the largest leveraged buyout in history in a move that could disrupt Hollywood to its core and result in massive layoffs. Related Stories TV John Oliver Reacts to HBO's Possible New "Business Daddy" Paramount: "How the F*** Do I Get Out of This?" TV Luke Thompson Is, Admittedly, a Little Relieved to Be Winding Down His 'Bridgerton' Fairytale Many assume that Ellison’s father — Oracle founder and Trump friend Larry Ellison , who is among the world’s richest men — will always provide a life raft, although he’s already personally guaranteed more than $57 million of the debt. Many have also assumed Trump himself would ultimately be the judge and jury in terms of which WBD went to by exerting pressure on regulators. The one property Trump cares most about is CNN, which would have been spun off with other cable networks. Paramount wants the whole company. “From the beginning of this, I knew there was a very sexy idea that he was going to make the call. It was never the case. It was very...