{"id":350073,"date":"2025-12-17T01:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T01:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/350073\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T01:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T01:27:10","slug":"ted-sarandos-vows-to-keep-warner-bros-films-in-theaters-after-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/350073\/","title":{"rendered":"Ted Sarandos Vows to Keep Warner Bros. Films in Theaters After Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNetflix<\/a> co-CEO Ted Sarandos<\/a> made a surprise appearance at Canal+<\/a>\u2018s The Original+ showcase in Paris on Tuesday, seeking to calm French industry fears about the streaming giant\u2019s $83 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. by pledging to maintain the studio\u2019s traditional theatrical distribution model.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking with Maxime Saada<\/a>, chair and CEO of Canal+, Sarandos sought to reassure the French market about Netflix\u2019s intentions following the bombshell deal that sent shockwaves through the exhibition sector.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur intentions when we buy Warner Brothers will be to continue to release Warner Brothers studio movies in theaters with the traditional windows,\u201d Sarandos said during the conversation. \u201cThen those movies would flow through the Canal+ output deal. That\u2019s very exciting for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe comments mark a significant shift in messaging for Netflix, which has long clashed with theatrical exhibitors over its preference for simultaneous or shortened theatrical windows. Sarandos emphasized that Netflix never previously engaged in traditional theatrical distribution \u201cbecause we just never owned the actual distribution mechanism before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe were monetizing the movies through our own subscription, because that\u2019s how we were growing the business the fastest,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe started looking at this company, you see things like the television studio that produces for other people, the studio that puts out movies in theaters \u2013 first, all those things, those are very good businesses. They\u2019re very healthy businesses, and we didn\u2019t want to do anything that would harm the value of those businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSarandos stressed that Warner Bros. Studios will continue to operate independently under Netflix ownership, releasing movies traditionally in cinema. \u201cI know it\u2019s very important to the people in France and around the world that people have the opportunity to see the films in cinema, and we intend to support it fully,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe appearance comes as French exhibitors have raised alarm about the acquisition\u2019s potential impact on the country\u2019s theatrical ecosystem. Richard Patry, president of France\u2019s National Exhibitors Association, told Variety last week that the guild \u201cwill fight back\u201d and called for antitrust regulators to scrutinize the deal carefully.<\/p>\n

\n\tFrance represents a particularly complex market for Netflix, where stringent windowing regulations require the streamer to wait 15 months after theatrical releases before offering films on its platform. The country\u2019s regulatory environment has been a source of ongoing tension, leading Netflix to abandon the Cannes Film Festival competition after 2017.<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring the Canal+ conversation, Saada acknowledged the partnership\u2019s evolution, noting that Netflix and Canal+ have maintained a relationship that has been \u201c80% partners and maybe 20% competitors.\u201d He questioned whether the balance might shift as Netflix expands into live programming and sports.<\/p>\n

\n\tSarandos downplayed competitive concerns, emphasizing that Netflix\u2019s sports strategy focuses on \u201ceventized and specialized\u201d content like boxing matches and holiday football games rather than full league rights. \u201cOur primary mission is film and television and increasing the games, but I don\u2019t see us being flipping from 80 to 20 or 20 to 80,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tSaada credited Netflix with expanding France\u2019s paid television market, noting that the streamer\u2019s arrival helped increase market penetration from 30% to 75%. \u201cYou basically doubled the market size in France,\u201d he told Sarandos.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the Warner Bros. acquisition specifically, Saada expressed surprise given Netflix\u2019s historical stance as \u201cmore builders than buyers.\u201d Sarandos explained that the deal addresses gaps in Netflix\u2019s relatively young library and production capabilities.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve only been doing original programming about 12 years, and we\u2019ve been moving very fast,\u201d Sarandos said. \u201cSo building a library as fast as we can, building out IP as fast as we can. Our library only extends back a decade, where Warner Brothers extends back 100 years. They know a lot about things that we haven\u2019t ever done, like theatrical distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe noted that Warner Bros. possesses valuable knowledge in areas Netflix has not explored, including the television studio\u2019s third-party production business and traditional theatrical distribution infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite France\u2019s challenging regulatory environment for streamers, Sarandos offered a nuanced view of operating in the market during the upfronts conversation. \u201cI would say that France is a very complicated place to work, but love is complicated,\u201d he said. \u201cWe love France.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a separate conversation with Variety on Monday night at the red carpet premiere of \u201cEmily in Paris\u201d Season 5, Sarandos expressed his affection for France despite the country\u2019s stringent regulations on streaming platforms.<\/p>\n

\n\tSarandos also addressed the streaming landscape\u2019s evolving competition during the upfronts, acknowledging that platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram are vying for the same screen time as traditional television and film. \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing constantly is trying to fight for attention. We\u2019re trying to fight for joy. We\u2019re trying to create joy with people so picking the program and executing it perfectly for them, so that they love it and want to come back for more,\u201d Sarandos said. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re competing against all kinds of things that are ending up on that screen now, including YouTube. I think that if you look at YouTube and TikTok and Instagram and all the different things that you could do on a screen, I love that people of all ages still very much enjoy professional films and television, but we have to continue to fight against all the competitors that are coming at us from all different directions and all different business models.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHe added that this competitive landscape explains Netflix\u2019s continued commitment to video games, citing audience demand for interactive content that provides user agency.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Warner Bros. acquisition faces regulatory approval in both the U.S. and Europe, with French exhibitors among the stakeholders calling for careful antitrust scrutiny. The deal, if approved, would mark one of the largest media consolidations in recent years and fundamentally reshape Netflix\u2019s business model to include traditional theatrical distribution for the first time in the company\u2019s history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos made a surprise appearance at Canal+\u2018s The Original+ showcase in Paris on Tuesday, seeking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350074,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48,15297,84102,1316,61765],"class_list":{"0":"post-350073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-canal","12":"tag-maxime-saada","13":"tag-netflix","14":"tag-ted-sarandos"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}