Netflix is buying Warner Bros. for US$83 billion

Less than 30 years ago, Netflix’s business was renting DVD through the mail. This week, it just bought Warner Bros. of US$82.7 billion. Netflix says that the Warner Bros. name will remain and that things will operate as usual for “theatrical releases for film.” The purchase also includes HBO and everything under the Discovery banner.

This takes Netflix even deeper into the music-making and distributing business. If the deal looks familiar, it feels similar to went Sony went on a buying spree in the early 90s, grabbing a lot of entertainment properties.

However, the Nefliix/War Bros. deal does NOT include Warner Music Group. WMG is owned by Access Industries, which is a multinational company owned by Len Blavatnik. So, no, Netflix isn’t in the music business. Not yet, anyway.

We’ll see how this works. There’s some pessimism.