{"blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":""}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":""}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"If two failing fast-food chains merged, Americans would not expect better meals. They would expect bigger portions of the same bad product. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That is exactly what’s unfolding in Hollywood today. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"A potential merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery is not a recipe for creative renewal. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It’s a plan to combine two of the most politically driven and culturally divisive studios into one."}},{"type":"image","data":{"file":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/netflix-sign-companys-logo-displayed-117555762.jpg?w=1024"},"caption":"\n A potential merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery is not a recipe for creative renewal. AP"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"For Americans, that just means larger portions of the same woke –– and divisive –– preaching."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The news that Netflix has granted Warner Bros. Discovery a seven-day waiver to reopen merger talks with Paramount Skydance should, in theory, signal opportunity. "}},{"id":"ms2wy8vo-57mkzud6","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/04/opinion/nithya-raman-cant-or-wont-explain-socialism/","meta":{"title":"Nithya Raman can’t, or won’t, explain socialism","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/133079750.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"id":"2n07znro-zuk2lnwz","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/03/opinion/of-course-mamdani-takes-opportunity-to-blast-america-in-july-4-speech-focused-on-flaws/","meta":{"title":"Of course Mamdani takes opportunity to blast America in 4th of July speech focused on ‘flaws’","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/crop-39879844_a0003f.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"id":"l6piromg-6ndgl12h","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/01/opinion/mamdanis-latest-whopper-turns-the-truth-about-socialism-on-its-head/","meta":{"title":"Mamdani’s latest whopper turns the truth about socialism on its head","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/crop-39861772_8898e1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Corporate mergers in entertainment should be about efficiency, innovation, stronger content pipelines, and increasing shareholder value."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But this consolidation wave represents something more than a routine business transaction."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"If Netflix emerges as the dominant acquirer, it will unite two of the most culturally influential studios in America into one narrative powerhouse. "}},{"type":"image","data":{"file":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/netflix-sign-displayed-atop-building-117508375.jpg?w=1024"},"caption":"\n If Netflix emerges as the dominant acquirer, it will unite two of the most culturally influential studios in America into one narrative powerhouse. AP"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That should concern not only investors and consumers, but anyone worried about the growing cultural divide in this country."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Hollywood is not just another industry. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It is the primary storytelling engine of the United States and one of the most powerful cultural exporters in the world. "}},{"type":"delimiter","data":{}},{"type":"header","data":{"text":"Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters ","level":2}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"

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"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"When consolidation occurs in entertainment, it does not merely concentrate market share. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It concentrates the power to shape social norms, influence political discourse, and define what viewpoints are acceptable in mainstream culture."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The numbers already tell a stark story. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Over the past five years, both Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery have underperformed the S&P 500, trailing the index by roughly -44% and an astonishing -127%, respectively. "}},{"type":"image","data":{"file":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/netflix-sign-displayed-atop-building-117555625.jpg?w=1024"},"caption":"\n Hollywood is not just another industry. AP"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That is not normal market fluctuation. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It reflects structural failure driven in part by alienating core audiences."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Instead of correcting course, a merger would scale up the very model that produced this decline. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Viewers did not abandon these platforms because of pricing or technology. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Many left because they were tired of being lectured. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"They saw a steady stream of content promoting a narrow set of political viewpoints while dismissing or caricaturing others."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Unlike traditional monopolies that control goods or services, entertainment consolidation controls something far more consequential: cultural oxygen. "}},{"type":"image","data":{"file":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/drone-view-shows-netflix-logo-119370998.jpg"},"caption":"REUTERS"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"When a small group of executives determines which stories get told and which perspectives are excluded, the result is not merely reduced competition. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It is a narrowing of acceptable public discourse."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"This is why combining two of Hollywood’s most ideologically uniform studios would not calm America’s cultural tensions. It would inflame them. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Recent Senate antitrust hearings underscored this divide, as lawmakers questioned Netflix leadership about the ideological direction of its programming."}},{"type":"image","data":{"file":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/netflix-sign-displayed-atop-building-117555625.jpg?w=1024"},"caption":"\n This is why combining two of Hollywood’s most ideologically uniform studios would not calm America’s cultural tensions. It would inflame them. AP"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The debate reflects a growing concern: that dominant platforms may be using market power to normalize contested social viewpoints without meaningful transparency or accountability."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Supporters of consolidation argue that larger companies can deliver better products at lower cost. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"

"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But in cultural industries, scale often produces the opposite effect. Large conglomerates become more insulated from consumer feedback, more internally homogeneous, and less willing to course-correct."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"A Netflix-led merger would not create diversity of voices. It would institutionalize a single dominant cultural perspective at unprecedented scale."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":""}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"There is also a clear alternative path. A stronger Paramount emerging from its Skydance partnership could represent a healthier outcome by encouraging real competition in both business strategy and cultural perspective. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Competition, not consolidation, drives innovation, restores trust, and better reflects the diversity of American audiences."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Entertainment works best when it mirrors the breadth of American life rather than attempting to reshape it. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Combining two of the most prominent “woke” studios into a single dominant force will not reduce cultural conflict. It will intensify it."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Bill Flaig is the Founder and President of The American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF). Learn more at www.investconservative.com"}}]}

Bill Flaig

NypBillFlaig@RoundtableIO

Hollywood merger would scale up the ‘woke’