The Directors Guild of America announced plans to meet with Netflix to discuss “concerns” over potential Warner Bros. acquisition. Discovery by the streamer.
Following the announcement Thursday evening that Netflix had won the bidding war for the former media company and that the two would begin exclusive negotiations to strike a deal, a spokesperson for the guild told Deadline that the development “raises significant concerns for the DGA.”
“We believe that a vibrant, competitive industry – one that fosters creativity and encourages real competition for talent – is essential to safeguarding the careers and creative rights of filmmakers and their teams. We will meet with Netflix to outline our concerns and better understand their vision for the company’s future. While we undertake this due diligence, we will not make additional comments,” the statement continued.
The DGA is the first, but likely not the last, Hollywood union to comment on the latest development in the WBD acquisitions saga. The Writers Guild of America East and West said in a joint statement in October that it planned to block any potential merger of WBD and Paramount, warning that further media consolidation “would be a disaster for writers, for consumers and for competition.”
Thursday was a tumultuous day in which Paramount moved aggressively to counter Netflix’s offer and strike its own deal for WBD. According to sources, Netflix offered around $28 per share for the company, mostly in cash.
WBD stepped up in October to open the process after receiving three consecutive offers from Paramount. Warner hoped to close a deal by mid-December.
