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Entertainment industry doesn't need more consolidation
Lee Enterprises newswire ^ | January 2, 2026 | Steve Chabot

Posted on 01/03/2026 6:09:33 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701

Netflix’s attempt to acquire Warner Bros. has set off alarms about market power and cultural reach.

But the real issue isn’t this potential merger, which Paramount is challenging. It’s the extent to which the industry has consolidated so dramatically that a small circle of companies now exercises unprecedented control over cultural production and distribution.

Nearly everything Americans watch is shaped by a handful of firms that not only dominate the market but broadly share the same progressive ideological assumptions.

Netflix is not the outlier. Consolidation is increasingly the industry model in media and entertainment.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.lee.net ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: entertainment; hollywood; mediaconsolidation; netflix; wbd
I am opposed to Netflix's deal, because I see the end game is Reed Hastings control that will eventually lead to more trouble (Newsom as President in 2028 is one, but woke media changes are the other and that includes banning the classics until they edit it to appease themselves -- World War II films will be targeted because of their anti-Japanese sentiment, but historians understand why they were made).
1 posted on 01/03/2026 6:09:33 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701
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To: WhiteHatBobby0701

The thing about the internet and AI is that it will allow for new producers of entertainment to grow and get a wide audience.

Netflix buying WB will be looked upon as a stupid decision in 5-10 years.


2 posted on 01/03/2026 6:12:57 AM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: WhiteHatBobby0701

This isn’t about Netflix vs Paramount.

It’s about Obama vs President Trump.


3 posted on 01/03/2026 6:16:12 AM PST by Bratch
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To: Bratch

Especially with Obama having his tentacles on Netflix, and Reed Hastings pushing Any Two-Som.


4 posted on 01/03/2026 6:20:46 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701
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To: WhiteHatBobby0701

Obama involved in a business deal will not go well. He’s way out of his lane.


5 posted on 01/03/2026 6:42:43 AM PST by Spok (You know people are out of ideas when all they can do is verbally attack people they disagree with.)
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To: WhiteHatBobby0701

Ah, Gayflix will outdo Disney. Their motto will be, “Put a chick in it and make him a tranny”.


6 posted on 01/03/2026 6:56:53 AM PST by Da Coyote
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To: Da Coyote

Regietheater. We learned that word from Heather MacDonald’s article about bad opera productions.


7 posted on 01/03/2026 7:02:08 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701
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To: Vermont Lt

What about the consolidation of the newspaper industry…of which Lee is a part of, along with Gannett?


8 posted on 01/03/2026 7:08:35 AM PST by kaktuskid
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To: Da Coyote

9 posted on 01/03/2026 7:32:12 AM PST by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: kaktuskid

The Newspaper industry is pretty much dead.

Don’t you think? My wife gets the local paper for her job. It is often 6 pages. It used to be 25-30 most weekdays, and 100 on Sunday.

The other day, the Sunday paper before Christmas the paper was less than 20 pages. I looked and the first article written by a local writer was on page 6. The rest were news services.

Real local news is all on the internet, and written by retired newspaper folks.

The local community governments face almost no scrutiny. This goes along with very little local TV or radio coverage.

We have a homogenized society where the main news is focused on DC, but not Main Street.

If someone could figure a way to do local news the right way (and make enough money to stay in business) there could be a resurgence. But that is still some time away.


10 posted on 01/03/2026 7:35:25 AM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: Vermont Lt

There’s a reason why government can get away with huge taxes on businesses when there’s no radio that can destroy them. Most radio stations play rap, R&B, or have a Sacramento-run station that the churches support.


11 posted on 01/03/2026 7:40:39 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701
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To: WhiteHatBobby0701

For the first 20 years of her career my wife did radio news. When she started the station had five full time news people covering everything in this top-50 market.

Today that same station has one news person who reports from a studio an hour from our city.

It’s horrible.


12 posted on 01/03/2026 8:17:22 AM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: Vermont Lt

The simple fact the talk radio show and weather are from 100 miles northeast (news) and weather 135 miles northeast is sad when other inaccessible stations are 35 miles away.


13 posted on 01/03/2026 10:13:53 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701
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To: WhiteHatBobby0701

Netflix is pedophile central. I read recently that some 40% has the LGBTQ content plus there are shows that have been flagged as having pedophile content.


14 posted on 01/04/2026 12:05:12 AM PST by minnesota_bound (Making money now. Still want much more.)
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To: minnesota_bound

Pedophile Central. Got the marriage laws repealed in most states, now changing human sexuality laws to appease their wares. They want to ensure those who oppose their agenda are arrested, cowered, and locked up for good.


15 posted on 01/04/2026 3:26:54 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701
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