When the news broke yesterday that Netflix had dropped out of the monthslong bidding war to control Warner Bros. Discovery'including its massive film library, range of TV networks, and news empire'the streamer's stock immediately jumped. It was a curious market reaction, but one that seemed to reflect the deep mistrust that Netflix's investors, and much of the media industry at large, had about the proposed deal. The company has built up huge profits and a gigantic market share partly by avoiding businesses such as movie theaters, cable television, and 24-hour news channels. Why would it suddenly be interested in them' We may never know what Netflix had planned to do with Warner Bros. Discovery, a conglomeration that houses movie-production companies, HBO, DC Comics, CNN, and various other cable properties, such as Discovery Channel. (In its deal structure, Netflix was going to purchase HBO and the Warner Bros. film studios, while WBD would spin off the less-profitable linear cable...
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