Netflix buys WB + why Jason should run Disney | E2219

This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis

Technology

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Sentry - http://sentry.io/twist

LinkedIn Ads - http://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups

Pipedrive - pipedrive.com/twist

Today’s show:

Netflix wants to gobble up Warner Bros. Do they just want to own Batman and Harry Potter, or is this secretly about destroying movie theaters?

Sure, this is usually a startup show, but news THIS BIG warrants attention! So Lon stops by to tell Jason and Alex about the big Netflix acquisition news, why so many theatrical movie fans are terrified for the future, and why this might face particular regulatory scrutiny both at home and abroad.

PLUS… are Googlers gaming Polymarket? This is one scenario in which prediction markets are NOT exactly like stocks.

THEN we’re looking at some of our favorite startups from the Fall ‘25 Y Combinator cohort (and asking Producer Claude for his picks)… Considering why Perplexity keeps getting sued and how they can stop it… and doing a victory lap for Jason’s early investment in breakout AI training project Micro1.

Timestamps:

(02:05) Netflix buying Warner Bros! Jason, Lon and Alex react.

(05:04) Jaytrade Update: J kind of missed the boat on this one

(05:36) What does this mean for theatrical cinema?

(08:42) Sentry - New users get 3 months free of the Business plan (covers 150k errors). Go to http://sentry.io/twist and use code TWIST

(09:52) Jason’s pitch to Disney CEO Bob Iger (please send this to him!)

(19:36) LinkedIn Ads: Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. Launch your first campaign and get $250 FREE when you spend at least $250. Go to http://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups to claim your credit.

(23:29) Is this deal going to get approval, at home and abroad?

(25:52) Are Googlers gaming Polymarket?

(28:02) Can you do “insider trading” on a prediction market?

(29:23) Pipedrive - Bring your entire sales process into one elegant space. Get started with a 30 day free trial at pipedrive.com/twist

(37:00) How accelerators like Y Combinator serve as “finishing schools” for startups

(37:52) A Quick Look at some of our fav companies from YC’s Fall ’25 cohort

(39:01) Why startups need to “skate to where the puck is going”

(40:08) Why sometimes old ideas (like solar-powered aircraft) are often worth revisiting

(45:29) Jason’s advice for founders (and investors) in the “feel good” or activist space

(50:48) Why Lon, Alex, and Claude ALL thought Hyperspell sounds like a hot startup

(52:58) Perplexity getting sued again! Why can’t they make friends!

(57:51) Meanwhile, Meta’s signing AI deals with news publications.

(59:21) Micro1, which Jason helped to fund, has hit $100M ARR! Why do AI companies need so many experts?

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Follow Lon:

X: https://x.com/lons

Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm

Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

Thank you to our partners:

(8:42) Sentry - New users get 3 months free of the Business plan (covers 150k errors). Go to http://sentry.io/twist and use code TWIST

(29:23) Pipedrive - Bring your entire sales process into one elegant space. Get started with a 30 day free trial at pipedrive.com/twist

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Bidding process is over.
0:01.8	Netflix has won the bidding war to obtain Warner Brothers now, the film and TV studio and all of the Warner Brothers IP, Harry Potter, HBO shows, Barbie, DC Comics.
0:14.4	That's all on its way to Netflix.
0:17.0	Should this deal get past the next level of regulatory scrutiny, which is going to be, I suspect, very intense.
0:25.2	But I would also say internationally is the huge concern, I think, here for regulators.
0:30.3	Netflix plus HBO Max is going to be a dominant player in a lot of international markets.
0:36.4	Netflix already has been really tough for a lot of
0:38.9	international marketplaces. Like, they're already dominating. So that's like the real next thing
0:43.8	we have to look out for. The deal, as of now, 72 billion, so 82.7 billion in total enterprise
0:51.2	value. That's for the film and TV assets. What's the market cap now of
0:54.9	Netflix? If this is a $70 billion deal, what does this represent in terms of the percentage of
0:59.7	Netflix? This weekend startups is brought to you by Pipe Drive. Bring clarity and control to your
1:06.0	sales process with Pipe Drive, the number one CRM for small and medium-sized businesses. Supercharge your
1:12.5	sales today. Start with a 30-day free trial, Piptripe.com slash twist. LinkedIn ads. Start
1:18.8	converting your B2B audience into high-quality leads today. Launch your first campaign and get
1:23.4	$250 free when you spend at least 250. Go to LinkedIn.com slash this week in startups to claim your credit.
1:32.3	And Century.
1:33.7	Your team should be focused on shipping features, not chasing down bugs.
1:37.7	New users get three months free of the business plan, which covers 150,000 errors.
1:42.9	Go to century.io slash twist and use the code twist.
1:48.9	Hey, everybody, welcome back to this week in startups.
1:51.1	I'm your host, Jason Kelloggannis, with me, of course, Alex.
	...

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