meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
What Next | Daily News and Analysis

The Fight Over The Future of Movies

What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Slate

News, Daily News, News Commentary, Politics

4.62.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Last Friday, Netflix announced that they would be acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, a massive megamerger that would let the number one streaming service acquire the third biggest streamer (HBO Max), the entire Warner Bros. film catalog, its cable channels, and the Discovery+ streaming service. But before any shareholders could celebrate, Paramount Skydance, the megaconglomerate led by the Trump-favored Ellison family, launched a hostile takeover. Which company will emerge victorious here…will the biggest loser be the cinephile consumer? Guest: Nitish Pahwa, Slate staff writer covering business and tech. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey everyone, it's Mary. If you're a listener to this show, you know by now that we've got

0:08.5

this membership program, Slate Plus. I talk to you all the time about the cool things it gets you,

0:15.0

full access to slate.com, ad free listening, special bonus conversations. But today, I'm going to level with you and tell you

0:24.6

how important Slate Plus is to me and everyone else who works here with me. We're a small but

0:30.8

scrappy team that's been pumping out daily news for going on eight years. Eight years. That is two Trump administrations and a Biden

0:41.1

administration in between. That's January 6th. That's two impeachment proceedings and all the rest.

0:49.0

It's stressful stuff. It's complicated stuff. Stuff we think is important to make sense of for and with you.

0:57.7

Because Slate is journalism you trust, right?

1:01.1

That's why you're here.

1:03.0

It's the end of the year, a time when a lot of you might be wondering who needs a helping hand.

1:09.0

And let me tell you, journalism you trust this much, it needs your support, now more than ever.

1:16.1

My bosses have set a goal to try to get 100 new what-necked subscribers by the end of this year.

1:22.8

To make it happen, they have cut the price of year-long membership in half.

1:28.3

That is 50% off, but only through the end of the year.

1:32.5

So, if this show has made you laugh or explained some nuance that made you think,

1:39.4

maybe changed your mind, or even just kept your company when you really needed it. Go on over to slate.com

1:46.3

slash what next plus. Use the promo code, what next 50. That's what next 50. That way our bosses know

1:54.9

we sent you. Your support is going to mean we can keep doing what we're doing in the months and years ahead.

2:02.1

And it would mean a lot to me too.

2:04.2

Okay.

2:04.8

Thanks for listening.

2:06.2

On with the show.

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 18 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Slate and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.