Democrats Want Media Conglomerate Dismantled Because Execs Didn’t Go Totally Woke

Relationships are complicated and few are more complex, and dysfunctional, than the one between politicians and corporations.

In very broad terms, the two get along famously when politicians are handing out taxpayer cash to corporations that promise to use it to create press release-worthy numbers of jobs and economic growth. They argue and fight when each tells the other how to run its respective business.

On the populist right today, that’s seen in the high-profile hissing/legislative spat between Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Corporation over various, and utterly pointless, culture war cul de sacs.

On the left, we have an endless number of arguments to choose from, whether it’s their perennial tussles with the oil and gas industry, pharmaceutical manufactures, defense contractors and so on.

But few political-business spats rise to the level of self-parody quite like the one a handful of Democratic lawmakers are inciting with Hollywood studio Warner Brothers Discovery.

It seems the group, which includes Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, Rhode Island’s David Cicilline and Pramila Jayapal of Washington, want the Department of Justice to unwind the merger that created the new media conglomerate because…well, the letter they sent to Attorney Merrick Garland says it all:

Following the merger, WBD announced numerous labor-force reductions and product cancellations that would limit consumer and worker choice—cancelling several titles, including “Batgirl,” which was deep into post-production, “Gordita Chronicles,” “Demimonde,” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” However, these are not the only labor-force reductions WBD leadership has made.

Yes, those projects were cancelled because the new management didn’t think they would be hits. It happens.

But the lawmakers were just getting started:

WBD’s new ownership is hollowing out an iconic American studio. After the merger was consummated, WBD cancelled many projects in various stages of development and removed content from its platforms. For example, WBD took 68 titles off HBO Max. Some content removed from HBO Max is not available for streaming, renting, or buying on other platforms—meaning consumers no longer have access to content they expected when paying for HBO Max. Moreover, audiences will never see such projects like “Batgirl,” a $90 million film that was cancelled while “deep into post-production,” despite consumer outcry, reportedly to allow WBD to claim a tax break. One creator, Moisés Zamora, sold his show, “Whistleblower” to HBO Max in February 2021 after a “competitive bidding process with multiple outlets.” Shortly after the merger was consummated, WBD cancelled the development of the show. These three examples are merely a prelude of what could come as WBD plans further cuts. The damage to content creators whose projects are cancelled in deep development and post-production cannot be overstated. Such cancellations stain these projects, making them less appealing and marketable to other buyers— consumers will likely never be able to watch shows purchased then cancelled by WBD. WBD’s conduct amounts to a de facto “catch and kill” practice, vastly limiting consumer choice.

The pols’ ire seems to be that audiences won’t get to spend money on “Batgirl” and other projects because a cold-hearted studio decided to cut its losses…nevermind ontrol costs, and reduce its debt in order to remain a going concern.

Undoing the mering wouldn’t save any of these projects. It would, however, ensure that they, and many, many more, would be axed in order to…save money, pay down debt and hope to remain a going concern.

In other words, the politicians have no idea what they are talking about. And if they desperately want to see Batgirl, they can always watch classic episodes of “Batman” with the original Batgirl, Yvonne Craig.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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