The Daily Brief Some strange things are taking over Hollywood
Dec 11, 2025
Silicon Valley is shaking up Hollywood. Major bids for Warner Bros by Netflix and a staggering counteroffer from Paramount Skydance are causing chaos in the studio landscape. The discussion dives into how streaming altered studio economics and examines Skydance's innovative tech-driven approach. Meanwhile, India's solar industry faces a glut as supply outpaces demand, with hurdles in storage capacity and cheap battery bids sparking safety concerns. The episode wraps up with news on investment moves and regulatory scrutiny.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Film Production Is Inherently Risky
- The movie business is high-risk, capital-intensive and behaves like venture capital where few hits must cover many flops.
- Scale offers limited advantages because talent and marketing costs recur per production, blunting classic economies of scale.
Streaming Made Content A Platform
- Streaming transformed distribution by making the product a platform with stable subscription revenue and genuine economies of scale.
- That allowed Netflix to pursue low-risk recurring revenue unlike traditional studios dependent on box-office hits.
Tech Boosts Studio Production
- Tech-forward studios like Skydance apply cloud, AI and algorithmic tools to production workflows to gain speed and efficiency.
- This tech layer makes them leaner and more scalable than legacy firms that rely on on-premise processes.