Netflix's $85.2 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. will see the streaming service gain access to a vast vault of content — which, according to a new report, could be used as a potential "AI trove."
Speaking today on an investor call attended by IGN, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos repeatedly mentioned future "innovation" as one of the reasons why the streamer was so keen to own Warner Bros.' 102-year-old back catalogue, which includes movies in the Harry Potter and DC Comics franchises, as well as TV series such as Game of Thrones, Friends and The Big Bang Theory.
Now, insider sources have told The Hollywood Reporter that the subtext behind Sarandos' mentions of innovation was the huge boost to Netflix's AI plans that Warner Bros.' library of content could bring — both to train future AI models and to allow subscribers access to generate their own creations using licensed assets.
Viewed through this lens, the Netflix and Warner Bros. deal makes even more sense. For its part, Netflix has already built a finely-tuned content algorithm based on machine-learning and granular knowledge of its millions of subscribers. Warner Bros., meanwhile, has a enormous back catalogue of content that can be plugged in to Netflix's existing service — and used to create more content in future.
Netflix has long been accused of producing new TV series and movies designed by algorithm, using past viewing data to greenlight projects it can safely expect will be enjoyed by swathes of its subscriber base. Even on a base level, having access to Warner Bros.' catalogue will undoubtedly help Netflix's algorithm learn even more about its users' viewing habits, with such a large library now part of its own service.
But beyond that, content companies are clearly keen to experiment further with AI generation and offer licensed access to their own franchises as a premium feature. Last month, Disney boss Bob Iger stated that he expected to see user-generated AI content appearing on Disney+ in the near future, as part of what he described as one of "the biggest and the most significant changes — from a product perspective, from a technology perspective — since we launched the service in 2019."
The suggestion is that Disney will let its paying customers create videos using its licensed characters and share them with others via the platform — as a more official version of what happened when AI generation platform Sora 2 launched a few months ago and briefly allowed users to create mash-ups featuring Mickey Mouse, Pokémon, and Star Wars, before copyright rules were enforced.
Considering the vast back catalogue at Disney's fingertips, it's perhaps no surprise to see Netflix keen to obtain a similarly historic library for itself, as the streaming wars heat up further.
"Our mission has always been to entertain the world," Netflix's Sarandos said earlier today. "By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies — from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends — with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we'll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
