Michael Barbaro

And...

I don't know if you agree with this, but Netflix has taught us something really important, which is that people will pay and keep paying for volume over a complete devotion to quality.

Okay, so I think we've reached the moment in the conversation where we need to give listeners a little bit of a roadmap of what to expect is about to happen and who is most likely to ultimately win control of this crown jewel, Warner Brothers.

So I wonder if the three of you can venture a responsible, journalistically informed guess around

about whether a hostile takeover bid for the entirety of Warner Bros.

Discovery might prevail, Lauren, or if we think the existing deal in which Netflix gets the streaming and studio part of the business already announced is the likeliest outcome.

Okay.

Nicole?

Literally, I will be involved in this decision, he said.

But just to jump in on this, Nicole, this feels important.

While the Allisons seem to have a very strong relationship with Trump, I detected in Trump's answers over the weekend a certain fondness for the leadership of Netflix.

When the president wants to make life difficult for people and he's asked a question, he usually finds a way to make life difficult for them.

And I sensed a reluctance to denigrate Netflix or this deal.

Kyle, finally?

I wonder if we need to end this conversation with something a little higher altitude about where the TV movie-going experience is in this moment of consolidation.

Because consolidation is the story no matter who wins.

That is a profoundly sad assessment for the cinephiles out there, of which I'm sure there are many.

I think for a fair number of people, that's going to be sad, but it's also just their reality of being at home, swimming in a sea of serial streaming shows.

Lauren, Nicole, Kyle, thank you all very much.

We appreciate it.