The Wall Street Journal
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
1/8/2026 3:33:00 PMShare This Episode
The Man Who Wants Netflix to Save Hollywood
「ハリウッドを救うためにNetflixに賭ける男」
Netflix is in a high-stakes fight to buy storied movie studio Warner Bros. The company has a $72 billion deal in hand, but rival Paramount isn't going down without a fight. At the helm of the streaming giant is co-CEO Ted Sarandos, whose strategies have helped transform the entertainment industry. WSJ’s Joe Flint says that Hollywood’s creatives were once enamored with Netflix’s approaches but have grown more wary of what new changes could come with consolidation. WSJ’s Ryan Knutson hosts.
- high-stakes /ˌhaɪˈsteɪks/ 非常に重要な、失敗の許されない
- storied movie studio /ˈstɔːrid/ 歴史と名声のある映画スタジオ
- deal in hand すでに提示・確保している取引案
- isn't going down without a fight 簡単には負けを認めない、徹底抗戦する
- at the helm of ~ /helm/ ～の舵取りをしている、～のトップに立って
- streaming giant 配信業界の巨人（巨大企業）
- co-CEO 共同CEO
- transform /trænsˈfɔːrm/ 変革する
- creatives /kriˈeɪtɪvz/ クリエイター、創作者側の人々
- be enamored with ~ /ɪˈnæmərd/ ～に夢中になる、魅了される
- wary of ~ /ˈweri/ ～を警戒している
Ryan Knutson: Ever since Netflix announced a deal to acquire Warner Brothers back in December, some Hollywood creatives have been shaking in their boots.
Joe Flint: A lot of the concern is just that these guys are the disruptors from Silicon Valley. They're a tech company.
Ryan Knutson: That's my colleague, Joe Flint.
Joe Flint: What are they going to do? And we're all going to be making movies and TV shows based off their algorithms. And creativity will fly out the window. So all the Netflix boogie monsters are coming out right now.
- shake in one’s boots 怯える、震え上がる
- disruptor /dɪsˈrʌptər/ 破壊的イノベーター、既存業界を壊す側
- Silicon Valley シリコンバレー（IT企業の中心地）
- based off ~ ～に基づいた（口語、正式には based on）
- algorithm /ˈælɡəˌrɪðəm/ アルゴリズム
- fly out the window （慣用句）完全に失われる
- boogie monster お化け、得体の知れない恐怖の象徴
Ryan Knutson: The deal isn't yet finalized, but if Netflix is successful the merger would create a Hollywood behemoth, marrying the world's biggest dreaming service with one of Hollywood's most storied studios, filled with important IP.
Joe Flint: Hollywood would prefer that no one buy Warner Brothers, because anytime one of these companies get sold, there's one fewer entity to sell a project to. There's one fewer company to do business with.
Ryan Knutson: And one of the men who'd be at the helm of this new entertainment juggernaut is Netflix co-CEO, Ted Sarandos. Does Ted Sarandos want to be the king of Hollywood?
- behemoth /bəˈhiːməθ/ 巨大企業・怪物級の存在
- marry A with B AとBを結びつける（比喩）
- streaming service ストリーミング配信サービス
- storied studio 歴史と名声のあるスタジオ
- IP (intellectual property) 知的財産（作品・キャラ・シリーズ等）
- at the helm of ~ ～のトップに立って、舵取りをして
- juggernaut /ˈdʒʌɡərnɔːt/ 止められない巨大勢力
Joe Flint: Some might argue Ted is already the king of Hollywood, but if he gets the Warner deal he'll have a castle to go with his kingdom.
Ryan Knutson: Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knutson. It's Thursday, January 8th. Coming up on the show, the rise of Ted Sarandos and his fight to win Warner.
All right. Let's talk about Ted Sarandos' origin story. Where is he from and how did he even wind up in the entertainment industry to begin with?
Joe Flint: Well, Ted grew up in Arizona and he took a job in a video store when he was in between high school and going into college. And he was a movie buff. And he always, honestly, he kind of loved the types of movies that weren't ever coming to Phoenix. He was a little bit of an indie movie fan.
Ryan Knutson: Sarandos rose through the ranks and worked his way up from store clerk to regional distributor.
- origin story 生い立ちの話、成り立ちの物語
- wind up ~ 結局～になる、～に行き着く
- movie buff 映画マニア、映画通
- indie movie インディー映画
- rise through the ranks 出世する、階段を上っていく
- work one’s way up 努力して上り詰める
- regional distributor 地域担当の配給業者
Joe Flint: He's getting to know people and doing deals with studios to acquire content to put on the shelves. So in the course of doing that, he starts to get a little bit of a reputation as a sharp guy when it comes to doing these sorts of deals.
Ryan Knutson: Sarandos eventually got on the radar of Reed Hastings, who was just a couple years into launching a mail order DVD company called Netflix. In 2000, Hastings hired Sarandos to oversee content acquisition. But soon, Sarandos was thinking bigger.
- acquire content コンテンツを獲得する
- on the shelves 店の棚に並ぶ（＝販売・レンタル用）
- in the course of ~ ～する過程で
- get a reputation as ~ ～として評判を得る
- sharp guy 切れ者、有能な人物
- get on the radar of ~ ～に注目される、～の目に留まる
- mail-order 郵送注文の
- oversee /ˌoʊvərˈsiː/ 統括する、監督する
- content acquisition コンテンツ調達・獲得
Joe Flint: As Netflix began to move its business from mail DVDs to online, Ted was a very early advocate that, hey, we will need to do original programming of our own. Basically, it will help us control our own destiny. The more content we can own, the better for the future of this business.
Ryan Knutson: Here he is talking about this on a podcast a few months ago.
Ted Sarandos: As I said, in this world where we're going to be a digital channel. And I don't know of any network that exists that doesn't have some form of original differentiating program from each other.
- be an early advocate 早くからの提唱者・推進者である
- of our own 自前の、自社の
- control our own destiny 自分たちの運命を自分でコントロールする
- the more A, the better B Aが多ければ多いほどBは良い
- differentiating /ˌdɪfəˈrenʃieɪtɪŋ/ 差別化する、他と違う特徴を持つ
Ryan Knutson: So Sarandos set out to make some new TV shows. And the way he and Netflix approached Hollywood was totally different than the way things used to work. Historically, traditional studios paid directors, actors, and movie producers less upfront and then, if the show was popular, there was the promise of more money later on from reruns. Netflix flipped that on its head.
- upfront /ʌpˈfrʌnt/ 前払いで、最初に
- the promise of ~ ～の見込み、～がもらえるという約束
- reruns /ˈriːrʌnz/ 再放送
- flip A on its head Aを完全に逆転させる
Joe Flint: They would pay more upfront. They'd say, "Joe, we love your show and we're going to buy out whatever we think the backend, the rerun money, will be. So we're going to give you all this money upfront. And in return, of course the show's ours now. We're going to keep it for ourselves. It's going to live on our system. We're never going to take it out anywhere else. You've just got to trust us, that we're giving you the value it is." And at first the town was like, "Ooh, this is awesome. This is awesome. I don't have to wait around for this money. I don't have to wait 20 years for reruns."
Ryan Knutson: And here's a big, fat check.
Joe Flint: Here's a big, fat check.
- pay more upfront 最初に多めに払う
- buy out ~ ～を買い取る（権利ごと）
- backend （興行収入などの）後払い分、成功報酬部分
- rerun money 再放送による収益
- live on our system うちのプラットフォームに置かれる
- take it out 外に出す、他社に回す
- the town （業界用語）ハリウッド
- big, fat check 巨額の小切手（強調表現）
- rerun money 再放送料・二次使用料
- backend 成功報酬分・歩合
- residuals 俳優などに入る継続使用料
- royalties 印税
Ryan Knutson: This is how Sarandos and Netflix were able to land their first big hit, the political drama House of Cards.
Speaker 4: He chose money over power; in this town, a mistake nearly everyone makes.
Joe Flint: So Netflix went out and famously went to David Fincher, who was shopping a American version of the TV show House of Cards with Kevin Spacey. Went to him and said, "Hey, we'll give you a two-year commitment. We will guarantee you two years, two seasons. No pilot, no nothing. Here's the money. Make your show." Netflix became very creator-friendly, and part of it was out of necessity to get deals and I think part of it was to give themselves a little bit of an edge over their competitors. And the town reacted to that. They liked that.
Ryan Knutson: Netflix continued growing its original program and catalog with hit show after hit show. There was the gritty, character-driven women's prison dramedy, Orange is the New Black.
- hit show after hit show /hɪt ʃoʊ ˈæftər hɪt ʃoʊ/ ヒット作を連発して
- gritty /ˈɡrɪti/ 生々しい、リアルでハードな
- character-driven /ˈkærɪktər ˈdrɪvən/ 人物描写中心の
- dramedy /ˈdræmədi/ ドラマ＋コメディ（造語）
Speaker 8: Tell her he said, "Thanks."
Speaker 7: I'm not saying nothing. I'm just working. Next.
Ryan Knutson: And the revival of the cult favorite sitcom, Arrested Development.
Speaker 9: Now, the story of a family whose future was abruptly canceled.
Ryan Knutson: The supernatural, nostalgic, coming of age drama, Stranger Things.
Speaker 12: Stop it! You're freaking her out!
Speaker 11: She's freaking me out!
Speaker 10: I bet she's death.
Joe Flint: So we talked about House of Cards, we've talk about Orange is the New Black, we've talked about Stranger Things. All these very expensive high-end dramas. But Netflix has to expand, of course. And Sarandos, one of the areas he really leaned into and is still leaning into is standup comedy, which of course had been HBO's bread and butter. And Netflix went out. They signed Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle and all these other big standups to huge deals at a time when HBO was reassessing how much this genre was actually worth. Netflix thought, no. These specials are good. They build attention and publicity for us, and we want to be in the comedy business.
- bread and butter /ˌbred ən ˈbʌtər/ 主要な収入源、稼ぎ頭
- reassess /ˌriːəˈses/ 再評価する、見直す
- this genre /ˈʒɑːnrə/ このジャンル
- build attention and publicity /pʌbˈlɪsəti/ 注目や話題性を生む
Ryan Knutson: After leading the charge on multiple hits, which helped bring in tons of subscribers to the platform, Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO in July 2020. And not long after taking the job, Sarandos faced one of his first controversies involving one of those comedians, Dave Chappelle.
Joe Flint: One thing I think people respect Ted for, at least on the talent side of the business, is that he has shown a willingness to stand up for his talent. We saw that with Dave Chappelle a few years back. He did a standup special. He had jokes and commentary that upset the transgender community. There was some upset at Netflix as well. There were protests outside Netflix. Netflix employees were upset. And Ted stood by. He didn't take the special off. He didn't issue any statements condemning what Chappelle said, but I think that sent a message.
- on the talent side of the business 俳優・監督・コメディアンなど「作り手側」の立場から見ると
- stand up for ~ /stænd ʌp fɔːr/ ～を守る、～のために立ち上がる
- show a willingness to ~ ～する意志を示す
- stand by (him) （批判されても）支持し続ける、味方でいる
- take the special off （番組を）配信停止にする
- issue a statement 声明を出す
- condemn /kənˈdem/ 非難する
Ryan Knutson: So Netflix, in its early days, was wooing Hollywood, AKA the town. And you said that at first people there liked it. So how did they become a company that people started to fear?
Joe Flint: Well, anytime you get big you start to toss your muscle around. So Netflix grew, had tremendous success, grew a lot of subscribers. And with that comes power. Because they were growing so fast and spending so much, they became the one place you could come to do business. But at the same time, once you've taken over the landscape, well, you don't spend as much. You spend a ton of money to woo, to get the talent in there. But once you've got that, you don't have to spend as much money anymore.
Ryan Knutson: Netflix also doesn't release much data about how many people are watching its shows, so it's hard to know what a show's market value actually is.
Joe Flint: Some creators begin to wonder, but am I getting paid enough? Is this really fair? How do I really know how popular it is if we don't test the waters to sell the reruns somewhere? And Netflix is very cautious about the information they release in terms of who's viewing it, so I don't really know. Everyone's like, "Oh, wait a minute. Maybe this wasn't so good for us after all."
- toss your muscle around 力を振りかざす、権力を誇示する
- tremendous success 莫大な成功
- with that comes power それに伴って権力が生まれる
- the one place you could come to do business 取引するならここしかない、という存在
- take over the landscape 業界・市場を支配する
- woo the talent 才能ある人材を口説き落とす
- market value 市場価値
- test the waters 様子を見る、試しにやってみる
Ryan Knutson: The other thing that's irked Hollywood is how Sarandos has approached releasing new movies.
- irk /ɜːrk/イライラさせる、癪に障る
Joe Flint: When Netflix got into movies they made a big deal of not embracing the theatrical model. So that became a concern to a lot of Hollywood purists, we'll call them, as well as the movie theater industry, of course. Oh my god. You can't not put a movie in the theaters. Are you insane, man? Yes, they do release some movies theatrically, usually for award consideration, or a big enough director has the clout to persuade Netflix to drop it in a theater for a couple weeks. But yeah, Ted's belief was, hey, people want to watch stuff at home. And we're about the customer first. And the movie-going experience, yes, maybe it's great for some things, but most people would just as soon sit at home. So that was kind of a turnoff to a lot of old Hollywood.
- theatrical model 劇場公開モデル
- not embrace ~ ～を採用しない、受け入れない
- Hollywood purists 伝統重視のハリウッド関係者
- award consideration 賞の選考対象に入るため
- have the clout to ~ /klaʊt/ ～するだけの影響力がある
clout：/klaut/「影響力」 - drop it in a theater 劇場にかける（口語）
- customer first 顧客第一主義
- just as soon ~ むしろ～したいくらいだ
- a turnoff 嫌悪感を起こさせるもの、幻滅要因
Ryan Knutson: All of this is why Hollywood was shaking in its boots when Netflix announced the deal to acquire Warner Brothers. Netflix has already transformed the industry and by buying another major player, things are probably only going to change more. How has Ted Sarandos responded to all of these concerns in Hollywood?
Joe Flint: Ted has said when he's asked that, are you guys ruining Hollywood? He will say, "No, we're saving it.
Speaker 6: The box office is down, the LA film business is shaky, people are out of work, your competitor's market share is sinking, but Netflix business is thriving. Have you destroyed Hollywood?
Ted Sarandos: No, we're saving Hollywood.
Speaker 6: You're saving Hollywood.
Joe Flint: They would tell you that they're spending a ton on content. How can we be ruining Hollywood? Look at how much money we invest in movies and TV shows. And we have a global system that reaches everyone. We believe in all this. We're not here to ruin it. We're here to build it out and persevere and find even more of an audience, and a new way to reach them.
Ryan Knutson: But to actually get Warner, Sarandos has a couple fights ahead of him. That's next.
Before Netflix can seal the deal for Warner Brothers it has to do two things. First, it has to fend off a rival bidder, Paramount. Then it'll need to persuade regulators to approve the deal. Let's start with Paramount. The company has deep pockets behind it. Those of Larry Ellison, one of the richest men in the world.
Joe Flint: Paramount is still aggressively pursuing Warner. They are not taking no for an answer.
Speaker 5: David Ellison, Paramount's CEO, says they are "finishing what they started, after making six total offers.
Speaker 14: Paramount Skydance amending it's $30 per share all-cash offer for Warner Brothers Discovery.
Speaker 15: The Oracle co-founder and father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison on Monday said he will personally guarantee more than $40 billion for the deal.
Ryan Knutson: So far Paramount's pursuit of Warner hasn't been successful. In a letter to shareholders made public earlier this week, Warner said the amended Paramount offer wasn't superior or even comparable to the $72 billion Netflix deal.
Joe Flint: The question becomes, is Paramount going to come back now with a sweeter offer? And if they do, does Netflix come back with a sweeter offer too? Or does Netflix say, "Eh, no. We're out?"
Ryan Knutson: Paramount has said its offer is superior to Warner Brothers' agreement with Netflix and, "Represents the best path forward." If Netflix is able to fend off Paramount it will then face its second challenge, getting the deal past government regulators who will get to weigh in on whether the merger creates anti-competitive issues.
Joe Flint: Clearly President Trump has expressed a lot of interest in this deal. Typically, normally a president doesn't necessarily weigh in on deals that are going to go before independent agencies, whether it was the FCC, the DOJ, the FTC. President Trump, he's expressed some concern about Netflix. He's praised Netflix and Ted Sarandos but also said their size is a concern.
Ryan Knutson: At a congressional oversight hearing yesterday, Cinema United, a trade organization representing movie theater owners, argued that this merger would be disastrous for movie theaters, local economies, and consumer choice. Sarandos has said that Netflix is confident the deal will win approval because it's, "Pro-consumer and pro-innovation." He spoke about it last month.
Ted Sarandos: So we think it's going to be great for consumers, really great for creators. We invest heavily in production and then we intend to run those businesses exactly like they run today.
Ryan Knutson: So what is Netflix doing in D.C.?
Joe Flint: Netflix kind of went on a PR offensive, if you will. They've got a website set up and it has all these details on the deal. Why Netflix and Warner means even more choice and value for fans. Why it will define the next century of storytelling. Why these are complimentary businesses to deliver more choice and value for consumers. So they're doing that right now.
- go on a PR offensive 広報攻勢に出る、イメージ戦略を強化する
- if you will 「いわば」「言ってみれば」（言い換えのクッション言葉）
- set up a website サイトを立ち上げる
- all these details on the deal この取引の詳細すべて
- define the next century of storytelling 次の100年の物語の形を決定づける
- complementary businesses /ˌkɒmpləˈmentri/ 互いを補完し合う関係のビジネス
- deliver ~ to consumers 消費者に～を届ける
Ryan Knutson: Sarandos has also had a couple meetings with President Trump.
Joe Flint: He visited Mar-a-Lago in December of 2024 after Trump won but before Trump took office. Ted was one of the many CEOs who went to give their respects, I'll say, and dine down there. And he did go to the White House before this deal with Warner was officially announced. Netflix has been hiring lobbyists as well who have close Republican and Trump ties. Their head of their D.C. office was in Trump's first administration. So there's a lot of that sort of road-paving going on, if you will. So not a surprise but nonetheless, for Netflix, something new, because this is the other part of the game they've kind of stayed out of.
Ryan Knutson: They produced House of Cards but they haven't really had to play House of Cards.
- give their respects /rɪˈspekts/ 敬意を表する
- dine down there 食事をする（Mar-a-Lagoで）
- road-paving （比喩的に）道を作る、政治的下地を作る
- if you will いわば、言ってみれば（柔らかい言い換え）
- play House of Cards 「ハウス・オブ・カード」のような権謀術数を働く、政治的駆け引きをする
Joe Flint: Right. They haven't had to play House of Cards. So yeah, this is a new sort of thing for them, to have to go there and really grease the wheels, if you will.
- grease the wheels /ɡris ðə wilz/
（比喩）物事をスムーズに進める、関係を取り持つ
Ryan Knutson: Late last year Sarandos and his co-CEO, Greg Peters, had a photo shoot on the Warner Brothers studio lot, alongside the head of Warner Brothers.
Joe Flint: They toured sound stages, they met with some other execs and people there. It was almost a victory lap, even though the deal yet hasn't closed. Walking around the lot and seeing all that history. And look, Ted Sarandos is a lover of old Hollywood. He loves creatives. He loves the, "Hollywood magic."
Ryan Knutson: For Sarandos, acquiring Warner Brothers would mark the culmination of his rise from just a guy who loved movies working in a video store to one of the most powerful people in Hollywood.
Joe Flint: If this deal goes through and is successful, you'd pitch it as a movie. A guy in a video store ends up running all of Hollywood. But yeah, it'll have been an amazing and incredible run for him.
- a victory lap /ə ˈvɪk.tər.i læp/ 成功を祝う行動、成果を誇示すること
- the lot 映画スタジオの敷地全体
- old Hollywood 昔ながらのハリウッド、伝統的映画界
- Hollywood magic 映画製作の魅力や幻想、演出の魔法的側面
- culmination /ˌkʌl.məˈneɪ.ʃən/ （努力・過程の）集大成、最高潮
- pitch it as a movie 映画として脚本化する、物語として語る
- incredible run 驚くべき成功の道のり、輝かしいキャリア
Ryan Knutson: That's all for today, Thursday, January 8th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Lauren Thomas and Jessica Toonkel. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.
What’s News
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
1/8/2026 5:08:00 PMShare This Episode
Can a Chinese Car Company Make It in America?
中国の自動車メーカーはアメリカで成功できるのか？
P.M. Edition for Jan. 8. Geely, one of China’s biggest automakers, expects to announce plans about a U.S. expansion within the next three years. But WSJ autos reporter Ryan Felton says it would run up against political opposition and other challenges. Plus, the Trump administration defends the ICE officer who yesterday shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. We hear from Journal national affairs reporter Joe Barrett about the protests on the ground in Minneapolis. And Iran’s internet is almost completely shut down amid widespread protests. Alex Ossola hosts.
- make it (in America) （アメリカで）成功する
make it = 「成功する」「やっていける」 - automaker 自動車メーカー
- expansion /ɪkˈspænʃən/ 進出、事業拡大
- within the next three years 今後3年以内に
- run up against 〜にぶつかる、直面する
= face / encounter（〜に直面する） - political opposition 政治的反対
- defend 擁護する
- on the ground 現地で、現場レベルで
- amid /əˈmɪd/ 〜のさなかに
amid = in the middle of - almost completely shut down ほぼ完全に遮断される
Minute Briefing
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
1/8/2026 4:56:00 PMShare This Episode
Defense Stocks Gain on a Mixed Day of Trading
株式市場がまちまちの動きを見せる中、防衛関連株は上昇した。
The Dow rose, while the Nasdaq dropped. Plus: Costco shares rally on strong end-of-year sales. Katherine Sullivan hosts.
- Defense stocks /dɪˈfɛns stɑːks/ 防衛関連株
- gain /ɡeɪn/ （株価などが）上昇する
- a mixed day of trading /mɪkst deɪ/ 相場がまちまちの日
- The Dow /daʊ/ ダウ平均株価
- the Nasdaq /ˈnæz.dæk/ ナスダック総合指数
- while /waɪl/ 〜する一方で
- shares rally /ˈræli/ 株価が急騰する
- strong end-of-year sales 年末商戦の好調な売上
- Plus: さらに言うと、加えて