Netflix Says It Is “Going to Keep That HBO Team” After Acquiring Warner Bros.

Casey Bloys, senior Netflix executive?

In a lengthy interview with Ben Thompson of Stratechery, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said he and (fellow co-CEO) Ted Sarandos plan to keep “that HBO team” in tact post-acquisition. It’s a smart move considering what Bloys and co. have accomplished, and while expected by most sharps in the industry, had not previously been affirmed so definitively.

What Netflix plans to do with HBO/Max from an integration POV is still a bit unclear.

When asked if HBO (Max) and Netflix will be one service or two following Netflix’s pending purchase of Warner Bros., Peters replied, “This is the kind of thing we would want to sort out and we’ve got some thinking [to do].”

“We want to do some more work on that one,” Peters continued. “We know from our work in doing this with other providers that there are benefits. We can make a win-win. We can make a better product for consumers, lower price ultimately, and it works better for the business — we know that that’s capable.”

Netflix hasn’t actually integrated another streamer into its own service before, but it has bundled with various others recently. And Netflix and AMC have a running pact in which a variety of AMC and AMC Studios programming is available — and spotlighted — on Netflix under an “AMC Collection” banner.

Whether it ends up as NetflixHBOMax, Netflix + HBO Max, or an “HBO Collection” on Netflix, Peters knows talent when he sees it. He plans to keep the “HBO team,” the one his co-CEO Sarandos has been battling for years for the best content, on board. The statement of confidence came in response to a question about keeping HBO HBO.

“I feel very confident about that because we’re going to keep that HBO team and that HBO team is good at working with that talent and giving them the environment that they need to tell those amazing stories,” Peters said. “And they get to do it under a great brand that speaks to the kind of program they’re trying to make, and we’re going to give them a bigger audience.”

It sounds like Bloys’ (HBO CEO) and Francesca Orsi’s (executive vice president of HBO programming and head of HBO drama series and films) jobs — and probably others’ — are safe.

In November, when asked by The Hollywood Reporter about his job security under a takeover — at the time, Paramount was in pole position — Bloys shrugged it off.

“I had a town hall a couple weeks ago, and I said, ‘The only thing you can do in this process, and the best thing you can do, is just focus on your job, which is making the most impactful programming in whatever genre,’” Bloys said at the time.

“It’s kind of a waste of energy, because I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bloys added. “Now, that being said, I’m obviously very proud of what we’ve done at HBO and HBO Max. I would like to see that continue. We’ve all worked at HBO for a long time. I’m proud of our track record, but you have to go into these processes with an open mind. And a lot of it is out of our hands.”

Peters is apparently doing something of a limited media tour targeting financial publications in response to Netflix’s stock (NFLX) hitting a 52-week low. Wall Street has not exactly been enamored with the plan for Netflix to buy Warner Bros. studios and streaming (and HBO) for what is now an all-cash offer valued at $83 billion. No one is less in love with the plan than David Ellison, the chairman of Paramount Skydance, who put out a competing bid. Ellison wants the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery and is willing to pay $108 billion for the total package.

In a separate conversation with The Financial Times, Peters said Paramount’s offer “doesn’t pass the sniff test.” Paramount backer RedBird Capital took exception to that — read that back-and-forth here.