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NEW YORK -- Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes extended olive branches of sorts here Wednesday to Netflix and theater operators concerned about the company's participation in a premium VOD partnership with DirecTV.
He mentioned fondness towards the business that Netflix is in and also emphasized that entertainment companies must keep theater owners and other partners in mind to succeed.
He also predicted that pay TV distributors could consolidate over the next 10 years into three to five big companies.
Asked about premium VOD at the Bloomberg-sponsored Business of Entertainment program at the Tribeca Film Festival, Bewkes said that most films "have about a three-week life" before getting a DVD release a few months later. That this is where piracy comes in and studios, theater owners and production firms are getting hurt, he argued.
In an on-stage interview, Charlie Rose asked Bewkes if studios do or should do business with theater owners' interests in mind. "We have to," he replied, pointing out that the media and entertainment business always depends on collaborations.
Asked once again about his feelings towards Netflix, which he has compared to the Albanian army in the past, Bewkes said: "I do have a fondness for subscription television, and Netflix is subscription television. So, welcome, brother!" The comment earned laughs from the audience.
In a CNBC interview earlier in the week, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called Bewkes a comedian and signaled he wasn't hurt by his past comments.
Asked about Netflix's push into original content, Bewkes on Wednesday said: "We think it's great that they are doing that." He argued that it makes even clearer what kind of business Netflix is in. "If they move toward original programming, then they will be like HBO," he said.
How will TW be different in five years? It will be "more global," Bewkes said, citing India and Russia, which is now the fifth-largest theatrical market, for example.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/business/~3/0rYE0_wO1jI/time-warner-ceo-extends-olive-182669
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